Alleged ‘cannibal cop’ had helper

NEW YORK – A New Jersey man conspired with New York’s alleged “cannibal cop” to abduct a woman, stuff her into a suitcase and transport her across state lines to be raped, prosecutors said Friday as they unveiled new details in a case they likened to a “bad horror film.”

The charges, announced by FBI officials and by the U.S. attorney in Manhattan, Preet Bharara, are the latest twist to the sordid tale that began in October with the arrest of Gilberto Valle, 28, a New York City police officer.

The court documents made public Friday named Michael Vanhise, 23, of Hamilton, N.J., as Valle’s co-conspirator in a bizarre kidnapping plot, which Valle’s defense attorney has insisted was a mere fantasy that no one planned to carry out.

Prosecutors, though, say Valle and Vanhise were serious in their intentions to kidnap, torture, rape and – in Valle’s case at least – cook and eat women.

In email conversations last year, prosecutors say, Vanhise and Valle discussed a woman who lives in Manhattan and whom Vanhise wanted brought to his home to be raped.

The complaint against Vanhise includes chilling details of his alleged discussions with Valle, and his attempts to haggle with Valle over the $5,000 price tag for the would-be victim. Vanhise was charged with one count of conspiracy to commit kidnapping, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison, and a maximum fine of $250,000.

Valle has pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiracy to commit kidnapping and to illegally accessing the federal National Crime Information Center. The FBI and police say he used his position as a police officer to access the center to find potential victims. If convicted on the kidnapping allegation, he could face life in prison.