NYPD probing detectives who worked security at house where man says he was tortured, AP source says

Key Points

• The NYPD has opened an internal probe into two detectives who provided security at a Manhattan townhouse where a man says he was kidnapped and tortured over his Bitcoin.
• One detective, assigned to Mayor Eric Adams’ security detail, is alleged to have driven the victim from the airport to the townhouse; both officers are now on modified leave as investigators determine if they had proper approval for outside security work.
• Crypto investors John Woeltz and William Duplessie have been charged after allegedly holding the 28-year-old victim captive for 17 days, torturing him until he handed over his computer password.
• The case raises questions about oversight of off-duty conduct by city employees just as New York positions itself as a leading cryptocurrency hub.

NEW YORK (AP) — New York City police are investigating two detectives who worked security at an upscale Manhattan townhouse where a man says he was kidnapped and tortured for weeks by two crypto investors who wanted to steal his Bitcoin, a city official said Thursday.

One of the detectives serves on Mayor Eric Adams’ security detail and is believed to have picked up the victim from a local airport and brought him to the townhouse, the official said. It’s not immediately clear if the other detective, who is a narcotics officer, has any connection to the incident.

The detectives have been placed on modified leave pending the outcome of the inquiry, according to the official, who was briefed on the case and spoke anonymously to The Associated Press because they are not authorized to discuss the internal investigation.

It is not uncommon for members of the NYPD to do private security work outside of their city jobs but they need to receive prior approval. At this point, the official said, the department is looking into whether the officers received that approval.

Adams’ office confirmed one of the detectives provides security detail for the Democrat, but said the mayor has no knowledge of what the officer does on his personal time.

“Every city employee is expected to follow the law, including our officers, both on and off duty,” the mayor’s office said in an emailed statement. “We are disturbed by these allegations.”

In response to an emailed inquiry, an NYPD spokesperson confirmed two members were placed on modified duty Wednesday.

A lawyer for the labor union representing NYPD detectives said there's “absolutely no indication” either officer witnessed any of the alleged illegal activity.

James Moschella described the officers as “outstanding public servants with distinguished careers” who were working a legitimate job driving a private client in their off-duty hours.

“There is simply no way to have predicted the true activities of what by all objective accounts were legitimate businessmen,” he said in a statement emailed Friday. “Had they actually witnessed any such activity, we are certain they would have been the first to take action to stop it. We therefore ask everyone to withhold their judgment of these members until all the facts are in.”

Crypto investors John Woeltz and William Duplessie have been charged in the case. Their lawyers have declined to comment.

Authorities allege that on May 6, the two men lured the victim, who they knew personally, to a posh townhouse in Manhattan’s Soho neighborhood by threatening to kill his family.

The man, a 28-year-old Italian national who has not been named by officials, said he was then held captive for 17 days, as the two investors tormented him with electrical wires, forced him to smoke from a crack pipe and at one point dangled him from a staircase five stories high.

He eventually agreed to hand over his computer password Friday morning, then managed to flee the home as his captors went to retrieve the device.

The investigation into the officers began, incidentally, on the same day Adams headlined a crypto convention in Las Vegas, where he described New York as the Bitcoin capital of the country.