"I'm not gay or anything... I'm just saying."
-in response to Chris Hansen's claim that he came to the house looking for sex with a young boy.
Anthony Palumbo is a suspected predator featured in the Ocean County, New Jersey sting on To Catch a Predator. He was the only one of the twenty-eight predators in the investigation to go after a boy, and because of his many quotable lines in the fandom and loud-mouthed nervousness during his interview, he has become one of the most infamous suspects ever featured on the show.
Biography and Chat[]
Two years before his appearance on Dateline, Palumbo's father allegedly had a violent outburst against his family over stocks totaling approximately $1 million. It would involve him brandishing a pitchfork at his wife and breaking her nose when he swung a dinner tray at her. He also dumped boiling soup on Anthony's head, causing the both of them to be taken to the hospital.[1]
Anthony Palumbo was forty-six years old when he started an internet conversation with someone he thought was a fourteen-year-old Palumbo stated I love to suck young boys off !!! Palumbo said you can fit a soup Can up my asshole. . He was the only one of the twenty-eight predators in the investigation to pursue a boy. He went by the name "Chris" and stated that he was thirty-five years old. After just a few minutes of talking, he asked the child if he was top or bottom and declared he was horny. The boy's history of oral sex and kissing was then brought up. After more chit-chat, Palumbo inquired as to whether the boy had swallowed semen.
The boy then questioned what he meant when he said he wanted to be at the top and pushed on unprotected intercourse, to which Palumbo replied, "U WANT DO IT RAW?", saying he wanted "NO RUBER” when the decoy inquired what that meant. Palumbo then expressed concern and said he was scared the boy was a police officer. Later, he declared that he would use soap as lubricant instead of condoms when they had sex. After offering to bring Heineken beer, Palumbo enquired about the boy's experience with meeting people online. He worried again, saying to the boy that he didn't want to "play fucking games."
Sting[]
Palumbo arrived at the house and handed the decoy the alcohol he brought with him. He then complimented the decoy for providing precise directions. Palumbo told the decoy to put the beer in the refrigerator, the decoy assuring him he would do so shortly. Palumbo and the decoy both acknowledged that they were nervous. After some chitchat about Palumbo's journey to the house, he stated that his trip to Atlantic City served as his reason for going to the residence. He once again told the decoy to put the beer in the fridge. When the decoy stated they weren't sure about what Palumbo wanted to do, he once again told the decoy to put the beer in the fridge. He declared, "We'll see what happens," as the decoy tried to subtly coax more intent out of Palumbo. Palumbo told the decoy to put the beer in his refrigerator again and advised him against getting drunk. The decoy assured Palumbo he wouldn't and they both laughed as the decoy left the room.
While Palumbo was stretching, he nervously stopped as he was confronted by Chris Hansen, nervously explaining that he was heading to Atlantic City to see his other brother. According to Palumbo, he "stahpped by... tah go dere." Chris challenged Palumbo's story by pointing out that he told the decoy he was nervous, although Palumbo claimed he was only nervous because he was driving to Atlantic City and wasn't a good driver at night. When asked if he was nervous meeting a young boy home alone, Palumbo agreed, although he claimed he only dropped by to introduce himself. Palumbo acknowledged bringing beer but denied drinking any himself after Chris enquired, going as far as to offer for Chris to smell his breath, although Chris rejected Palumbo's offer.
Palumbo repeatedly stated that he believed the boy to be eighteen. Palumbo replied that he was "thirty... nine!" when Chris asked him for his age. Chris cited that he said he was thirty-five online, with Palumbo flipping between the two before deciding on thirty-nine. Subsequently, Palumbo acknowledged that he looked after his ailing mother while being unemployed. After Chris read from the sexually explicit chat, Palumbo said he was only "fooling around." Chris questioned why Palumbo had asked the boy if he was a cop, although Palumbo dismissed it, claiming he was "just joking." Palumbo reiterated that he had come to make friends and believed the child to be eighteen-years-old. He made the bold claim he was "not gay or anything," leading to an awkward silence that Palumbo broke by claiming he was "just sayin'." Chris reminded Palumbo that the issue wasn't whether it was gay or straight, that no one cared what adults did, and that the issue was that he had involved a fourteen-year-old boy, although Palumbo's nervousness did not let up. Palumbo claimed he wasn't going to do anything, but Chris continued to question Palumbo on why he did it, and Palumbo called what he did "stupid," acknowledging it was illegal.
