2nd Suspect Surrenders In NYC Crypto Torture Case, Officials Say

NEW YORK CITY — A second suspect has been taken into custody in connection with the kidnap and torture of an Italian man in a New York City townhouse that lasted close to three weeks, police said.

The suspect has been identified as William Duplessie. He surrendered to police with his lawyers on Tuesday, NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch confirmed.

Duplessie is allegedly the business partner of John Woeltz, who is accused of holding a 28-year-old man captive inside his townhouse while to trying to obtain the victim's Bitcoin password.

The second suspect has been charged with assault, kidnapping, unlawful imprisonment and criminal possession of a firearm

On May 6, the victim was kidnapped and held inside the Prince Street townhouse. Woeltz and Duplessie allegedly took the victim's passport and phone, authorities said.

When the victim refused to give the men his Bitcoin password, they started to torture him. The captors allegedly pistol-whipped, had a gun held to his head, dangled him off the building and threatened his family.

After 17 days of torture, the victim managed to escape the townhouse on Friday and ran down Spring Street where he managed to get the attention of a traffic cop.

Woeltz faces kidnapping, unlawful imprisonment, assault and other charges, police said. He is believed to be a crypto -currency trader from Kentucky with an estimated worth around $100 million, according to reports.

The victim, an Italian citizen, was apparently a business partner of Woeltz and Duplessie, according to officials.