Two men suspected of kidnapping and torturing a 28-year-old Italian crypto investor have pleaded not guilty, and the investigation into their case appears to have been embroiled by NYPD officers. Previously, New York police had arrested 33-year-old William Duplessie and 37-year-old John Woeltz, as well as a third suspect, 24-year-old Beatrice Folchi, but her prosecution has been delayed. The names of the victims have not been made public. The three are accused of kidnapping the victim and holding him in a luxury townhouse in Manhattan's affluent SoHo neighborhood for more than two weeks. During this time, the trio tortured the victim, forced him to take drugs, hung him on a windowsill, urinated on him, and subjected him to electric shocks in an attempt to force him to hand over the private keys to Bitcoin, according to NYC police. Two NYPD officers, including a detective assigned to Mayor Eric Adams' protection project, who had worked for Duplessie and Woeltz after hours, have been placed on temporary duty, Bloomberg reported on Thursday. A person familiar with the matter said the two officers were not believed to have been involved in the kidnapping but were providing security services for the defendants. They may have taken the victim from the airport to the townhouse without physically inflicting physical harm on him. A spokesperson for the NYPD said the matter was "under internal review."

Employers are reportedly preparing for a new law that will go into effect in New York City on Wednesday and will be the first in the United States to regulate the use of automation and artificial intelligence (AI) technology in hiring decisions. The law, known as NYC 144, requires employers who use certain types of software, including chatbot interview tools and resume scanners to find keyword matches, to assist in hiring and promotion decisions to annually review those tools for potential racial and gender bias, and then publish the results on its website.