Second suspect implicated in the kidnapping and torture of an Italian man in Manhattan to steal his million-dollar Bitcoin wallet arrested

On Tuesday, the NYPD arrested William Duplessie, 33, who is the third person implicated in the kidnapping and torture case of Michael Valentino Teofrasto Carturan, an Italian citizen who was held for nearly three weeks in a luxury Manhattan home.

According to various reports, Duplessie, who has ties to Miami and Switzerland and is the co-founder of the Pangea Blockchain Fund investment fund, voluntarily surrendered to authorities after negotiating for several days with the Justice Department, after two other arrests related to the case were carried out last Friday.

The other two implicated are John Woeltz, a 37-year-old crypto investor, and Beatrice Folchi, 24. While Woeltz was indicted on charges of kidnapping, assault and weapons possession, Folchi was released, and her court proceedings are on hold.

Duplessie “is going to be charged, with Mr. Woeltz, with kidnapping and false imprisonment of an associate,” Police Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch told reporters.

Authorities claim that the motive for Carturan's kidnapping was the captors' attempt to steal the password to a Bitcoin wallet valued at millions of dollars.

The arrests came after Carturan managed to escape from the luxury home where he was captured, forcibly held and tortured last Friday. According to authorities, the victim, who thought he would soon be killed, played his last card to save his life: telling his captors that he was willing to give them the password to his Bitcoin wallet.

When the captors went looking for the Bitcoin wallet, Carturan managed to free himself and make his escape from the house located at 38 Prince Street in the upscale NoLIta neighborhood.

Carturan was seen in several videos, visibly upset, barefoot and asking for help from a traffic officer.

After escaping, Carturan reported to the authorities that he had been the victim of kidnapping and torture.

According to an NYPD report, Carturan and Woeltz, the first suspect arrested, had work ties in the cryptocurrency world through a crypto hedge fund in New York. However, the relationship broke down over a financial dispute. 

Carturan, who had returned to his native Italy, was convinced by Woeltz to return to New York, under the promise of a job. On May 6, he was abducted as soon as he arrived at the luxury rented home.

According to the report, after being captured and tied up, the Italian citizen suffered different methods of torture: electrical discharges with wires, beatings with guns, shocks with a Taser, and, according to the report, was placed on the fifth-floor ledge of the luxurious house under threat of being thrown.

Inside the home, which cost $75,000 a month to rent, authorities found firearms, a bulletproof vest, broken furniture and the main evidence in the case: photographs of the man being tortured.

Duplessie, the second suspect arrested, previously lived in several states across the country. He was identified as Woeltz's partner and will be prosecuted for kidnapping and false imprisonment.

For the moment, Duplessie's lawyer and the representatives of the other two involved did not make any statements.