Philly Man Sentenced to Death in Brutal Torture, Murder of Paoli Brothers

A Philadelphia man and "career-criminal" who tortured and murdered a pair of brothers from Paoli over a debt was sentenced to death Friday, according to court documents.

Tam Minh Le, who has been associated with the Vietnamese gang "Born to Kill," was allegedly owed $100,000 by Paoli brothers Viet Huynh and Vu Huynh, who were working to distribute marijuana, according to U.S. Marshals.

However, the brothers gambled the money away, and Le, 45, took the pair hostage at his home in southwest Philadelphia on August 27, 2014, according to authorities.

In an attempt to free the brothers, a third man arrived at the home and paid Le $40,000. But Le was not satisfied.

Le bound all three men to chairs before beating them and repeatedly stabbing them, authorities said.

He then drove the three men to the 2300 block of Kelly Drive, where he bound them with zip ties, weighted their legs with tar buckets, and dumped them in the Schuylkill River, U.S. Marshals said.

Somehow, the third man was able to stagger to shore at around 4 a.m. that morning and reported the incident to police. Le was on the run for months and landed on the U.S. Marshals Service 15 Most Wanted List until he was captured on January 14, 2015.

Le was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder last week. He was previously convicted of manslaughter in a 1993 shooting incident in New York.

Image courtesy U.S. Marshal Service.