The New York Police Department is investigating a detective who provided security at a luxurious Manhattan townhouse where two cryptocurrency investors are accused of torturing a man for three weeks, according to two city officials with knowledge of the matter.
The detective, Roberto Cordero, who has also served for years on Mayor Eric Adams’s security detail, was placed on modified duty on Wednesday, according to an internal document and the officials, who were not authorized to speak because of the sensitivity of the investigation.
Officers are not permitted to work for private security companies without Police Department approval, according to the department’s patrol guide.
While Detective Cordero has provided security at the house, it was unclear whether he had obtained the required permission or was present during the crime prosecutors say occurred there.
In a statement, the Police Department confirmed that an officer had been placed on modified duty, which generally restricts a person to desk work, and that the matter was under internal review.
Neither Detective Cordero nor any legal representatives could immediately be reached for comment.
A 20-year veteran, Detective Cordero has served on the Executive Protection Unit, the mayor’s security detail, since December 2021, according to records from the police and the Civilian Complaint Review Board, an independent oversight agency.
In recent days, an Italian man, Michael Valentino Teofrasto Carturan, escaped from the townhouse, where he said he had been tortured for weeks.
The Manhattan district attorney has charged the two cryptocurrency investors — John Woeltz, 37, and William Duplessie, 33 — with kidnapping and torturing Mr. Carturan.
Mr. Carturan arrived at the townhouse at 38 Prince Street in the NoLIta neighborhood on May 6, where he was captured and held by Mr. Woeltz and a 24-year-old woman, according to prosecutors and an internal police report. They wanted the password to a Bitcoin wallet worth millions, the report said.
The woman, Beatrice Folchi, was initially charged by the police with kidnapping and unlawful imprisonment, but she was released and her prosecution was deferred, a law enforcement official said.
Detective Cordero joined the Police Department in 2005 and has served in the 46th Precinct in the Bronx and on a narcotics team in Manhattan, according to police and Complaint Board records.
He has been the subject of several complaints accusing him of abusing his authority and using physical force. In one complaint from 2014, a man accused Detective Cordero and seven other officers of beating him, strip searching him and taking his money. The case was settled in 2016.
Chelsia Rose Marcius is a criminal justice reporter for The Times, covering the New York Police Department.
Maia Coleman is a reporter for The Times covering the New York Police Department and criminal justice in the New York area.
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