2 NYPD officers on leave over ties with accused kidnappers of Italian tourist: sources
NEW YORK (PIX11) – Two NYPD officers have been placed on administrative leave due to their alleged connections to the men accused of kidnapping and torturing an Italian tourist in a cryptocurrency scheme, sources said.
Sources told PIX11 News on Thursday that the two officers were moonlighting as security for one or both of the suspects.
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William Duplessie, 33, and John Woeltz, 37, allegedly kidnapped and tortured a 28-year-old cryptocurrency millionaire who escaped from an apartment near Prince and Mulberry streets in SoHo.
Officials say the suspects wanted the password to the tourist's Bitcoin account. Duplessie and Woeltz allegedly bound and beat the victim several times, including hitting him in the head with a gun and using electric wires to shock him for three weeks in the apartment. They also used a saw to cut the man's leg, urinated on him, and forced him to smoke crack cocaine by holding him down or forcing a pipe into his mouth, according to court documents.
The tourist told the defendants he would give them access to the account and ran out of the apartment when Woeltz went to get the victim's laptop, officials said.
One officer allegedly acted as the victim's driver when he landed from an area airport. He then took the victim to the SoHo apartment, where he was tortured for weeks, sources said.
Another officer was also on the payroll and was being paid for services, according to sources.
One officer is said to be assigned to the NYPD's Elite Executive Protection Unit, which protects the mayor. Their names have not been released.
The situation is under review by internal affairs, sources said.
This story comprises reporting from PIX11 News reporter Mira Wassef.
Matthew Euzarraga is a multimedia journalist from El Paso, Texas. He has covered local news and LGBTQIA topics in the New York City Metro area since 2021. He joined the PIX11 Digital team in 2023. You can see more of his work here.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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