38-09 43rd Avenue
Oct. 24, 2016 By Hannah Wulkan
A man has been sentenced to up to life in prison for abducting a Woodside resident and holding him hostage in a Sunnyside warehouse for more than a month in 2013.
District Attorney Richard Brown announced today that 42-year-old Eduardo Moncayo of New Jersey had been found guilty of first degree kidnapping by a jury earlier this month, and would serve 25 years to life in prison.
“This was a terrifying ordeal for the victim. The businessman was forcibly abducted from the streets of Queens County and held against his will in a vacant warehouse for 32 days. The victim’s fingers were burned with acid, he was struck so hard in the mouth several teeth were knocked out and even after being rescued, the victim was deeply traumatized. The sentence imposed today was more than warranted,” Brown said.
According to testimony from the trial, the victim, 52-year-old Pedro Portugal, was approached outside of 88-06 Roosevelt Avenue on April 18, 2013 and Moncayo called out to him by name.
Moncayo then displayed what appeared to be a police badge, and then along with his co-defendants Dennis Alves, 35, and Christian Acuna, 38, grabbed him and forced him in to a nearby SUV.
Once inside the vehicle, Moncayo allegedly punched Portugal in the face and body and put a mask over his face so he could not see anything.
The victim was then driven to a warehouse at 38-09 43rd Avenue and was tied to a chair and beaten. He was then instructed to call his mother in Ecuador and request $3 million in ransom.
Brown said that the victim was held hostage from April 18 until May 20 in 2013, and during that time his hand was burned with acid, and the kidnappers threatened to cut off his fingers and kill him. Portugal also had his tooth knocked out from a punch and suffered bruising, swelling and pain.
Portugal was rescued by the NYPD Major Case Squad on May 20, 2013, when they entered the building and found his hands bound with cloth and duct tape.
Moncayo’s co-defendants, Alves and Acuna, are still awaiting trial.
The investigation was conducted by the NYPD’s Major Case Squad. The U.S. Justice Department also assisted with the investigation.
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20 Comments
Dont worry my fellow Sunnysiders, according to the left, crime is not rising. Rest assured you are safe, as this stuff doesnt happen.
No. It does happen. More frequently than I would have it (basic human instinct has no color or race). However, I don’t get my panties in a twist because I saw some darkies and feel afraid today. I try to be guided by facts and data – as opposed to finding a xenophobic narrative in the facts and data.
this stuff happens all the time in their home countries, someone tell these people were not in colombia. we dont kidnap and hold people for ransom here
really cause someone just did smart guy
They weren’t Colombian you ignorant moron…
Thanks Obama.
what does the president has to do with criminals in Sunnyside?? really!
Brings back memories of Jeffrey Dahmer.
Actually no! Dahmer did it for sexual kicks. This trio did it for money. Big difference.
Sunnyside torture chamber? Sounds like something out of a Christopher Lee movie.
Whoa – I go by that warehouse all the time. Disturbing.
Me too! Now I’m freaked out a little, you just never know what goes on behind closed doors.
So don’t forget to lock your doors, shutter your windows, get a vicious dog, semi auto assault rifle, and electrify your fence. Build a moat if you can. Get face recognition software for your surveillance cameras so you can spot the “dark” people from south of the Blvd and call the 101 precinct and wait. Until next month.
(not sure if you’re serious or trying to be Facetious) You’ve totally missed the point. The victim was called by name and shown a phony “police” badge. He thought he was being approached by law enforcement. Most people would have been fooled.
Thank God that criminal has been served a big piece of Justice. I’ve been wondering what happened in that case. I get the chills when I drive by that building thinking about what went on there.
Wow! Absolutely sick ! Water boarding should be done to these guys but would be too kind. Just giving them the death penalty is the best idea. The shame is we have to pay for these animals to sit in prison and make new friends and get 3 meals a day. Savages absolute savages.
I’d rather see society sentence people like this to a long and miserable life in prison. Waterboarding is torture and only savages do it; state-sanctioned killing is also wrong, in my opinion.
The death penalty is a savage idea. Enlightened people do not kill or torture. Our nation is based on enlightened principals. We need to completely reform our prison systems, too. It costs more to put someone to death than to imprison them.
really??? Reform prison using tax payer money to host criminals… I would rather have my money been used on bullets to get rid of all serial criminals, child molesters, rapists, I would not give a penny to “rehabilitate” what cannot be fixed.
Good job by police and DA’s office. That kind of sentence will hopefully stop anyone else from committing a kidnapping/torture/ransom crime which are commonplace in several countries.