2 hours ago
3
Even a bloody crime can’t cool off the hot Soho real estate market.
The posh Prince Street “House of Horrors” where a pair of crypto bros kidnapped and tortured an Italian businessman is getting a flood of interest from would-be renters, a property agent said — though they may have to wait, as the accused criminals still hold the lease.
Neither the $75,000-per month rent nor the condition of the floors — which are reportedly still spattered with blood — have stopped dozens of property-hungry, would-be tenants from trying to snatch up the prime digs at 38 Prince Street.
“I’ve had several [inquiries], but I have three who have asked to take it over if they could,” said Brandon Trentham, the Compass broker in charge of the townhouse, told The Post.
But there is a big wrench in the plans of any would-be renters.
Suspects William Duplessie and John Woeltz signed a one-year lease for the eight-bedroom townhouse with Trentham back in April, just one month before they allegedly chained Italian crypto trader Michael Valentino Teofrasto Carturan inside and tortured him — including with a chainsaw — for his Bitcoin password.
They have continued to pay the $75,000-per-month dues, despite the fact that Duplessie has made a Manhattan jail cell his home for the past several months. Woeltz was sprung after posting an $1 million bail, though it’s not clear if he returned to 38 Prince Street.
That hasn’t stopped prospective tenants from trying to take over the lease, which is not up until the end of March.
“The place is not available, so that’s the whole thing. If it was, I’m sure we could get something immediately, but the tenants have the place until next year,” Trentham said.
“Personally, I think it’s one of the nicest townhouses in all of downtown. It’s just the highest, highest quality. There’s nothing like it in Soho, that’s for sure.”
Trentham could not say whether the prospective clients are drawn to the alleged barbarity that took place inside the townhouse or to its historic charm.
Once upon a time, the alleged torture chambers served as the west wing of the Convent of the Basilica of St. Patrick’s Old Cathedral.
The torture townhouse boasts views of the church gardens, original round windows and the vaulted high ceiling of the original church beams, according to a listing.
It is possible that the crypto pair might abandon the lease early, as movers were seen whisking away lavish furniture, such as $1,000 Aeron desk chairs and a Hästens mattress, which retails for up to $40,000, according to Curbed, which first reported on the interest in the townhouse.
One witness told the outlet the movers sold him a pair of Durango Rebel boots with the American flag printed on the side because he wanted to own a little piece of history.
The Soho townhouse was at the center of the sensational case last spring when a bloodied and barefooted Carturan stumbled out of the front door and flagged down cops, saying he had been held captive inside the ritzy digs for more than two weeks.
Duplessie and Woeltz allegedly bound the millionaire with an electric cord, Tased his feet while they were submerged in water, pistol-whipped him, forced him to take cocaine and threatened to cut off his limbs with an electric chainsaw.
Inside the home, cops found multiple Polaroid photos showing the torture, including one of Carturan bound to a chair with a gun pointed at his head.
Lawyers for Woeltz and Duplessie have argued that Carturan’s weeks-long ordeal was part of a bizarre, but consensual party atmosphere in the townhouse, likening it to a “long running frat party” in which the businessman was essentially being hazed.
The pair were known for throwing lavish parties during their one-month stint at the townhouse.
Woeltz and Duplessie both have pleaded not guilty and are due back in court Oct. 15.
Attorneys for the pair did not respond to a request for comment.
English (US)