January 27, 2021

USA: Florida Man Extradicted To The US From Spain Accused Of Kidnapping And Torturing Plastic Surgeon. He And Accomplice Abducted Their Victim From A Walmart Parking Lot In Broward County.

 

CBS Miami published June 13, 2019: Arrests Made After Florida Plastic Surgeon Kidnapped And Tortured. The federal criminal complaint reads like a movie script; a pair of men kidnap a doctor, torture him and make him give up information about tens of thousands of dollars in cash.
US Dept of Justice
Thursday, January 21, 2021

Miami, Fl. -- Sergei Nkorina, a 55-year-old American citizen indicted in the Southern District of Florida on kidnapping charges, arrived in Miami last night on a flight from Spain pursuant to a request from the U.S. government to extradite the fugitive.

According to an indictment returned by a South Florida grand jury, on January 14, 2019, Nkorina and his co-defendant, Justin Boccio, abducted their victim from a Walmart parking lot in Broward County, Florida, by grabbing the victim, blindfolding him, and forcing him into a van. It is alleged that Nkorina and Boccio drove the victim to a storage facility where they blowtorched the victim’s hands and threatened to kill him with a firearm and other weapons. Nkorina and his co-defendant demanded the address and entry code to the victim’s home, which the conspirators later visited while armed, says the indictment. According to other court documents, on January 15, 2019, local law enforcement officers found the victim, with his hands and feet bound, hands burned, and lacerations on his face, inside a car parked at a Broward County gentlemen’s club.

Nkorina was classified as a fugitive on May 24, 2019. Nkorina was arrested in Spain for purposes of extradition based on a request from the United States in accordance with the U.S.-Spain Extradition Treaty. He arrived in Miami last night.

Ariana Fajardo Orshan, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, of the FBI’s Miami Field Office made the announcement.

Boccio, Nkorina’s co-defendant, pled guilty to the kidnapping charges on September 26, 2019. On December 5, 2019, United States District Judge Cecilia M. Altonaga sentenced Boccio to more than 11 years in prison.

An indictment is merely an accusation and Nkorina is presumed innocent unless and until found guilty in a court of law. Nkorina made his initial appearance today in federal court. A pre-trial detention hearing is scheduled for Tuesday, January 26, 2021, at 10:00 a.m., in federal magistrate court in Miami.

FBI Miami investigated this case. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Demanovich and Lisa H. Miller, former South Florida Assistant U.S. Attorney, now Chief of the Market Integrity & Major Frauds Unit, within the Department of Justice, Criminal Division’s Fraud Section.

U.S. Attorney Fajardo Orshan extends her gratitude to the FBI Miami Violent Crimes/Fugitive Task Force and the Hallandale Beach Police Department for their work, to the government of Spain for making the extradition possible, and to the Department of Justice, Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs who provided significant assistance in securing the defendant’s extradition. The U.S. Attorney also extends her gratitude to the Spanish Civil Guard and Interpol for their assistance in capturing this fugitive and in bringing him back to the United States.

You may find related court documents on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov under case number 19-cr-20261.
******

Local10 News, Florida local
written by Michelle Solomon, Podcast Producer/Reporter
Thursday January 21, 2021

MIAMI, Fla. – A Deerfield Beach man was sentenced to more than 11 years in prison and ordered to pay $83,000 in restitution for his involvement in a torture and kidnapping plot. His co-conspirator arrived in Miami Wednesday night on a flight from Spain after being extradited back to the United States.

Justin Boccio, 33, of Deerfield Beach, was sentenced by federal prosecutors and Serge Nkorina, 55, (pictured below) is facing charges for kidnapping and brutally torturing a South Florida plastic surgeon with a blowtorch in an elaborate plot to steal tens of thousands of dollars from the doctor.

According to court documents, the plastic surgeon was shopping at a Broward County Walmart on Jan. 14, 2019, around 6:45 p.m. when he was approached by an armed man in the parking lot and forced into a nearby moving van. The captors blindfolded and bound the surgeon, who was not identified in the court papers. During the ride to a storage facility in Margate, the men stunned the surgeon multiple times using a Taser, the document said.

Once at the storage facility, the men tied the surgeon to a chair and used a blowtorch to burn the tops of his hands and beat him, the documents said. It is alleged that Boccio and Nkorina also threatened to kill the man. They demanded the address to the victim’s home and an entry code in order to steal money.

The surgeon told authorities that the captors were hard to see because they wore baseball hats outfitted with bright headlamps. At some point, the men forced the surgeon to drink alcohol and he passed out, the documents said.

Around 4 a.m. the next morning, police found the victim bound inside his car outside Cheetah Gentlemen’s Club in Hallandale Beach. The victim continuously hit the car’s horn to attract the attention of police.

Investigators were able to connect Boccio, a former flight instructor, and Nkornia to the abduction using videos from surveillance cameras at multiple locations, including the Walmart. Authorities also found evidence that Boccio and Nkornia had stalked the surgeon before the abduction, visiting his Broward County medical office, the documents said.

Phone records and purchases, including renting a moving van, help tie the men to the abduction, the documents said.

Boccio was arrested April 4. During the hearing on Thursday, Jan. 21, U.S. District Judge Cecilia M. Altonaga stated, “(Boccio) forgot his decency and his values when he participated in the torture of this innocent human being.” Altonaga sentenced Boccio to a concurrent term of 135 months in prison, on each count of conviction, to be followed by 5 years of supervised release. She also ordered that the defendant pay the victim $83,056.80 in restitution.

Nkorina, who was arrested by local authorities in Spain, has not yet made his appearance in the South Florida case and is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Ariana Fajardo Orshan, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida and George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, FBI’s Miami Field Office made the announcement of Boccio’s sentencing.

No comments: