An Endicott man could be facing decades behind bars after a grand jury indicted him in the kidnapping and rape of a Wisconsin woman he invited to Broome County after they met via the business networking website LinkedIn.
Larry J. Servedio, 50, of East Main Street, was arraigned on a 24-count indictment Friday in Broome County Court. He is being held in jail without bail.
Endicott police say he forged a friendship with a 52-year-old woman through online LinkedIn messages, which prompted her to visit him in July. Then, police say, he used manipulation and intimidation over the course of four days to force her into sexual contact and prevent her from returning home.
Endicott police records released to the Press & Sun-Bulletin through the Freedom of Information Law spell out details of a troubling case that ended when a patrolman sensed tension between the pair and pulled her aside to made sure she was OK, giving her the chance to ask for rescue.
On Sept. 9, a grand jury indicted Servedio on a host of felony counts: first-degree kidnapping, first-degree rape, third-degree rape, third-degree criminal sexual act, third-degree criminal mischief, criminal impersonation, second-degree grand larceny, and second-degree strangulation. He is also charged with misdemeanor counts of first-degree harassment, second-degree aggravated harassment, second-degree menacing and torturing and injuring an animal.
The top charge of kidnapping is punishable by a sentence of up to life in state prison, if he is convicted.
'Out of the ordinary'
According to police documents, after a few weeks of exchanging messages on LinkedIn, Servedio promised to show the woman the sights of the state: the Statue of Liberty and even Niagara Falls. But when she traveled to Endicott to meet him in the latter part of July, police say, his promises — and his online persona — proved to be false.
On July 21, the woman told Endicott police that Servedio was holding her against her will, that he threatened to kill her and her family if she tried to leave and that she was forced to have sex with him under duress, according to records.
Law enforcement officials were alerted after the woman's family in Fond Du Lac, Wisc., filed a possible missing person report July 19 with their local police department.
The 52-year-old woman told her daughter over the phone that she was married in New York state and they would not see her for several weeks, police records said. This behavior seemed "out of the ordinary" and the daughter believed her mother was being held against her will, the records said.
Fond Du Lac police, hoping to uncover the woman's whereabouts, initially traced her cell phone to the Town of Vestal. Police in Vestal and Endicott also coordinated information, then determined she was possibly at Servedio's residence in Endicott.
An Endicott police report alleges Servedio has previously taken advantage of women financially once he had gotten them to his residence.
Servedio's LinkedIn page contained numerous information that proved false, according to police. He stated he had been working in the field of corporate litigation in the Ithaca area, with 28 years of experience at Southern Tier Corporate Debt Collections. His profile also listed certification as a U.S. federal attorney and employment as a federal litigator for the FBI.
When Endicott officers arrived at Servedio's residence on July 21, they found a padlock on the outside of the door to his apartment. No one was home.
Later in the day, a neighbor called police with word that Servedio had returned.
According to the report, officers found him and the woman walking two small dogs outside the East Main Street apartment. Both dogs barked when an officer pulled up in his patrol vehicle.
Servedio turned around and said, "Hi, officer."
Police say the officer next asked whether everything was OK. Servedio replied, "Yeah, everything is fine here," according to reports.
The officer told the woman he wanted to check on her because a lot of people in Wisconsin were worried. He noticed Servedio partially turned to face her, and though she said she was fine, the woman's body language indicated something was amiss, police said.
Officers decided to separate Servedio and the woman, so a patrolman could position himself directly between her and Servedio's line of sight and pose the question again.
Servedio walked away to another officer, police said, but the woman was still visibly shaken and seemed reluctant to talk.
"Everything is not OK, is it?" the patrolman asked her.
This time, according to police, the woman responded: "I'm not OK. I have been held here against my will."
She told the Endicott patrolman she was aware police in Fond Du Lac had taken a missing person report and claimed Servedio had destroyed her phone.
At this point, police say Servedio began asking what was going on and trying to get the woman's attention by staring intently at her. Servedio was handcuffed and placed inside a police vehicle.
Officers helped the woman gather her belongings from Servedio's apartment, police said, before beginning the process of that would lead her back home to her family.
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