2nd suspect detained after Crypto investor accused of torturing business partner in NYC

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Italian tourist allegedly kidnapped, tortured for crypto in NYC

Fox News’ Chanley Painter reports on a crypto investor arrested in connection with an Italian tourist who claims he was kidnapped and tortured for weeks in a New York City apartment before escaping.

A second suspect was detained Tuesday in connection to the alleged torture of an Italian man inside a New York City townhouse over his refusal to disclose a Bitcoin password. 

William Duplessie surrendered this morning to a Manhattan precinct and was charged with assault, kidnapping in the first degree, unlawful imprisonment in the first degree and criminal possession of a firearm, a New York Police Department (NYPD) spokesperson told Fox News Digital. 

John Woeltz, 37, was seen handcuffed wearing a robe and barefooted outside his pad in the SoHo neighborhood of Manhattan on Friday morning shortly after his alleged victim escaped and called the police for help. 

Woeltz is facing the same charges in the case. 

A criminal complaint against Woeltz cited the alleged victim – an Italian former business partner, according to police and reports – as telling investigators that the saga began on May 6, when he arrived at an address on Prince Street. 

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John Woeltz, 37, a cryptocurrency investor, has been charged after he allegedly kidnapped an Italian tourist and tortured him for weeks, using a taser, chainsaw and other methods. (Google Maps and WNYW)

The complaint obtained by Fox News over the weekend said Woeltz, “acting in concert with an unapprehended male,” first took “all of Informant’s electronic devices and passport so that Informant was unable to access them.” 

The NYPD spokesperson told Fox News Digital on Tuesday that the “unapprehended male” is Duplessie. 

“Informant further states that the defendant and unapprehended male demanded that Informant provide the defendant with Informant’s Bitcoin password so that the defendant and unapprehended male could take Informant’s Bitcoin,” the complaint continued. 

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John Woeltz, a crypto entrepreneur and investor, is seen being escorted by police outside the NYPD’s 5th Precinct. (WNYW)

“Informant states that when Informant refused to provide the defendant and unapprehended male with his Bitcoin password, the defendant and unapprehended male, over the course of approximately three weeks, subjected Informant to beatings, including but not limited to using electric wires to shock Informant, using a firearm to hit Informant on the head causing a laceration, pointing the firearm at Informant’s head on several occasions, and carrying Informant to the top flight of stairs within the above-mentioned location and hanging Informant over the ledge as the defendant threatened to kill Informant if Informant did not provide the defendant the Informant’s Bitcoin password,” the complaint added. 

“Informant further states that the defendant and unapprehended male tied Informant’s wrists, binding Informant and preventing movement, and that the defendant and unapprehended male stated that he would have Informant’s family killed,” the complaint also said. 

The alleged victim eventually managed to escape and called a nearby traffic officer.

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Officers responded to the address around 10 a.m. Friday, and witnesses described a dramatic scene as police, SWAT teams and emergency vehicles swarmed the area, local station Fox 5 reported. 

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A 24-year-old woman was also taken into custody in connection with the case, but the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office told Fox News on Tuesday that they declined to prosecute her at this time “pending further investigation.”

Fox News Digital’s Michael Dorgan contributed to this report. 

Greg Norman is a reporter at Fox News Digital.