53°
Gabriel Anthony, 34, of Queens, was ordered detained by a federal judge in Newark, joining co-defendants Albert Ferrelli, 50, and Chiahao Lee, 30, both also of Queens, and Fa Deng, 42, of Staten Island.
All four are charged with conspiracy to commit kidnapping.
Ferrelli and Anthony were wearing masks when they snatched the victim from his home on Catherine Street near William Street the night of April 5, U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Philip R. Sellinger said.
The kidnappers sent the victim’s wife a photograph showing him with his hands bound and his eyes and mouth duct-taped while demanding $680,000, Sellinger said.
New York City police officers rescued the victim the following day.
NYPD officers heard the victim shouting for help when they went to a building on Prince Street in Queens, where Sellinger said they found Ferrelli guarding the door.
“Surveillance footage obtained by law enforcement showed that during this captivity, the victim attempted to escape by running out of the building where he was eventually found,” he said.
Ferrelli is seen tackling the victim on the video, scuffling with him and then pulling him back into the building, Sellinger said.
Police found the minivan in the driveway of Lee’s home in Queens, the U.S. attorney said. Lee’s wife had rented it at LaGuardia Airport on April 4.
The search began after a neighbor called Fort Lee police to report several suspicious people at the victim’s home.
Responding uniformed officers found “what appeared to be duct tape with pieces of latex gloves stuck to it,” Sellinger said.
They immediately cordoned off the area and summoned borough detectives. The Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office was notified, a Bergen County Sheriff’s K-9 responded and the sheriff’s Bureau of Criminal Identification collected evidence.
Authorities quickly identified the gray minivan by reviewing area security footage.
The minivan was seen first crossing the George Washington Bridge soon after and then making its way through the Bronx into Queens, the U.S. attorney said.
Sellinger credited special agents of the FBI, the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office and the NYPD with the investigation and arrests.
Handling the case for the government is Assistant U.S. Attorney Carolyn Silane of Sellinger’s Economic Crimes Unit in Newark.
Click here to follow Daily Voice Bergenfield and receive free news updates.