Palumbo claimed he wasn't a television person and only watched it once in a while when asked, so Chris revealed who he was and the cameras came out. Palumbo implied he didn't want to be on television and immediately fled when told he could leave. The police shocked Palumbo as he exited the residence, causing him to momentarily run away from them before immediately stopping. He was then detained and placed under arrest without any further resistance.
Aftermath[]
Palumbo was first charged with attempting child luring and attempted sexual assault, both of which carried a possible ten-year prison sentence.[2] Palumbo was found guilty of a felony count of criminal attempt to endanger the welfare of a child; he was given a term of lifetime parole supervision and was required to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.[3] According to Chris on his Predators I've Caught podcast, Palumbo was arrested again in 2019 for a "serious traffic infraction" that involved him leaving the scene of an accident, and he spent thirty to forty-five days in Riker's Island Prison between 2020 and 2021. For some reason, he didn’t receive extra time for violating his parole. At one point while incarcerated, he was placed into Riker's institutional care department after either contracting COVID-19 or facing a serious risk of being infected by it.
Despite being one of the most famous and quoted suspects caught on To Catch a Predator, Palumbo has kept a very low profile since his appearance on the show, and very little was known about him post-Dateline until 2025 (see update below).
2024 Update[]
In 2024, Palumbo walked into the workplace of TCaP fan "lull_operator," who managed to snag a photo of Palumbo while he was there. Joey shared the image on his YouTube community tab, providing the first ever publicly available picture of Palumbo since his booking photo was taken in 2007.
2025 Update[]
In 2025, The Skip Tracer made a video in which he did a face search for Anthony and found a post on Instagram from 2023 depicting him working at a pizzeria located in the Brooklyn Bay Ridge area.[4] He would shortly after make another video in which Nasty Nathaniel would call the establishment and have a short conversation with Palumbo, who seemed erratic due to how busy the place was when contacted. By the sound of his voice, he hadn't dropped any of his iconic vocal habits or mannerisms.[5]
Gallery[]
Notable quotes[]
- "I'm not gay or anything...I'm just sayin”
- "You give good directions!"
- "Oh, I wouldn't wanna be umm...oh boy..." (after the cameras come out)
- [Chris] "How old are you?" [Palumbo] "Thirtyyyyy...noin." [Chris] "Thirty-nine? You said you were thirty-five online." [Palumbo] "Thiry-five, thirty-NOIN."
- "Put da beeah into da refrijiraita"
- "No, my brotha is home, my otha' brotha and I said I had'ta go to Lantic City”
- "Yaw I love tuh gamble"
- “Naw I just stahpped by!”
- "I'm not a drivah at dark- at night time."
- (from chatlog) "I WANNA BE TOP" "oh ok" "U WANT DO IT RAW?“ “raw?” “YES” "whats that?" “NO RUBER"
- (from chatlog) “U BETTER NOT BE PLAYING FUCKING GAMES”
- "Don't get drunk with dat" (after handing the beeah to the decoy)
- "Jus jokin" *hand spasm*
- "I was going to Lantic City."
- "I'm not a drivah at night."
- "No you're right, no you're right- It's stupid of me. No, yeah I know I did a stupid thing."
- "Did I axe that, I don't remembah tho-"
- “Not at all, not at all. You can even smell my breath, not at all.”
- "My excuse to come heeah, I went to Lantic City."
Links[]
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=denelzG4xJY (TCaP segment)