NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — A crypto entrepreneur was pulled from a Nolita townhouse in handcuffs after an Italian man alerted authorities Friday morning that he had just escaped the residence where he endured weeks of torture, police and sources said.
The 28-year-old victim ran up to a traffic agent on a Manhattan street at about 10 a.m. and said that he had been held in the suspect’s high-end rental for two weeks, with the man taking his passport, tying him up and torturing him with multiple items. The traffic agent quickly alerted NYPD officers of the situation, authorities said.
Officials said that the men knew each other and had done business together. The victim told cops that he went to the suspect’s home at 38 Prince St. on May 6 and was then held against his will.
Police responded to the townhouse—an 8 bedroom, 10 bathroom home being rented by the suspect for $30,000 to $40,000 a month. Officers escorted the suspect out of the building, bringing him into custody. He was wearing just a white bathrobe and handcuffs, witnesses told 1010 WINS.
Sources said that multiple Polaroid pictures of the victim being tied up and tortured were recovered, along with a gun and several torture items.
The victim was transported to NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue in stable condition for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries.
The suspect was identified to 1010 WINS by sources as 37-year-old John Woeltz, and he is currently being questioned at the NYPD's 5th Precinct.
Woeltz is in custody with charges pending the execution of a search warrant later tonight. The charges he is facing were not immediately clear.
Sources said that a butler who worked in the home is also being questioned.