Investigations have been opened by the New York Police Department against two detectives who worked security at a Manhattan townhouse where an Italian crypto investor was held captive and tortured for more than two weeks, according to the New York Times. The detectives, Roberto Cordero and Raymond J. Low, were placed on modified duty (i.e. restricted to desk work) on Wednesday due to the sensitivity of the investigation.
According to the Times, Cordero had previously worked on the security detail for Mayor Adams. He picked up the victim, Michael Valentino Teofrasto Carturan, at the airport on May 6th and brought him to the luxury townhouse at 38 Prince Street in the Nolita neighborhood in Manhattan. Much remains unknown about Cordero and Low’s relationship with Carturan’s alleged torturers, John Woeltz and William Duplessie, who pleaded not guilty in court earlier this week. The NYPD allows officers to work for security firms only with the Department’s approval, and it is unclear whether the detectives were working directly Woeltz and Duplessie or if they had been contracted through a firm. It is also unknown whether or not they were present when the alleged violence against Carturan took place.
According to records from the Civilian Complaint Review Board, the last time that Detective Cordero received a complaint was for use of “physical force” in 2014, for which there was no disciplinary action taken as the complainant was “unavailable.” The Times reports that he and other officers were also accused that same year of beating a man, stripping him down, and taking his money—a matter which was settled out of court in 2016.
Low’s rap sheet with the CCRB is more extensive, with allegations of “restricted breathing” against the complainant and making a “false official statement” in 2023, which became the subject of a case against him from the Administrative Prosecution Unit, the NYPD’s internal mechanism for disciplining officers. Two years on from the complaints, a decision is still “pending” on the matter form the APU, according to the CCRB. The NYPD’s online officer profiles show that Cordero and Low joined the force on the same day, January 10th 2005.
