The suspect in the Manhattan Crypto Assets kidnapping case refuses to plead guilty, and officers are suspected to be involved in the case.

Gate News bot news, two men accused of kidnapping and torturing a 28-year-old Italian Crypto Assets investor have both pleaded not guilty, while the investigation into their case seems to have implicated officers from the New York Police Department.

Previously, the New York police arrested 33-year-old William Duplessie and 37-year-old John Woeltz, as well as a third suspect—24-year-old Beatrice Folchi, but her prosecution has been delayed. The names of the victims have not been made public.

The three are accused of kidnapping the victim and holding him in a luxury townhouse in Manhattan's affluent SoHo neighborhood for more than two weeks. During this time, the trio tortured the victim, forced him to take drugs, hung him on a windowsill, urinated on him, and subjected him to electric shocks in an attempt to force him to hand over the private keys to Bitcoin, according to NYC police.

The victim escaped last Friday, grabbed a laptop, and fled the townhouse, then sought help from a traffic officer.

According to court records, Duplessie pleaded not guilty to five charges, including kidnapping for ransom, kidnapping resulting in bodily harm, illegal possession of a loaded firearm, armed assault resulting in bodily harm, and unlawful confinement.

According to court records, Woeltz was charged with kidnapping, assault, unlawful imprisonment, and illegal possession of a firearm, and he has also pleaded not guilty.

According to Bloomberg's report on Thursday, two officers from the New York Police Department, including a detective assigned to protect Mayor Eric Adams, had worked for Duplessie and Woeltz during their off-duty hours and are now assigned to temporary duties. A source familiar with the matter stated that these two officers are believed not to have participated in the kidnapping but rather provided security services to the defendants. They may have transported the victim from the airport to a townhouse but did not inflict personal harm.

A spokesperson for the New York City Police Department stated that the matter is "under internal review."

Source: CoinDesk