Latest news with #kidnapping
CBS News
3 hours ago
- General
- CBS News
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer says Trump told her he would not pardon men convicted in kidnapping plot
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer says President Donald Trump would be going back on his word to her if he pardoned two men who are serving prison sentences for leading a 2020 plot to kidnap her. Whitmer, a Democrat, told Michigan Public Radio on Thursday that Trump asked her about a month ago how she would feel if he pardoned the two men. "I said, 'I think it would be the wrong decision,'" Whitmer recounted. "I would oppose it and he said, 'OK, I'll drop it.'" Whitmer, a possible 2028 presidential candidate, recounted the conversation one day after Trump said he was considering a pardon for the men, saying, "I will take a look at it. It's been brought to my attention." The Republican president said he followed the men's trial and "it looked to me like somewhat of a railroad job." He said the men "were drinking and I think they said stupid things." The Justice Department's new pardon attorney Ed Martin said earlier this month he will take a "hard look" at the Whitmer kidnapping case. Two of the six defendants — Barry Croft and Adam Fox — were found guilty at trial after a hung jury at an initial trial. Two others pleaded guilty and were also sentenced to prison terms, and two were acquitted at trial. Croft was sentenced to nearly 20 years in prison, while Fox, a Grand Rapids man, got a 16-year term. They are being held at a prison in Colorado — the most secure in the federal system. Whitmer later told an audience following a speech at the Detroit Regional Chamber Mackinac Policy Conference that she plans to talk to Trump again about the pardoning matter. "We have an ongoing dialogue now ... very different from the first term," she said about Trump and turned to smile at the audience. A spokesperson said the White House cannot confirm nor deny any upcoming actions. "The White House does not comment on the President's private meetings, and any speculation about future pardons is just that—speculation," principal deputy press secretary Harrison Fields said in a statement. Whitmer and Trump clashed publicly during his first term, with Trump referring to her as " that woman from Michigan." She has blamed Trump for the political anger that motivated the plot to kidnap her right before the 2020 presidential election. Whitmer also hinted Thursday at anger over the possibility of pardons, saying she was disappointed to hear the news he was considering it. "No one should hesitate to condemn political violence," she said, noting the arson attack on Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro's residence and the assassination attempt on Donald Trump last year. Several other people were convicted in state court of links to the plot against Whitmer, often raising similar entrapment defenses. Mr. Trump is not able to pardon people on state charges. Whitmer has faced scrutiny from some Democrats for taking a more collaborative approach to the Trump administration in his second term. Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, a Democrat who has criticized Whitmer for working with and appearing with Trump, said releasing the convicted men is "no laughing matter." "The reward you get for cozying up to Trump is him threatening to pardon the terrorists who plotted to kidnap and murder you," she said on social media. Whitmer's collaboration with Trump has come with several awkward moments for her this year, including when she was unexpectedly in the Oval Office during a press conference as Trump ordered the Justice Department to investigate two former members of his previous administration who had publicly criticized him. Their new dynamic also led to some wins for her administration, including securing new jets at Selfridge Air National Guard Base in Macomb County and a commitment from Trump to fund a project to protect Lake Michigan from invasive carp. contributed to this report.
The Herald
6 hours ago
- General
- The Herald
Sedibeng mayor facing suspension found unharmed after alleged hijacking and kidnapping
Sedibeng mayor Lerato Maloka and her driver were found unharmed after they were allegedly hijacked and kidnapped from Alberton on the East Rand on Friday. Gauteng police spokesperson Brig Brenda Muridili said the owner of a house Maloka and her driver were leaving from reported the hijacking. 'Preliminary reports suggest the owner of the house reported the matter to an individual who then informed the mayor's husband. The husband went to report the matter at Dawn Park police station.' A broadcast was issued for her vehicle. 'The vehicle was recovered at about midnight in Dawn Park by Katlehong police. A few hours later at about 2am, the mayor and the driver were found unharmed and reunited with their families.' Muridili said statements would be taken from the victims and police were looking for the suspects. The incident comes as Maloka faced a disciplinary investigation into alleged misconduct this week. DA Sedibeng caucus leader Cllr Sibusiso Dyonase said in a statement on Thursday the council had resolved to write to Gauteng MEC for co-operative governance and traditional affairs Jacob Mamabolo calling for Maloka's immediate suspension. ' Maloka has long been a problematic figure, today's resolution centres around her and other municipal officials' misdeeds in wasting more than R500,000 on a trip to Germany. Prominently, her role in the destruction of the mayoral vehicle featured as part of today's proceedings. Sugar was found in the engine of the car after the council forced her to use the R490,000 vehicle.' Dyonase said Maloka had called for a full investigation into maladministration in her administration while claiming she was the target of a smear campaign. TimesLIVE
News24
11 hours ago
- Politics
- News24
Sedibeng mayor and driver found unharmed after alleged hijacking, kidnapping
Sedibeng mayor Lerato Maloka and her driver were found unharmed after they were allegedly hijacked and kidnapped in Alberton, on the East Rand, on Friday, police said. Gauteng police spokesperson Brigadier Brenda Muridili said Maloka and her driver were allegedly kidnapped after leaving a house in Alberton. 'Preliminary reports suggest that the owner of the house reported the matter to an individual, who then informed the mayor's husband,' Muridili said. Muridili said police were informed at around 02:00 on Saturday that Maloka and her driver were found unharmed and reunited with their families. This is a developing story.
