Two men pleaded not guilty on Wednesday to charges that they kidnapped an Italian man and held him in an upscale Manhattan SoHo apartment for over two weeks, with the goal of forcing the cryptocurrency millionaire to reveal his Bitcoin password by dangling him over the staircase, forcing him to smoke crack and further abuses.

The Manhattan criminal court ordered John Woeltz, 37, and William Duplessie, 33, to be held in custody until their next court date on July 15, despite arguments from their lawyers to release the two men on $1 million bail and home confinement with their parents.

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