Trial opens in kidnap plot before 2 found dead in Schuylkill River

Trial has begun for one of several men charged in an abduction plot that led to the deaths of two brothers whose bound bodies were found in a Philadelphia river eight years ago.

Federal prosecutors opened their conspiracy, kidnapping and extortion case Tuesday against Jason Rivera, 36, one of six men charged in the plot that led to the deaths of Vu “Kevin” Huynh, 31, and his 28-year-old brother Viet, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported.

Authorities said the brothers were kidnapped and tortured over a $300,000 drug debt before they were driven to the Schuylkill River, stabbed repeatedly, their faces covered with duct tape and their legs weighted down with cement before they were tossed into the water. A third man was able to escape and flag down a passing motorist.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Livermore urged jurors Tuesday to “hold everyone accountable for their roles in this offense.” He said the evidence will not show that Rivera stabbed the victims or rolled them into the river, but will show that “he and the others kidnapped the Huynh brothers, and they died as a result of that kidnapping.”

Defense attorney Thomas Mirigliano argued that his client has been wrongfully accused and noted that no cellphone records link him to the area on the night of the crime. He objected to prosecutors pointing to a forearm tattoo of a line from the 1990 movie “Goodfellas” as evidence of his client’s role as a drug gang enforcer and debt collector.

“This is a harrowing tale, there’s no doubt about it,” Mirigliano said in his opening statement. “But this is not a scripted movie, and I ask that you keep an open mind about the whole case.”

Last year, Lam Trieu pleaded guilty to extortion, drug and conspiracy counts, acknowledging having reached out to a longtime associate to collect on a debt owed to a California marijuana supplier stemming from drugs fronted to the brothers. He wasn’t charged with the kidnapping or murders.

Tam Minh Le, 52, a native of Vietnam, has been sentenced to death in the case.