Yahoo
13 hours ago
- General
- Yahoo
Trial date announced for man on rape, kidnapping charges
ST. LOUIS – A trial date has been set for Yaha Maly, who is accused of multiple crimes, including rape, sodomy and kidnapping in Ballwin. Maly, 28, has been jailed since mid-February on 19 counts related to these charges. The trial is scheduled to begin on April 6 of next year. Maly has previously lived in several cities across the United States, including Chicago, Richmond, Tucson and Minneapolis. Officials, however, fear there could be other victims. All facts in this report were gathered by journalists employed by KTVI. Artificial intelligence tools were used to reformat from a broadcast script into a news article for our website. This report was edited and fact-checked by KTVI staff before being published. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Malay Mail
13 hours ago
- Business
- Malay Mail
‘Crypto king of Kentucky' among suspects charged with kidnapping, torture of Italian trader in New York bitcoin theft plot
NEW YORK, May 31 — The latest crime thriller gripping New York is the alleged kidnapping of a wealthy Italian man whose captors attempted to torture the crypto millionaire into giving up his bitcoin password. It began amid the backdrop of wild parties, immortalised in pop culture through films like The Wolf of Wall Street, in a posh Manhattan nightclub where the nouveau riche and flashy Wall Street bros congregate. It ended on the morning of May 23, when a man ran to a police officer near Mulberry and Prince streets in the Soho district of Manhattan. The barefoot man claimed he had just escaped a luxurious apartment where he was held captive for 17 days after entering the United States. Police arrived at the scene and arrested John Woeltz, 37, dubbed 'the crypto king of Kentucky' by tabloids, who is facing charges of kidnapping, criminal possession of weapons, assault and unlawful imprisonment. Woeltz's 24-year-old assistant was also detained but does not face the same charges. A second man, William Duplessie, 33, who is the founder of the startup Pangea Blockchain International, turned himself in on Tuesday and was charged similarly to Woeltz. Duplessie, who originally hails from Miami, appeared in court yesterday wearing a jail uniform. William Duplessie, who faces charges in connection with the alleged torture of Italian crypto millionaire Michael Valentino Teofrasto Carturan, attends his hearing at Manhattan Criminal Court in New York City on May 30, 2025. — Curtis Means/Pool/AFP pic Philosophy degree According to details reported by local media, the presumed victim is Italian cryptocurrency entrepreneur Michael Valentino Teofrasto Carturan, who visited John Woeltz's rented home — which goes for US$30,000 (RM144,918) a month — upon arriving from Italy on May 6. Once there, Woeltz and Duplessie confiscated his electronic devices and passport, and demanded the access code to his bitcoin assets, police said. After his refusal, the two men allegedly tortured Carturan, striking him with a rifle, pointing the weapon in his face and taking him to the building's fifth floor, where they threatened to throw him out the window, local media reported. 'He's a 37-year-old man with no prior criminal record. He's a college graduate with a degree in philosophy. He has been very successful in the technology world,' Woeltz's lawyer Wayne Ervin Gosnell said during a court hearing Thursday. The defence requested Woeltz's conditional release in the state of New York in exchange for a US$2 million bond. Gosnell also noted that it has been said Woeltz 'owns a private jet, he owns a helicopter. That is not true.' A view shows the Manhattan town house where William Duplessie and John Woeltz allegedly tortured an Italian man for weeks in an attempt to gain access to his cryptocurrency wallet, in New York City May 29, 2025. — Reuters pic Lavish lifestyle Though Woeltz has neither a jet nor a helicopter, he leads an exceedingly lavish lifestyle, according to the New York Post and TMZ, which published racy images of the suspects partying at The Box, a New York nightclub. The Post also mentioned frequent parties at the Soho apartment that is the scene of the alleged kidnapping. In recent months, cases of kidnappings or attempted abductions in the cryptocurrency world have multiplied globally as bitcoin, the most capitalised cryptocurrency, has grown to historical peaks. For Adam Healy, CEO of Station70, a firm specialising in crypto protection, these crimes are not new — he worked on a case years ago when an American traveling to Egypt was kidnapped for his crypto assets. 'I think that the frequency and the ruthlessness is increasing,' Healy said. In the last six to eight months, he has seen 'a significant uptick in those that are known to hold crypto or executives at crypto firms, things along those lines, getting targeted by a wide range of different criminals.' Healy attributed part of the uptick in crime to the rising price of bitcoin. 'It's a bigger target,' he said, and they are boosted by the ease with which massive payloads can be transferred with no oversight — as long as the crypto user can log in. 'Historically, if you wanted to kidnap something that was high net worth and they had, I don't know, ten million dollars in their JP Morgan account, it was kind of hard to get to,' Healy said. 'You couldn't just go to the bank and get a million dollars out.' — AFP
