you would think that a place like nyc would be hard to hide in but there are several things working out here.  bystander effect - people don't want to get involved  too many cooks in the kitchen - all the witnesses see things differently and they can cause noise in the description  hiding a needle in a stack of needles - guy blends in with the crowd and probably doesn't stand out breaking lines of sight - take a corner, enter a building, change clothes, repeat until the cops are right in front of you and have no idea who you are  leaving nyc - guy just leaves and retires forever, gone.
United States