Trial Ordered for 4th Defendant in Tacony 'Basement of Horrors' Kidnap/Fraud Case
By John McDevitt
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- A different judge, a different outcome.
A man for whom all charges were previously dismissed in the so-called "Basement of Horrors" Tacony kidnap and fraud case is now being held for trial.
A second preliminary hearing was held today for Eddie Wright, one of several people initially charged in the case, after charges were refiled by the Philadelphia district attorney.
Back in December, a Municipal Court judge dismissed all charges against Wright "without prejudice," calling him a victim in the case (see previous story). Wright testified late last year that he too slept in the boiler room with the four mentally-challenged adults who were discovered being held captive in the basement of a Tacony apartment building.
He also testified that his Social Security check was being diverted to the alleged mastermind of the scheme, Linda Weston.
Weston, her boyfriend George Thomas, and her daughter still face charges in the case (see related story).
But the district attorney asked for a new preliminary hearing in a higher court (see related story), and after hearing from lawyers from both sides, witnesses from the Social Security Administration, and a lead detective in the case, Common Please Court judge Paula Patrick today ordered Wright held for trail, scheduled for later this month.
