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A man was arrested Friday after being accused of kidnapping an Italian tourist and torturing him for weeks inside a Manhattan home in a bid to steal the alleged victim’s Bitcoin, according to officials, law enforcement sources with direct knowledge of the investigation and a criminal complaint.

The victim was able to escape the home and run for help Friday morning, the law enforcement sources said. John Woeltz, 37, was taken into custody that same day and was arraigned Saturday on one count each of second-degree assault, kidnapping, unlawful imprisonment and criminal possession of a firearm, court records show.

Law enforcement sources close to the investigation said Woeltz and the tourist, along with a third person, had been in business together for years. Police are still searching for the third business partner, who has not been publicly identified.

The sources said Woeltz and the other person have allegedly gotten violent with the victim in the past, but never to this extent. They described the relationship between the three as very complex, and said it appears the victim was often picked on by the two men.

An attorney for Woeltz declined to comment Saturday. A judge granted a request to hold Woeltz in custody during Saturday’s arraignment. His next court date is Wednesday.

Italian man was allegedly held and tortured for 17 days

The tourist, a 28-year-old man visiting from Italy, met his alleged kidnapper on May 6, law enforcement sources said. That’s when, they said, Woeltz took the younger man to a home he was renting in Nolita, a neighborhood in Manhattan.

According to a criminal complaint, Woeltz and an unidentified “unapprehended male” kidnapped the victim, took his electronics and passport, and tortured him until he managed to escape weeks later.

The pair tried to get the tourist to give them the password to his Bitcoin account so they could steal the electronic currency, and when he refused, they beat him, shocked him with electric wires and hit him in the head with a gun over the course of weeks, the complaint said.

Woeltz and the other man allegedly pointed a gun at the victim’s head multiple times, dangled him over the ledge of the top flight of stairs in the home and threatened to kill him if he did not reveal his password, according to the complaint, which also alleged the pair threatened to have his family killed.

The tourist also told officials that the men tied his wrists and bound him to prevent him from moving, according to the complaint.

Law enforcement sources added that the men urinated on the victim and put an Apple AirTag around his neck to ensure he did not escape.

Upon his escape, the 28-year-old ran into a traffic agent who called police to the home on Prince Street. He told the agent he had been taken and held against his will and that he was repeatedly assaulted during his captivity, police said.

The alleged victim was taken to a hospital in stable condition, police said. When he approached officers Friday, he was covered in cuts and bruises with marks on his wrists where he was bound, law enforcement sources said.

Evidence found at suspect’s Manhattan home

Law enforcement sources said Woeltz is a prominent crypto currency trader from Kentucky, estimated to be worth around $100 million. The victim has an estimated worth of $30 million, they said.

Woeltz had reportedly been renting out the Prince Street residence at a monthly rate of between $30,000 and $40,000, the sources said. An online listing for the home says it was last rented in March for $75,000.

Law enforcement sources said there were cases of alcohol throughout the six-story residence, as well as stripper poles in the basement.

Those sources said officers turned up multiple Polaroid pictures of the victim being tied up and tortured at the home. Investigators also reportedly recovered several torture items.

Inside the residence, investigators on Saturday found a gun, believed to be the same one used to torture the victim, law enforcement sources said.

Neighbor shocked by details of arrest

Jennifer Crawford lives across the street from where the events unfolded Friday morning and saw Woeltz being arrested.

“I watched, like, the SWAT guys get out of the truck with their shields and everything and enter the building, and they were just starting to rope off the area and everyone’s yelling. It looked like they were a little bit in a panic,” she told NBC News.

She said she was shocked when she started learning more of the allegations.

“I just stood and froze,” she said. “A lot does go on here in New York. You can imagine, I’ve seen a lot, but this is the most unusual thing I’ve seen in 30 years in this neighborhood. I mean, that’s just beyond what you can even describe or imagine.”

Crawford said she couldn’t imagine the motive of someone with so much wealth committing this type of crime.

“All that money in the world didn’t do anything, it’s not going to help him,” she said. “Just doesn’t make sense, you know?”

On Saturday, hundreds of people passed by the townhome in Manhattan, some whispering about the details of the case. A few even took selfies in front of the home by the iron fence wrapped in police tape.

Police officials and investigators were in and out of the house Saturday, several standing guard in the front and recommending to those passing by to Google the home address to learn more.

A Florida man who shot dolphins attracted to baited fishing lines cast from boats he operated was sentenced to 30 days in prison and one year of supervised release.

Zackery Brandon Barfield, 31, not only shot the bottlenose dolphins but also used poisoned bait after growing frustrated that they were eating from his charter fishing clients, according to prosecutors, who said the crimes happened in 2022 and 2023.

