FBI Agents Arrest NYPD Cannibal In Sick Scheme

OCTOBER 25--A New York City cop allegedly discussed plans to “kidnap, rape, torture, kill, cook and eat the body parts of a number of women,” according to a felony complaint unsealed today in U.S. District Court in Manhattan.

The officer, Gilberto Valle, 28, was arrested Wednesday by the FBI and is scheduled to appear today before a federal magistrate judge. Valle, a six-year NYPD veteran assigned to a Harlem precinct, exchanged e-mails and instant messages with two unnamed coconspirators about the bizarre plot, investigators allege.

The electronic communications were recently discovered by FBI agents during a court-authorized search of Valle’s computer. That review also revealed that Valle (seen at right) had “created files pertaining to at least 100 women and containing at least one photograph of each woman.”

The complaint alleges that Valle illegally used federal and state law enforcement databases to “locate potential victims,” and that he surveilled some of these women at their homes and places of employment. He also allegedly drafted an “operation plan” to abduct and cook one woman, and researched “methods of disabling and drugging women.”

In one July communication, Valle wrote that he was contemplating tying one “tasty” woman “onto some kind of apparatus…cook her over a low heat, keep her alive as long as possible.” When asked about the size of his oven, Valle replied, “Big enough to fit one of these girls if I folded their legs.”

Agents found a document on Valle’s computer titled “Abducting and Cooking [Victim-1]: a Blueprint.” The document included the woman’s name, date of birth, height, weight, and bra size, along with a “Materials Needed” section (car, chloroform, and rope).

Valle’s computer also revealed that he and a coconspirator “negotiated and agreed to a price at which Valle would kidnap” another woman, who is referred to as “Victim-2” in the complaint. In a February 28 message, Valle wrote, “$5,000 and she is all yours,” noting that, “I’m putting my neck on the line here. If something goes wrong somehow, I am in deep shit.” He subsequently added, “I think I would rather not get involved in the rape. You paid for her. She is all yours and I don’t want to be tempted the next time I abduct a girl.”

An FBI review of “cell site data” revealed that a phone assigned to Valle “made and/or received cellular communications” on March 1 on the Manhattan block where “Victim-2” resides. The woman, who was not harmed, told the FBI that she never invited Valle to her home, and that she “does not know him well.”

Valle, the married father of a baby girl, appears to have moved to New York from Maryland, though he has not enjoyed his time in Gotham. In a posting last year to his Facebook page, Valle wrote, “15 years until I can move the hell out of this rotten scumbag-filled city.” A second post noted that, “The City of New York is EXTREMELY incompetent, lazy, and an overall f*cking joke.”

Valle’s Facebook page--which was deleted early this afternoon--also contained broadsides against the “liberal court system” and Occupy Wall Street. “If you are reading this, and you support the Occupy Wall Street movement, DE-FRIEND ME IMMEDIATELY. I don't care who you are, but you are not wanted in my life,” he wrote earlier this year.

In an October 16 post, Valle--then in the FBI’s crosshairs--included a photo taken from the precinct’s front desk. He captioned the image, “My view of the world for the next 8 hours.” The picture prompted a fellow cop to ride Valle for his shift inside the 26th. “You house mouse!!!” wrote the officer, who used the term for a cop who prefers to stay inside a precinct rather than patrol its streets.

In a message last month, Valle told a Facebook friend that he was about to beome an NYPD sergeant. That promotion has been put on hold in light of Valle's suspension from the force. (8 pages)