A Kentucky-based crypto investor has been arrested 🛑 after allegedly kidnapping and torturing an Italian tourist 🇮🇹 for weeks in a luxury Manhattan apartment 🏙️—all in an effort to gain access to his crypto passwords 💰.

The suspect, John Woeltz, 37, is accused of holding the 28-year-old victim captive 🪤 and subjecting him to brutal physical and psychological abuse, including torture with a chainsaw 🪚. The ordeal ended when the victim escaped 🏃‍♂️ and alerted authorities at a nearby police station 🚓.

🧾 Disturbing Discovery at Luxury Apartment

Police rushed to the high-end Prince Street residence 💸—rented for $30K to $40K/month—where they discovered bloody scenes 🩸, electric cords 🔌, and shocking images 📸 showing the victim tied up and terrorized with a gun 🔫 pointed at his head.

The victim claims he was:

  1. Bound with electric cords 🪢

  2. Tased while standing in water ⚡💧

  3. Whipped with a pistol 🔫

  4. Forced to use cocaine 💊

  5. Threatened with limb amputation via chainsaw 🪚

Authorities believe the motive was a crypto extortion attempt worth millions 🪙.

📅 The incident allegedly began on May 6, shortly after the tourist arrived from Italy to meet Woeltz, whom he had known through previous dealings. Instead of a meeting, he was kidnapped and held in what police are calling a “torture chamber” 🧷.

Inside, police found:

  1. Broken glass 🧩

  2. Night vision goggles 👓

  3. Bulletproof vest 🛡️

  4. Loaded weapon 🔫

  5. Blood on the floor 🩸

📸 Disturbing polaroids of the victim were allegedly taken to extort money either from him or his family abroad 🇮🇹.

🏥 The victim was rushed to Bellevue Hospital and is recovering.

👮 Multiple Arrests Made – More Suspects Sought

John Woeltz has been charged with:

  • First-degree kidnapping 🚔

  • First-degree unlawful imprisonment 🧷

  • Two counts of second-degree assault 🩹

  • Criminal possession of a weapon 🔫

A second suspect, Beatrice Folchi, 24, was also arrested in Manhattan 🗽 and charged with first-degree kidnapping and unlawful imprisonment.

🚨 Two other individuals believed to have worked with Woeltz are still under investigation. The victim had an Apple AirTag 📍 placed on him to prevent escape. He managed to flee last Friday—believing it was the day he’d be killed.

😱 Community in Shock

Eyewitnesses described Woeltz being arrested in a robe 🛁 and handcuffed by police 🚓. “This is definitely the strangest thing I’ve seen here,” one resident said. Another vendor claimed they had a "weird vibe" from the "crypto guys" 🧍‍♂️🧍‍♂️ in the building.

👮‍♂️ Authorities have pledged to locate and charge all parties involved and ensure no other victims remain in danger.

#TrumpTariffs #security