Florida man pleads guilty to kidnapping a plastic surgeon and torturing him with a blowtorch

On September 26, a South Florida man pled guilty to charges arising from his participation in kidnapping a victim at gunpoint and, along with his co-conspirators, facilitating his torture. 

Justin Boccio, 33, of Deerfield Beach, Florida, described by The Sun Sentinel as a “down-on-his-luck flight instructor,” pled guilty to conspiracy to commit kidnapping and kidnapping. Boccio is scheduled to be sentenced on December 5. He’s looking at a maximum statutory sentence of life in prison. 

Boccio and his co-defendant, Serge Nkorina, along with others, plotted to kidnap and torture their victim – a plastic surgeon – in an attempt to obtain tens of thousands of dollars from him. To facilitate the kidnapping, on or about December 30, 2018, Nkorina and Boccio purchased supplies at a Home Depot in Broward County, Florida. The two also rented a van from Budget.

On January 14, Boccio entered the plastic surgeon’s medical office and made false representations on paperwork inside of the victim’s office. Later that same day, Nkorina and Boccio intercepted the victim in a Walmart parking lot in Broward County, blindfolded him and forced him into the rental van.

The kidnappers then transported their victim to a storage facility in Margate, Florida, in which they burned the victim’s hands with a blowtorch while threatening to kill him with a firearm and other weapons. The kidnappers demanded information about the victim’s home address, including access codes to the victim’s residence.

The kidnappers reportedly tortured their victim for several hours.

On or about January 15, Nkorina visited the premises of the victim’s home while carrying a firearm. Ultimately, also on January 15, Nkorina and Boccio left the victim, with his hands and feet bound, in his vehicle, which they relocated to the parking lot of Cheetah Gentlemen’s Club in Broward County, Florida. 

Boccio is currently detained in South Florida awaiting sentencing.  Nkorina was arrested and detained in Spain. 

Boccio’s lawyer says Nkorina had convinced his client to assist in the scheme. Investigators say Nkorina’s wife was one of the surgeon’s clients. ~ NBC News

Nkorina has not yet made his appearance in the South Florida case.

(Source: U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of Florida)

~ Posted by Richard Webster, Ace News Today / Connect with Richard on Facebook and Twitter