Man Gagged, Beaten for Retirement Money

A man and a woman were convicted on Friday for beating and torturing a Philadelphia man four years ago.

A man and a woman were convicted on Friday for beating and torturing a Philadelphia man four years ago.

On October 24, 2008, Jennifer Konopki, her boyfriend Brandon Lee and Lee’s cousin Joseph Holmes came up with a scheme to hold 66-year-old Robert Moir captive and steal his retirement money.

Konopki had met Moir through her work at an escort service and had manipulated him to give her money for several years. Konopki convinced Moir that she and her baby were stranded in Philadelphia and needed a ride back to Wilkes Barre. When Moir arrived, she then convinced him to take her shopping and bring her to her Uncle’s house in Feltonville to pick up the child.

When Moir entered the home, he was suddenly assaulted by Lee and Holmes. The two men, who had masks on during the assault, covered Moir’s head with a pillowcase, stripped and gagged him and then dragged him to a dungeon-like basement that police described as “a scene from Dexter.” The men then handcuffed, hogtied, beat and pistol whipped Moir while demanding access to his retirement money. The men, as well as Konopki, then left Moir bound in the basement and used his ATM card to drain his account.

While they were gone, an unidentified man freed Moir. He untied him, dressed him as best as he could, led him to the door and told him, “get out of here, they are going to kill you when they get back.”
Investigators immediately found and arrested the assailants. Lee pleaded guilty to the charges against him. Konopki and Holmes were convicted of conspiracy, kidnapping, robbery, aggravated assault and other related charges.

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