A New York man was charged today with conspiring to kidnap and hold for ransom a Fort Lee, New Jersey, resident, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced.
According to Frderal officials, Mr. Gabriel Anthony, 34, of Queens, New York, is charged by complaint with conspiring to commit kidnapping.
He appeared today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael A. Hammer in Newark federal court and was detained.
Three conspirators – Fa Deng, 42, of Staten Island, New York, and Albert Ferrelli, 50, and Chiahao Lee, 30, both of Queens, New York – were charged by complaint on April 7, 2022 with conspiring to commit kidnapping.
According to documents filed in the cases, and statements made in court:
On April 5, 2022, the four conspirators drove to the victim’s home in Fort Lee. Ferrelli and Anthony entered the victim’s home wearing masks. They bound the victim’s hands, placed duct tape over his eyes and mouth, and forced him into a vehicle.
Law enforcement received information that kidnappers had sent the victim’s wife a photograph of the victim bound and duct-taped, demanding a ransom of approximately $680,000. When law enforcement responded to the victim’s home, they located what appeared to be duct tape with pieces of latex gloves stuck to it.
After reviewing local surveillance footage, law enforcement identified a gray minivan used in the abduction. Other surveillance footage showed the minivan crossing the George Washington Bridge shortly after the kidnapping, and subsequently crossing into the Bronx and then into Queens.
The following day, New York Police Department personnel responded to Prince Street in Queens, where they encountered Ferrelli guarding the door to a building.
When officers approached Ferrelli, they heard a man screaming for help inside the building. Officers entered the building and found the victim with his hands bound, and duct tape over his eyes and mouth.
Law enforcement located the gray minivan used in the kidnapping parked in the driveway of Lee’s home in Queens.
Records showed that the minivan had been rented by Lee’s wife at LaGuardia Airport on April 4, 2022.