Four New York men who kidnapped a Fort Lee man and held him hostage for $680,000 in ransom were sentenced to lengthy federal prison terms Wednesday, authorities said.
Three men from Queens and one from Staten Island, New York previously pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit interstate kidnapping after authorities said they duct taped a victim and held him hostage.
Albert Ferrelli, 52, of Queens, was given the longest prison term of over 20 years and five years of supervised release. Chiahao Lee, 32, also of Queens, was sentenced to 15 years in prison and three years of supervised release. Gabriel Anthony, 35, of Queens, was sentenced to 14 years in prison and three years of supervised release.
Fa Deng, 44, of Staten Island, was sentenced to 12 years in prison, three years of supervised release and issued a $200,000 fine.
“Mr. Deng was facing a much longer sentence than what he was given,” Deng’s attorney Jeffrey Einhorn said Wednesday evening. “At the end of the day, this was a horrible crime and he is just happy to be able to serve his sentence and resume a life with his family after his sentence is over.”
The four men drove to the victim’s home in Fort Lee on April 5, 2022. Anthony and Ferrelli entered the residence wearing masks and bound the victim’s hands and duct taped his eyes and mouth before forcing him into a vehicle Deng and Lee were waiting in, authorities said.
Authorities later received a photo the kidnappers sent to the victim’s wife showing the bound man and demanding $680,000 in ransom, court documents in the case allege.
Police found duct tape and latex gloves at the victim’s residence, and surveillance footage identified a gray minivan used to abduct the man traveling across the George Washington Bridge and eventually entering Queens, authorities said.
The New York Police Department later responded to a location on Prince Street in Queens where they found Ferrelli guarding the door to the building and heard a man screaming for help inside, according to officials. Officers entered the building and found the man, documents in the case show.
Attorneys for the other men did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
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Matthew Enuco may be reached at Menuco@njadvancemedia.com. Follow Matt on X.