Prosecutors and federal law enforcement with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said Barfield shot at five dolphins, killing at least one, and used poisoned bait on dozens more during outings from Panama City.

“He knew the regulations protecting dolphins, yet he killed them anyway — once in front of children,” federal environmental prosecutor Adam Gustafson said Friday in a statement.

Barfield’s attorney in the case did not immediately respond to a request for comment Saturday.

Barfield opened fire while two elementary school-aged children were on board and, separately, while more than a dozen fishermen were on board boats he operated, prosecutors said.

He used poisoned bait even more prodigiously, they said.

“Barfield fed an estimated 24–70 dolphins poison-laden baitfish on charter trips that he captained,” NOAA Fisheries said in a separate statement Friday.

NOAA Fisheries said it launched an investigation into Barfield in 2023 after one of its law enforcement agents received a tip that he was killing dolphins.

In an agreement with federal lawyers in which he pleaded guilty to two counts of illegal taking of a marine mammal and one count of federally prohibited use of a pesticide, Barfield admitted the government’s narrative of his crimes is true, court documents show.

The statement Friday from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida said Barfield was angered by dolphins dining on red snapper from his clients’ fishing lines.

NOAA Fisheries quoted the defendant as telling law enforcement he was “frustrated with dolphins ‘stealing’ his catch,’” the agency stated.

“He began placing methomyl inside baitfish to poison the dolphins that surfaced near his boat,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.

The pesticide was used on about a half-dozen outings, NOAA Fisheries alleged.

“Barfield recognized methomyl’s toxicity and impact on the environment but continued to feed poisoned baitfish to the dolphins for months,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.

Barfield used a 12-gauge Remington Wingmaster shotgun to shoot the animals, prosecutors said. The mammals are off-limits under the Marine Mammal Protection Act.

The National Marine Fisheries Service Office of Law Enforcement seized the shotgun, which will be forfeited under the plea agreement, according to court documents.

Though Magistrate Judge Michael J. Frank sentenced Barfield to 30 days for each of three counts to which he pleaded guilty, he was ordered to serve time for each concurrently, or in a single, 30-day stretch, according to NOAA Fisheries.

He was also ordered to pay a $51,000 fine.

Severe weather may put a damper on Memorial Day weekend travel plans for millions across the South, Plains and Mississippi Valley.

Around 13 million people from Texas to Alabama on Saturday are in the risk area, including Memphis, Tennessee; Denver and Colorado Springs, Colorado; Birmingham, Alabama; and Oklahoma City and Tulsa in Oklahoma. Very large hail and damaging wind are the primary expectation this weekend, though a tornado or two cannot be ruled out.

On Saturday, a cluster of thunderstorms was impacting parts of southeast Oklahoma, northeast Texas and Arkansas, where a Severe Thunderstorm Watch remains until 4 p.m. E.T. Storms in this region will be capable of producing 70 mph winds and up to 2-inch hail.

In Missouri, 1 to 3 inches of rainfall was reported as of 2 p.m., with some areas receiving over 5 inches.

Conditions have become more favorable for a few tornadoes Saturday afternoon, especially over central Oklahoma. Storms will linger into the overnight hours.

By Sunday, 15 million in the same vicinity are under the risk for severe weather. Memphis, Oklahoma City, Tulsa and Birmingham are included in that risk for very large hail, damaging wind gusts and a few tornadoes. The strongest storms are expected to target parts of the Texas Panhandle and western Oklahoma.

A Slight Risk for severe weather will remain over parts of Texas for Memorial Day, impacting nine million in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, and bringing the same risks as the preceding days.

This setup will also bring the risk for flash flooding to the region, with four million in parts of Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri and Kansas under Flood Alerts through Monday. Total rainfall accumulation will range from 4 to 6 inches with localized amounts ranging from 8 to 10 inches.

Memorial Day Forecast

Rainy weather will impact the heart of the country for the holiday on Monday, with spotty showers stretching from the Dakotas to the Gulf and Southeast. A severe storm or two is anticipated over parts of the Lone Star State.

As a result of the cloudy and wet weather, temperatures across the Plains and Mid-Atlantic on Monday will range from the 50s to 70s, about 10 to 20 degrees below average. A mix of sun and clouds will impact the Northeast, while the West stays sunny and mild.

A spike in travel was recorded by the Transportation Security Administration this weekend, with over three million travelers screened on Friday. Friday was the third busiest travel day of all time, according to the TSA.

Around three million people are expected to travel over this weekend, with airport authorities and airlines encouraging passengers to arrive to airports at least two hours in advance.

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