PANews reported on May 24th that according to The Block, the New York City Police arrested two suspects who allegedly kidnapped and tortured an Italian tourist, reportedly attempting to extort the tourist's cryptocurrency account passwords. After the Italian tourist escaped from the high-end SoHo apartment where he was held captive and alerted the police, authorities arrested 37-year-old John Woeltz and a suspected 24-year-old female accomplice. According to the New York Post, citing sources, the tourist went to the apartment on May 6th under the pretext of a business transaction, was then captured by John Woeltz, and was beaten and tortured in an attempt to extort "millions of dollars".
Reportedly, police found Polaroid photos at the scene showing the victim bound and tortured, along with weapons, chainsaws, and other tools. The victim ultimately escaped on May 23rd and contacted the police. John Woeltz has been charged with first-degree kidnapping, false imprisonment, assault, and illegal weapon possession, among other charges.
