Tuxedo manufacturer Harvey Weinstein's kidnappers kept him buried alive in a rail yard for 12 days, lowering a tape recorder and a cellular phone to him so he could plead with his family to pay the $3 million ransom.
He was rescued Monday, grimy but exuberant."Thank God you're here, and I'd like to have a cigarette," the 68-year-old millionaire said after emerging from the 14-foot pit, looking exhausted but smiling broadly. Police said he had survived on bananas, plums and water.
Two brothers, one of whom worked at Weinstein's company, were arrested on kidnapping charges. Early Tuesday, police also arrested the wife of one of the suspects.
"It is a story that makes the movies sound tame," Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said at a news conference where he displayed two duffel bags stuffed with $100 and $50 bills - the ransom money.
Weinstein returned to his Upper East Side apartment Monday night after being checked out at a hospital. His family had no comment.
According to police, Weinstein was kidnapped Aug. 4 somewhere between the Queens diner where he always ate breakfast and his office a mile away at Lord West Formalwear, one of the nation's biggest manufacturers of tuxedos.
The former Marine was taken to a wooded ravine in upper Manhattan, where he was lowered into the pear-shaped pit. The pit was covered with a door, then sheets of wood and cinder blocks. His abductors had poked holes so he could breathe.
"He was literally buried alive," said John Hill, acting chief of detectives.
The pit was so well-camouflaged that when police went to the Amtrak yard where Weinstein was entombed, "they were standing right over him and didn't know he was there," Hill said. Police called out his name, Kelly said, and Weinstein responded, "I'm here."
One day after the kidnapping, a call was made to the president of Lord West demanding $3 million. It was the first of 50 calls from the captors, who also supplied four photos of Weinstein and a tape-recorded message from him.
Meanwhile, Weinstein sat in a 4-foot-by-5-foot area. The kidnappers dangled a tape recorder for him to record the plea to his family. On another occasion, they lowered a cellular phone into the hole so he could talk to relatives.
In the tape recording, he said, "I love you. . . . Get the money." He also said, "They have me underground. I haven't had a drink or a cigarette."
Finally, the kidnappers prepared for the ransom delivery. Twice, highway drop-offs were arranged - on Aug. 7 and 13 - but the captors didn't show. Wein-stein's son finally dropped the money off early Monday near Highbridge Park in upper Manhattan.
Police said Fermin Rodriguez, 38, who had worked sewing pants for Weinstein for the past eight years, dragged the bags into the park and was picked up by a station wagon driven by his 29-year-old brother, Francisco Antonio Rodriguez.
When Weinstein was not released as promised after three hours, police and FBI agents closed in on the suspects. The younger Rodriguez ran from his car when detectives approached but was caught as he headed for an abandoned railroad tunnel. The elder brother was arrested at his parents' Manhattan apartment.
The younger brother's wife, Carolina Rodriguez, 27, was arrested Tuesday on kidnapping charges, said police Sgt. Anthony Barlanti.
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Clothing company executive rescued after kidnapping
Buried alive
Cross section of the hole in which Fermin and Francisco Antonio Rodriguez allegedly kept 68-year-old Harvey Weinstein while they extorted money from his family.
Door
Brick lining
Sheets of wood and cinder blocks piled on top of door
Site of 14-foot-deep hole
14-foot hole where Weinstein was held captive for two weeks, subsisting on fruit and water lowered by his kidnappers.
Source: New York City Police Department
AP/Brian Sipple