Investigators say a Queens man was kidnapped off the street and held captive for over a month in a warehouse while his captors allegedly subjected him to vicious beatings, burned him with acid, threatened to cut off his fingers, and demanded $3 million in ransom.
According to a release [PDF] from the Queens DA's office, 52-year-old Pedro Portugal was approached on April 18th in Jackson Heights by a man who brandished what appeared to be a NYPD badge, and quickly threw Portugal into an SUV, while two other men put a mask over his head, held a knife to his stomach and began punching him in the face.
Investigators say Portugal, who owns an accounting business and has family in Ecuador, was taken to a warehouse in Long Island City, where his hands and feet were bound to a chair and his hand was burned with acid. His captors allegedly told him to call his mother in Ecuador and ask for $3 million in ransom.
Police say that Portugal had some of his teeth knocked out, and suffered "multiple bruises, swelling and substantial pain to his face and body."
Investigators tracked the kidnappers' calls from Ecuador, which led them to the warehouse. Portugal was finally rescued on Monday after detectives from the NYPD's Major Case Squad, posing as building inspectors, entered the warehouse and "observed Mr. Portugal with his hands bound with cloth and duct tape."
Dennis Alves, 32, along with 35-year-old Christian Acuna and 38-year-old Eduardo Moncayo are charged with first and second-degree kidnapping and first-degree unlawful imprisonment. They face 25 years to life if convicted.
It's unclear why the men chose Portugal, who according to the Times is a married father of six, for the kidnapping, as he's not especially wealthy.
Alves allegedly told investigators in an interview, "I didn’t treat [Portugal] bad, I told him it was just business.” Indeed, on Portugal's birthday, his captives allegedly bought him cake.
