Suspects in New York City crypto torture case plead not guilty to kidnapping and assault
Two men accused of torturing an Italian businessman in a luxe New York City townhouse to obtain his cryptocurrency have pleaded not guilty to charges of kidnapping, assault and coercion as prosecutors said there are other possible victims and even shared a photo that allegedly depicted the victim on fire.
John Woeltz and William Duplessie, both handcuffed and in jumpsuits, were arraigned in a Manhattan courtroom Wednesday after a grand jury indicted them on a dozen charges.
Judge Gregory Carro ordered them to remain held without bail through their next court appearance on July 15.
A prosecutor, Sarah Kahn, shared graphic details of the alleged abuse during the hearing. She showed the judge a photo that she said depicted the alleged victim on fire and said the defendants would pour tequila on him, light him on fire and then put the fire out -- sometimes by urinating on him.
Woeltz and Duplessie pistol-whipped the victim with a gun, cut him with a small chainsaw and used various other instruments as part of the torture, Kahn said.
She said prosecutors have had conversations with other, unnamed law enforcement agencies that indicated Woeltz and Duplessie have tortured people before. She did not elaborate.
The defense pushed back, saying there is video of the alleged victim "having the time of his life" and engaging in activity at odds with having been tortured.
The defense attorneys said they obtained a different video from an eyeglass store taken 36 hours before the alleged victim left the townhouse that purportedly shows him smoking a cigarette by himself on the street.
"The story that he is selling just doesn't make sense," defense attorney Sam Talkin, who represents Duplessie, told the judge.
Prosecutors have not seen the video and Kahn said, "Victims of abuse are not always going to act in a way that we expect people to do."
Woeltz and Duplessie were arrested last month. The indictment, which was unsealed on Wednesday, alleges they held the man against his will "with intent to terrorize him" and assaulted him with a chainsaw, pistol and cattle prod.
Their attorneys have previously declined to comment on the case.
Prosecutors have said Woeltz and Duplessie lured the alleged victim -- a 28-year-old man who is not identified in the indictment -- to New York by allegedly threatening to have his family killed.
The man told police he arrived in New York on May 6 and went to Woeltz's eight-bedroom SoHo townhouse, where he was allegedly tortured over his Bitcoin password, according to a complaint.
After more than two weeks, police said the man escaped from the townhouse on May 23 and ran to a traffic enforcement officer for help. Woeltz and Duplessie were subsequently arrested on charges including kidnapping, assault and unlawful imprisonment.
