Overview

• A Manhattan grand jury returned an indictment on May 29 against 37-year-old John Woeltz for allegedly holding Michael Valentino Teofrasto Carturan captive and torturing him over his Bitcoin password.
• Prosecutors contend the Italian national was lured to a townhouse on May 6 with the promise of recovering stolen cryptocurrency and endured electrical shocks, beatings and being dangled from a staircase.
• Woeltz has been jailed since his May 23 arrest and was denied bail; he is scheduled to be arraigned on June 11, while William Duplessie surrendered on May 27 and awaits indictment.
• Searchers of the SoHo residence uncovered Polaroid photos depicting the victim’s abuse alongside a saw, chicken wire, body armor and ammunition.
• The NYPD placed two detectives, including one on Mayor Eric Adams’ security detail, on modified duty following an Internal Affairs inquiry into their off-duty security work for the suspects.