The Tacony dungeon case was a decade-long criminal enterprise, run by Linda Ann Weston out of Philadelphia’s Tacony neighborhood and three other states, in which mentally disabled adults were kidnapped, confined in basements, closets, and attics, and stripped of their Social Security benefits. It came to light on October 15, 2011, when Philadelphia police found four malnourished captives in a sub-basement boiler room on the 4700 block of Longshore Avenue. A federal grand jury later returned a 193-count indictment against Weston and four co-defendants. All five were convicted. Weston was sentenced to life in prison plus 80 years.
How the Victims Were Found
Officers responding to the Tacony apartment building on October 15, 2011, opened a steel door in the sub-basement and found four disabled adults huddled in a room roughly six by ten feet. One man was chained to the boiler. The captives had no access to a bathroom and were urinating into buckets. Their clothing had been scavenged from trash. Tamara Breeden, one of the four, later said she had been held since she was 20 and had been pistol-whipped repeatedly over her years in captivity.1NBC Philadelphia. Philadelphia Basement of Horrors: Linda Weston, Tamara Breeden
The rescue widened quickly. On October 18, investigators located six children and four more adults in and around the Frankford neighborhood, and two additional children were recovered the next day. Several of the children were visibly malnourished. One two-year-old was described as the size of a six-month-old.2WHYY. Tacony Dungeon Kidnapping Case Spirals Into Tangled Web of Horror
How the Scheme Worked
Federal prosecutors described the operation as a racketeering enterprise, which they called the “Weston Family,” that ran from roughly 2001 through October 2011. Weston and her associates sought out adults with mental disabilities who were estranged from their families, offering them a place to live. Once a victim moved in, Weston had them designate her as the representative payee for their Social Security disability benefits, giving her direct control over their government checks.3FBI Philadelphia. Woman Who Held Disabled Adults Captive Sentenced to Life Plus 80 Years
With the money secured, the victims were locked away. They were kept in darkness, sedated with pills mixed into their food, and fed a single daily meal of cheap starches such as ramen noodles and beans. Those who resisted or tried to escape were beaten with bats, hammers, belts, and the butt of a pistol.4U.S. Department of Justice. Federal Charges Allege Captors Held Adults With Disabilities in Subhuman Conditions Some victims were forced to live naked in attics and, prosecutors said, were made to eat human waste or drink their own urine.5Slate. The Details of the Tacony Dungeon Case Are Almost Beyond Belief
Between 2001 and 2011, the group moved captives among addresses in Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia, and Florida to stay ahead of law enforcement and social services. Investigators identified addresses in Killeen, Texas; Norfolk, Virginia; and West Palm Beach, Florida, in addition to multiple Philadelphia residences.6U.S. Department of Justice, Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Woman Who Held Disabled Adults Captive Sentenced to Life Plus 80 Years In all, six disabled adults and four children were victimized, and the enterprise stole more than $200,000 in Social Security benefits. Weston also collected benefits for children born to victims through forced sexual encounters.7SSA Office of the Inspector General. Audits and Investigations – January 2013
Two Deaths Hidden by Moving
The relocations concealed two deaths that occurred years before the sub-basement was found. In April 2005, a victim named Donna Spadea was brought to a Philadelphia apartment on Glenview Avenue and kept in the basement. She was found dead on June 26, 2005. Prosecutors said she died of multiple drug toxicity from the antidepressants Weston laced into victims’ food. Weston ordered other household members to move the body before contacting police.6U.S. Department of Justice, Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Woman Who Held Disabled Adults Captive Sentenced to Life Plus 80 Years5Slate. The Details of the Tacony Dungeon Case Are Almost Beyond Belief
In 2008, after the group moved to Norfolk, Virginia, a victim named Maxine Lee was confined in a kitchen cabinet and an attic for months. She died in November 2008 of bacterial meningitis and starvation. Norfolk police investigated at the time and ruled the death natural. Weston had draped Lee’s body in blankets, propped it in front of a television, and lied to officers about the circumstances. She then moved the remaining captives to Philadelphia and kept collecting Lee’s Social Security benefits even after Virginia officials ordered her to refund the money.8WTKR. Basement of Horrors Indictment Brings Light to 2008 Norfolk Death Lee’s mother, Mary Lee, told reporters the circumstances “never made sense,” pointing to damage to her daughter’s feet when the body was found.9The Virginian-Pilot. Norfolk Police to Review Woman’s Death After Philly Arrests
