NYmanheld Norwalk Hospital doctor captive for weekend, police say

Aug. 8—According to an incident report from the Norwalk Police Department, Anthony E. Benjamin, 43, threatened the doctor multiple times and had him withdraw money from his bank account. Benjamin took the doctor on a shopping spree throughout the Bronx, N.Y., purchasing clothes and shoes before going to a barber shop for a haircut and then to a strip club, the report stated.

Norwalk Hospital declined to comment about the kidnapping, noting that police are still investigating the incident.

The events started on July 21. The doctor told police he met with friends for a show at the Brooklyn Mirage in Brooklyn, N.Y. Once the show was over, he got into a taxi to go to his vehicle, which was parked several blocks away. When the doctor got into a cab, there was another man in the back seat. The cab driver said he was taking them to an "after-hours party in Manhattan" and refused to take the doctor to his vehicle, police said in the incident report.

Once at the party, the driver demanded payment, but the doctor refused, saying he did not take him where he needed to go. They got into a verbal argument, and at one point, the cab driver tried to punch him, the report stated. Benjamin intervened to defuse the tension, according to the incident report.

Benjamin, who identified himself as "Tony G's," told the doctor that he was the party's promoter. Inside the party, the doctor said, Benjamin "started acting weird," stating he was the doctor's "protection" and he was "packing" as he touched his waistband, the incident report said.

At Benjamin's direction, he and the doctor took a Lyft from Manhattan back to Brooklyn, where they got into the doctor's car. Benjamin told the doctor he would show him around his neighborhood in the Bronx, the incident report said.

Benjamin told the doctor that he's "put people in body bags before" and that he lets "bullets fly." Benjamin also threatened the doctor, "stating he was going to kill him, but he would then smile and laugh at him," according to the incident report.

At one point, Benjamin had the doctor withdraw money from several ATMs. The doctor said he was able to take out only about $1,000, though Benjamin wanted $20,000, the report stated. The incident report said Benjamin forced the doctor to use his banking app to see if he could take out more money.

"He then gave Benjamin the money, which he was giving it out to people and his friends in the neighborhood," according to the incident report.

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The doctor told police that "throughout the day they were going on a shopping spree throughout the Bronx," the incident report said. They stopped in several stores, including a Foot Locker. They tried to purchase items from a few other stores, but the doctor's ATM card and credit card kept getting declined.

Benjamin also took the doctor to his barber shop, where he got a haircut, and to a strip club, according to the incident report.

"During the entire incident, (the doctor) was going along with what Benjamin wanted him to do because whenever he stated he had to leave to go to work Benjamin would get angry," police said in the incident report.

While with Benjamin, the doctor, who was on-call for the weekend, started to take calls from patients and staff.

Early on the morning of July 23, the doctor received a call from the emergency department about a patient. Though he didn't need to see the patient urgently, he told Benjamin it was an emergency and noted he had to get to work or else people would start to look for him, the incident report said.

Benjamin was unable to drive the doctor's manual vehicle, so he contacted Steve Daley, 50, to bring them to Norwalk Hospital, the report stated.

The three pulled into the hospital garage around 3:40 a.m. and the doctor reported the incident to hospital security, who placed the facility on lockdown, according to the incident report. While police spoke with the doctor, officers found Benjamin and Daley in the vehicle and took them into custody.

The doctor noted that Daley never threatened him during the incident, according to the report.

"Benjamin was the one threatening him, stating he had a gun," he told police, the report said.

Benjamin, of the Bronx, N.Y., was charged with second-degree kidnapping and possession of a controlled substance. His bond was initially set at $1 million, but he was later released on a promise to appear, judicial records show.

Daley, of Vernon, N.Y., was charged with conspiracy to commit second-degree kidnapping. His bond was initially set at $250,000. He was later released on a promise to appear, according to judicial records.

Benjamin and Daley are next scheduled to appear in state Superior Court in Stamford on Sept. 19.

Staff writer Peter Yankowski contributed to this report.