After 'Inhumane Torture' Of Man, 2 Bergen County Suspects Arrested

BERGEN COUNTY, NJ — Two residents of Englewood have been charged in connection with the torture and extortion of a man in New Jersey in December, said federal prosecutors this week.

The pair poured bleach on a Queens, N.Y. man, burned him with a blowtorch, and cut his ear, prosecutors said.

Three New Jersey residents — Aasim Boone, 41, Jarrett Bruce, 40, and Lesly Valentin, 38 — were charged this week in Brooklyn federal court with kidnapping and extortion.

The man was abducted at gunpoint of a man outside his Astoria apartment, prosecutors said.

They tortured him in New Jersey for nearly five hours, prosecutors said. Then, they released him in Manhattan, but threatened him with further harm unless he paid them $150,000 in cash and 50 pounds of marijuana, prosecutors said.

"Remember how spicy s--- gets!" one accused kidnapper texted the man, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors said the trio are reputed to have ties to a New Jersey street gang, according to documents filed in connection with their case.

"They beat and threatened him with a gun; sliced his ear with a knife; applied a blowtorch to his back; and removed him from the vehicle to pour bleach all over his burned body," documents state.

The man was released on the Upper East Side after he promised to pay his kidnappers, according to documents.

Cellular location data showed the kidnapper driving in upper Manhattan and over the George Washington Bridge and near the victim's apartment.

Boone and Bruce, from Englewood, were arrested before their scheduled Thursday afternoon arraignment, prosecutors said. Valentin, of Asbury Park, was already in custody on a separate matter, they said.

They face a maximum sentence of life in prison if they're convicted on the charge of kidnapping conspiracy.

"A victim subjected to kidnapping, brutal beatings, inhumane torture, and cash demands – this not a plot from a movie – these three defendants allegedly conspired and carried out these despicable acts on their target," said James Smith, assistant director-in-charge for the FBI's New York field office, in a statement.

"The alleged actions of Boone, Bruce, and Valentin are disturbing and will not be tolerated."

Patch Editor Matt Troutman reported for this story.