New details successful accused crypto kidnappers lawsuit
The probe into the bitcoin torture lawsuit successful New York City has revealed gruesome details astir the alleged kidnapping and beating of an Italian antheral for his luck successful the cryptocurrency.
What we cognize astir the bitcoin torture case
The unidentified 28-year-old antheral managed to flight from his alleged captors connected May 23 successful the affluent SoHo vicinity successful Manhattan, according to the New York Police Department. Bloodied and not wearing shoes, the antheral past recovered an NYPD postulation agent, who alerted police, according to the Manhattan territory attorney's office.
Two cryptocurrency investors, 37-year-old John Woeltz and 33-year-old William Duplessie, person been charged with kidnapping, battle and unlawful imprisonment successful the case. They're being held without bail, and their attorneys didn't respond to requests for remark from CBS News.
John Woeltz, 37, appears for arraignment successful Manhattan Criminal Court aft helium was arrested for allegedly holding an Italian tourer hostage successful an evident strategy to bargain the man's cryptocurrency luck successful New York City, May 24, 2025.
Curtis Means/Pool via Reuters
When investigators went done the SoHo municipality location wherever the antheral said helium was held, they recovered a saw, ace cocaine, chickenhearted wire, assemblage armor, night-vision goggles, pictures of the antheral with a weapon pointed to his caput and ammunition, according to prosecutors.
Woeltz, who is primitively from Kentucky, was arrested erstwhile constabulary went to the municipality house. Prosecutors said the ample location has 8 bedrooms and that Woeltz had the means to fly the jurisdiction if granted bail, with entree to a backstage pitchy and a helicopter.
Duplessie turned himself successful to constabulary connected May 27, the NYPD said. His lawyer said successful tribunal that Duplessie's engagement successful the lawsuit is hotly disputed and helium decided to crook himself successful erstwhile helium recovered retired astir Woeltz's arrest, CBS News New York reported.
William Duplessie appears successful Manhattan Criminal Court for his alleged engagement successful a cryptocurrency kidnapping, successful New York City, May 30, 2025.
Jefferson Siegel/Pool via Reuters
The Italian antheral arrived astatine the municipality location connected May 6, according to prosecutors. The suspects are accused of antecedently threatening to person the man's household killed unless helium paid them successful bitcoin, and the suspects allegedly lured him to New York with an connection to instrumentality the bitcoin to him successful person, prosecutors said.
The suspects past allegedly held the antheral captive for implicit 2 weeks arsenic they tried to get him to springiness up the password for his bitcoin wallet.
During that time, the suspects are accused of shocking the antheral with electrical wires, hitting him connected the caput with a weapon and pointing a weapon astatine his caput respective times, prosecutors said. An AirTag tracking instrumentality was tied astir the man's neck, and the suspects allegedly told him they would find him if helium near the house.
Prosecutors besides said the suspects allegedly hanged the antheral implicit the ledge of the gathering and threatened to termination him if helium didn't springiness up his password. The suspects besides allegedly threatened to person the man's household killed if helium didn't springiness them what they wanted, prosecutors said.
The antheral told authorities the suspects chopped his limb with a saw, forced him to fume ace cocaine and urinated connected him during his captivity, according to prosecutors.
"To beryllium tortured for 17 days successful presumption of a concatenation saw cutting your leg, successful presumption of putting your feet successful h2o and electrocuting him, successful presumption of making the idiosyncratic ingest narcotics, horrible crime," NYPD Chief of Department John Chell, the constabulary department's highest-ranking uniformed member, told CBS News New York.
The Manhattan municipality location wherever an Italian antheral was allegedly tortured for weeks successful an effort to summation entree to his bitcoin wallet is seen successful New York City, May 29, 2025.
Reuters/David "Dee" Delgado
The antheral escaped aft telling Woeltz helium would springiness him the password, but it was connected his laptop, prosecutors said. When Woeltz went to get the laptop, the antheral went downstairs and bolted from the house.
Police sources told CBS News New York that 2 NYPD detectives did backstage information work for the suspects, but determination isn't immoderate denotation that the detectives knew astir the alleged kidnapping. One of the detectives picked up the Italian antheral astatine an airdrome and brought him to the SoHo municipality house, 2 sources told CBS News New York.
The detectives were placed connected table work May 28 and had their guns and badges taken from them pending an interior affairs probe into the off-duty work, which the NYPD said wasn't authorized.
One of the detectives was assigned to the information item for New York City Mayor Eric Adams.
"Every metropolis worker is expected to travel the law, including our officers, some connected and disconnected duty," Kayla Mamelak Altus, Adams' property secretary, said successful a statement. "We are disturbed by these allegations, and arsenic soon arsenic it came to our attention, the officers were placed connected modified duty."
John Doyle contributed to this report.
Alex Sundby is simply a elder exertion astatine CBSNews.com. In summation to editing content, Alex besides covers breaking news, penning astir transgression and terrible upwind arsenic good arsenic everything from multistate lottery jackpots to the July Fourth blistery canine eating contest.
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