According to officials, law enforcement sources with direct knowledge of the case, and a criminal complaint, a man was detained on Friday after allegedly kidnapping an Italian tourist and torturing him for weeks inside a Manhattan residence in an attempt to take the claimed victim’s Bitcoin.
The victim managed to flee the house and seek assistance on Friday morning. According to court documents, John Woeltz, 37, was arrested that same day and was arraigned on Saturday on one count each of unlawful imprisonment, second-degree assault, kidnapping, and criminal possession of a firearm.
According to law enforcement officials familiar with the case, Woeltz and the visitor had been doing business together for years, along with a third party. The third business partner has not yet been named, and police are still looking for him.
The sources claimed that although Woeltz and the other individual had previously engaged in violent behavior with the victim, it had never reached this level. The three had a complicated connection, they added, and it seems the victim was frequently teased by the two men.
On Saturday, Woeltz’s lawyer declined to comment. At the arraignment on Saturday, a judge granted a request to hold Woeltz. He will appear in court on Wednesday.
For 17 days, an Italian guy was allegedly detained and mistreated
On May 6, the 28-year-old tourist, who was traveling from Italy, met his accused abductor, according to law enforcement authorities. They claimed that Woeltz then showed the younger man a house in the Manhattan neighborhood of Nolita that he was renting.
Woeltz and an unnamed “unapprehended male” abducted the victim, stole his passport and devices, and tormented him until he was able to flee weeks later, according to a criminal complaint.
The lawsuit said that over the period of weeks, the two beat the tourist, shocked him with electric wires, and struck him in the head with a revolver in an attempt to obtain the password to his Bitcoin account so they could take the virtual currency.
In addition to threatening to have his family killed, the complaint claimed that Woeltz and the other man repeatedly pointed a gun at the victim’s head, dangled him over the ledge of the top flight of stairs in the house, and threatened to kill him if he did not divulge his password.
According to the complaint, the tourist reportedly told authorities that the men chained and knotted his wrists to keep him from moving.
In order to prevent the victim from escaping, the men placed an Apple AirTag around his neck and peed on him, says law enforcement sources.
The 28-year-old encountered a traffic cop during his getaway, who then phoned the Prince Street residence’s police. According to authorities, he told the agent that he had been taken and detained without his will and that he had been beaten regularly while in captivity.
According to authorities, the accused victim was sent to a hospital in stable condition. He was covered in scratches and bruises and had markings on his shackled wrists when he approached cops on Friday.
Evidence discovered at the suspect’s residence in Manhattan
As stated by law authorities, Woeltz is a well-known cryptocurrency trader from Kentucky with an estimated net worth of $100 million. According to them, the victim is worth an estimated $30 million.
According to the sources, Woeltz had been charging between $30,000 and $40,000 a month to rent out the Prince Street home. The house was recently rented for $75,000 in March, according to an internet listing.
The six-story home had stripper poles in the basement and containers of booze throughout, says law enforcement sources.
Multiple Polaroid photos of the victim being restrained and subjected to torture at home were discovered by officers, according to those individuals. Additionally, investigators reportedly found a number of torture artifacts.
Investigators discovered what they believe to be the same gun used to torture the victim inside the house on Saturday, according to law enforcement sources.
Details of the arrest stunned the neighbor
Jennifer Crawford witnessed Woeltz’s arrest and lives across the street from the scene of Friday morning’s events.
I heard everyone shouting as the SWAT officers exited the vehicle, shields and all, and entered the building. They were just beginning to rope off the area. They appeared to be quite panicked,” she told NBC News.
She claimed that when she began to learn more about the accusations, she was astounded.
She remarked, “I just stood and froze.” In New York, a lot does happen. I’ve seen a lot, as you may guess, but this is the most strange thing I’ve seen in this area in thirty years. That’s simply beyond your ability to explain or even comprehend, I mean.
Crawford claimed that she was unable to comprehend why someone so wealthy would do such a crime.
She declared that “all that money in the world did nothing and it’s not going to help him.” “You know, it just doesn’t make sense.”
The Manhattan townhouse was visited by hundreds of people on Saturday, some of whom whispered about the case’s specifics. Some even snapped selfies in front of the house beside the police tape-covered iron fence.
Investigators and police officers were in and out of the property on Saturday. A number of them stood watch in front of the house and advised anyone who happened to be passing by to Google the address of the residence in order to find out more.
