The two NYC “crypto bros” accused of kidnapping and torturing an Italian millionaire to extract his Bitcoin password were granted $1 million bail each.
A Manhattan Supreme Court Justice handed down the decision on Wednesday for John Woeltz and William Duplessie, ordering neither can use cryptocurrency to post bail. If they have the funds, the pair will be released into home confinement with electronic monitoring and passport surrender pending trial.
Celebrity bail bondsman Ira Judelson will put together the bail packages for both men and fit them with ankle monitors.
Both men previously pleaded not guilty to charges of kidnapping, assault, unlawful imprisonment, and criminal possession of a weapon. The suspects allegedly lured Italian entrepreneur Michael Valentino Teofrasto Carturan to their rented Manhattan townhouse and kept him trapped there for over 17 days, trying to force him to cough up his Bitcoin password.
Prosecutors say the suspects drugged the victim, pistol-whipped him, and used electrical wires to shock him. The men allegedly carried him to the top of a staircase and threatened to throw him over a ledge if he didn’t give up his Bitcoin password. Eventually, Carturan caved — pointing them to a laptop where the password was stored.
TMZ.com
At the time, TMZ got exclusive video of Carturan making a break for it, sprinting after a traffic cop — just before Woeltz and Duplessie were arrested. Carturan was hospitalized and treated for injuries that prosecutors say corroborate his account.
A police search of the SoHo townhouse uncovered cocaine, a saw, chicken wire, body armor, night vision goggles, ammunition, and Polaroids showing a gun pointed at the victim’s head.
We obtained videos and photos revealing sex parties and X-rated pranks — not exactly kidnapping and torture — were going down inside the luxury townhouse.
