Accused NYC crypto kidnappers had 2 NYPD detectives working as security, police sources say
Two New York City police detectives had been working security for the cryptocurrency investors who police say kidnapped a man and held him captive in SoHo, police sources tell CBS News New York.
Those two detectives have now been placed on desk duty as the police department investigates.
Detectives weren't authorized to work as security, NYPD says
It's not unusual for police to work security in their off hours -- it's called moonlighting. But NYPD personnel must get authorization from the department to do so, and police say the two detectives in question did not. They have since been stripped of their guns and badges as the Internal Affairs Bureau investigates.
"It sounds like they just circumvented the process. Perhaps they were tempted by the allure of the salary, right? Salary comes into play," said Michael Alcazar, a retired NYPD detective and current professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. "The money is just probably worth the squeeze and the money is just wanna take a chance, take a gamble because they don't feel it's going to get approved and the money is just too great to turn down.
"If you're working off duty without authorization, you could be suspended. You could even be terminated as a police officer," Alcazar added.
One of the detectives was assigned within the NYPD to Mayor Eric Adams' security detail. Adams, fresh off the heels of a cryptocurrency summit in Las Vegas, said NYPD intel determines who is assigned to his detail. He isn't privy to what officers do outside of work, but added the allegations are being investigated.
"I have security personnel and we don't know what they do in their private lives. It has nothing to do with their professional capacity to make sure that I'm safe while I move around the city," Adams said.
Police have not said when or where either detective worked for the investors and there is nothing to suggest they were in on the kidnapping scheme.
Two sources say one of the detectives picked up the victim, an Italian tourist, from the airport on May 6 and brought him to the home in SoHo. Right now, there is no indication that either detective knew of or were involved in the alleged criminality that happened inside.
Man from Italy allegedly kidnapped, tortured for 17 days
Prosecutors say John Woeltz and William Duplessie held the man captive for 17 days inside the home as they tried to get the password to his Bitcoin wallet.
Investigators say the victim was shocked with electric wires, cut on the leg with a saw, and forced to smoke crack cocaine.
An attorney for Woeltz declined to answer questions from reporters after a judge denied his client bail on Thursday morning. The NYPD is still looking into what, if anything, these detectives knew or witnessed about the alleged crimes.
The mayor's office sent CBS News New York a statement on Thursday, saying, "Every city employee is expected to follow the law, including our officers, both on and off duty. We are disturbed by these allegations, and as soon as it came to our attention, the officers were placed on modified duty. The investigation is ongoing."
