SantaCon, which draws tens of thousands of drunken revelers and their bodily fluids to the streets of New York City each year, is coming back under new management.
The notorious bar crawl returns eight months after federal prosecutors charged its longtime organizer, Stefan Pildes, with diverting more than half the millions SantaCon raised for charity to a “slush fund” he spent on lakefront property, luxury vacations, and other personal ventures.
Pildes was president of Participatory Safety, the registered nonprofit which holds the SantaCon trademark and served as the divisive event’s official organizer from 2014 through 2025. The indictment alleges that he “misappropriated and stole” more than $1.35 million in revenue from 2019 through 2024, raised via ticket sales and commissions from participating bars and clubs.
A Monday press release from a newly-formed corporation, North Pole NYC, advertised a Dec. 12 event, with special-access tickets priced from $15 to $30, and participating venues to be announced.
It said that Pildes was “no longer involved with the planning, operations, or leadership of SantaCon NYC” and will not participate in this year’s event — one of the conditions of his April release on bond.
State records show that North Pole NYC was incorporated in September by Pildes’ longtime SantaCon co-organizer Theresa “Shiny” Galeani. Galeani told Business Insider that North Pole NYC aims to donate to local charities and is working to attain nonprofit status in the future.
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An attorney for North Pole NYC, Wylie Stecklow, said that all of the profits raised from this year’s event would flow to charity, barring a small reserve that North Pole NYC would keep to help organize next year’s event. He did not specify which charities would receive donations.
If Galeani didn’t organize this year’s SantaCon then somebody else would, Stecklow said — and since she has the long background and experience of running the event, it “seemed like a good idea that she could do it.”
“We can make sure that the money that comes in goes to charity,” Stecklow said. “I fully expect there to be transparency with the situation this year, and how things are run, and where the money is going,” he said.
Pildes has pleaded not guilty. In 2023, Gothamist reported that less than a fifth of the money SantaCon raised for charity from 2014—2022 had been donated to registered nonprofits. In their April indictment, federal prosecutors alleged that “only a small fraction” of SantaCon’s 2019—2024 revenue went to charity.
In a September court appearance, prosecutors with the US Southern District of New York signaled that the parties might reach a deal, or that the government would supersede its indictment with tax-related charges. A deferred prosecution agreement would allow Pildes, who is facing up to 20 years in prison, to avoid a criminal conviction. Tax charges could expose him to additional penalties and prison time.
Galeani and Pildes are communicating via counsel about the logistics of transitioning the event from Participatory Safety to North Pole NYC, lawyers for both parties confirmed. SantaCon traditionally coordinates with multiple city and state agencies, for example working with Long Island Rail Road to make sure alcohol is banned on the commuter train in the 32 hours surrounding the event.
“Santacon is a tradition, a right of passage, a ritual for many people,” Galeani wrote. “Santacon will encourage a safe, jolly, cheerful event.”
