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Kidnapper who held man in torture chamber for a month gets 25 years to life

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/Long Island City 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.