Ecuador immigrant in possible US hate attack dies

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
An Ecuadorean immigrant viciously beaten by men who yelled anti-Hispanic and anti-gay slurs at him and his brother has died, nearly a week after the attack, a family spokesman said Saturday. Jose Sucuzhanay died late Friday at Elmurst Hospital as his mother was en route from Ecuador to see him, spokesman Francisco Moya said. Sucuzhanay, a 31-year-old real estate broker, had been listed in critical condition since the assault early on Dec. 7. Police were searching for three suspects in the attack, which drew outrage from the City Council speaker and other political leaders. The New York Police Department's Hate Crime Task Force is investigating what prosecutors have called an appalling eruption of bigotry. Sucuzhanay and his brother Romel, 38, were walking arm-in-arm after a night out when a sport utility vehicle pulled up near them at a Brooklyn stoplight, police said.