A second suspect in the alleged kidnapping and torture of an Italian bitcoin investor in New York surrendered

Police on Friday arrested John Woeltz, 37, of Kentucky, on suspicion of brazenly kidnapping and torturing an Italian cryptocurrency entrepreneur

A second suspect in the alleged kidnapping and torture of an Italian bitcoin investor in New

York has surrendered to police, authorities said Tuesday.

Police on Friday arrested John Woeltz, 37, on suspicion of brazenly kidnapping and

torturing an Italian cryptocurrency entrepreneur for weeks in a luxury Manhattan

townhouse in order to extort his bitcoin password.

New York City Police Chief Jessica Tisch said on Fox 5 that the second suspect in the

case, William Duplessie, had also been taken into custody.

"We do have someone that we were looking for, Mr Duplessie, in custody. As of this

morning, 7:45, he turned himself in at our 13th precinct," Tisch said.

"We know he is going to be charged with Mr Woeltz with kidnapping and false

imprisonment of an associate in Soho," she added.

Duplessie, who according to US media is 33 and comes from Miami, Florida,

surrendered to police clad in black pants and a white shirt, photos from the scene

showed.

The name of the alleged victim has not been published, but US media reports

identified him as Italian bitcoin entrepreneur Michael Valentino Teofrasto Carturan.

According to reports, Carturan arrived in New York from Italy on May 6 and checked

into the Manhattan townhouse with Woeltz, who is a new-age spiritual healer and

macrobiotic chef.

There, Woeltz, described by the New York Post as "Kentucky's crypto boss," and

Duplessie confiscated the victim's electronic devices and passport, and demanded

access to his bitcoin accounts, according to police.

After the victim refused, the two men tortured him for two weeks, tying his wrists,

hitting him with a rifle, putting a gun to his face, threatening to throw him off

the roof of the five-story building and promising to kill his family members, media

reports said.

Several details of the story remain murky, including exactly why the victim had

agreed to come to the townhouse in an upscale SoHo neighborhood, and whether he

revealed anything of use to the kidnappers.