Crypto bro in horrific NYC kidnap, torture case sprung on whopping $1 million bond
John Woeltz, 37, was released from Rikers Island just a week after a Manhattan judge granted the accused madman and his accomplice, William Duplessie, 33, bail in the shocking alleged kidnapping and torture of Italian crypto trader Michael Valentino Teofrasto Carturan.
Woeltz had been holed up in the city's jail since his arrest on May 23 after prosecutors alleged he tortured Carturan for his Bitcoin password, including lighting him on fire and cutting him with a chainsaw.
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3 John Woeltz (right) was released from Rikers Island after a Manhattan judge granted him and his accomplice, William Duplessie (left), bail in the alleged kidnapping and torture of Italian crypto trader Michael Valentino Teofrasto Carturan.
Steven Hirsch
Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Gregory Carro granted the seven-figure bail package on July 23 after attorneys for the crypto bros argued that the so-called torture was akin to 'fraternity-like hazing.'
The judge agreed to spring the pair free — with the stipulation they couldn't pay in cryptocurrency.
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Woeltz's bond was secured by celebrity bondsman Ira Judelson, who was sworn in shortly before a Thursday court hearing.
3 Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Gregory Carro granted the seven-figure bail package on July 23.
During the hearing, Woeltz, who appeared in a tan prison jumpsuit, was released to home confinement and placed on electronic monitoring.
The judge warned him that the monitoring bracelet must remain charged while he's out of jail.
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'If it happens, you're not going to be on electronic monitoring anymore,' Carro said.
3 Duplessie was not released on Thursday. His next court date is scheduled for October.
James Keivom
The hard-partying duo allegedly tortured Carturan, who has since returned to Italy, at a swanky SoHo townhouse in order to hijack his Bitcoin password worth $100 million, according to law-enforcement sources.
Woeltz, a Kentucky-based cryptocurrency investor, allegedly threatened the 28-year-old victim's family in Italy — while subjecting him to humiliation by having people urinate on him and forcing him to take drugs during captivity, authorities said.
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But Woeltz's attorney, Wayne Gosnell, waved off the alleged torture tactics — some of which were captured on video and photo — as a 'long running frat party.'
'Mr. Carturan was there in the role of a pledge. He was essentially pledging and being hazed,' Gosnell said at a previous hearing.
Duplessie, of Miami, Fla., was not released Thursday.
His next court date is scheduled for October 15.
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