He was tortured and kidnapped for weeks in a luxury apartment in New York . Tied to a chair, forced to take drugs and threatened with a chainsaw, the Italian tourist Michael Valentino Teofrasto Carturan then managed to escape from the "house of horrors" and raise the alarm. His attacker has now been arrested along with a woman of Italian origins, identified as his accomplice. But there is also another person involved in the kidnapping, a man currently still at liberty.
The 28-year-old Italian - originally from Rivoli , in the Turin area - had arrived in New York on May 6 to meet John Woeltz, a cryptocurrency trader with whom he had previously done some business but had then had some disagreements that had pushed him to return to Italy. Woetlz had convinced him to return. Once he arrived in the Big Apple, Michael Valentino Teofrasto Carturan went to the trader's home, a super-luxury home between Prince Street and Mulberry Street with a rent of $30,000-40,000 a month. Shortly after his arrival, the Italian's passport and cell phone were taken away. His kidnapping had then officially begun. His captivity lasted weeks, until May 23, amid threats and torture - including the threat to kill his family - with the aim of extorting the passwords to his crypto accounts. Authorities believe that the Italian tourist fell victim to a trap : Woeltz presented himself as an expert in digital investments despite not having any license to operate, and had established contacts with several young Europeans active in the blockchain sector. Among them was Michael Valentino Teofrasto Carturan.
Investigators are looking into similar crimes to see if there are any links. During the weeks of torture, the Italian tourist was tied to a chair with an electric wire, tasered while his feet were in water, threatened with a chainsaw and psychologically abused . He was “beaten using electric wires to shock him, used a firearm to hit him in the head and hung upside down” from the top floor of the stairs, prosecutors said in court. An Apple Airtag was placed on him to closely monitor his movements. Despite this, the boy eventually managed to free himself and escape. Once free, he stopped a traffic officer and raised the alarm. The police immediately went to the apartment and arrested Woeltz, who was seen in a bathrobe and handcuffs as he was being carried out by the officers. Torture instruments were found in the house, as well as photos taken with a Polaroid in which Michael Valentino Teofrasto Carturan is immortalized tied to a chair with a gun pointed at his head. Along with Woeltz, who was not granted bail, Beatrice Folchi, originally from Latina, was also arrested, who allegedly played a role in luring the 28-year-old Italian and in the initial stages of the kidnapping. Woeltz is accused of kidnapping.