Weston’s 1981 Murder Conviction
The pattern predated the Weston Family enterprise. In 1981, Weston and her sister Venus locked Bernardo Ramos, the 25-year-old boyfriend of Venus Weston, in a closet of a North Philadelphia apartment. Testimony indicated Ramos was beaten with a hammer and broomsticks, fed only three or four times over roughly two months, and let out on six or seven occasions. He died that December weighing 75 pounds. The sisters moved his body in a baby carriage to an abandoned building.10CNN. Philadelphia Disabled Chained11NBC Philadelphia. Woman Suspected of Chaining Disabled Adults Starved Man to Death in 1981
Weston was initially found incompetent to stand trial, then certified competent after hospitalization. A court called her “the ringleader of this conspiracy” and found her “mentally able to supervise a household.” She was convicted of third-degree murder and criminal conspiracy and sentenced to four to ten years at the state prison in Muncy, Pennsylvania. She was paroled in January 1987 after serving her minimum term and had exited the criminal justice system entirely by 1993.12New York Post. Philadelphia Dungeon Suspect Was Ringleader in 1981 Murder
The Federal Indictment
On January 22, 2013, a federal grand jury in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania returned a 193-count indictment against Weston, her daughter Jean McIntosh, Gregory Thomas Sr., Eddie Wright, and Nicklaus Woodard. The case went to U.S. District Judge Cynthia M. Rufe.13Disability Justice. U.S. v. Weston et al. Indictment
Weston’s charges included racketeering conspiracy, multiple counts of murder in aid of racketeering, kidnapping resulting in death, hate crimes under the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, sex trafficking, forced labor, involuntary servitude, theft of government funds, wire and mail fraud, use of a firearm in furtherance of a violent crime, and false statements. The hate crime counts rested on the targeting of victims because of their mental disabilities. The murder counts, tied to the Spadea and Lee deaths, made her eligible for the death penalty.4U.S. Department of Justice. Federal Charges Allege Captors Held Adults With Disabilities in Subhuman Conditions146ABC. Federal Indictment in Tacony Dungeon Case
What Happened to Each Defendant
Linda Weston pleaded guilty to all charges on September 15, 2015. On November 5, 2015, Judge Rufe sentenced her to life in prison plus 80 years, ordered $273,463 in restitution to the Social Security Administration, and imposed a $19,600 special assessment.3FBI Philadelphia. Woman Who Held Disabled Adults Captive Sentenced to Life Plus 80 Years
Jean McIntosh, described in the indictment as her mother’s “right-hand woman,” pleaded guilty in 2014 to racketeering, kidnapping, fraud, and hate crimes. She had taken a baby born to a captive and claimed the child as her own to collect benefits. She later cooperated with prosecutors. On August 21, 2018, she was sentenced to 40 years in federal prison. At sentencing she told the victims, “I can’t take it back now. But I truly wish with my whole heart that I could. I participated in hurting you all. I am truly, truly sorry.”15U.S. Department of Justice, Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Tacony Dungeon Defendant Jean McIntosh Sentenced to 40 Years
Eddie Wright, a self-described ordained preacher who said he was ordained in Texas in 2006, joined the group around 2009 after meeting Weston in Killeen. He pleaded guilty on April 9, 2015, to all 22 counts against him, including racketeering conspiracy, hate crimes, kidnapping, and forced labor. Prosecutors said he helped confine and transport victims and took part in beatings.16Philadelphia Inquirer. Pastor Wright Pleads Guilty in Tacony Dungeon Case He was sentenced on September 13, 2018, to 27 years.17Philadelphia Inquirer. Pastor Eddie Wright Sentenced to 27 Years in Tacony Dungeon Case
Gregory Thomas Sr. installed the locks that kept victims from escaping, according to the indictment. Nicklaus Woodard helped confine and discipline captives and took part in pistol-whippings.13Disability Justice. U.S. v. Weston et al. Indictment Woodard, the last defendant to resolve his case, pleaded guilty in January 2018.18Philadelphia Inquirer. Tacony Dungeon Case Guilty Plea: Nicklaus Woodard In all, the five defendants faced 196 counts across the case.
The Civil Judgment and a Survivor’s Life After
In November 2014, a jury in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas awarded Tamara Breeden a $45 million default judgment against Weston. Her attorney, Steve Wigrizer, acknowledged Breeden was unlikely to see any of the money given Weston’s incarceration and lack of assets, but said the verdict “sends a strong message.”19NBC Philadelphia. Philadelphia Dungeon Victim Awarded $45M in Civil Case
Breeden had been held for roughly eleven years after Weston took her at age 20. Two of her three children were born during her captivity. In a 2017 interview, she described suffering seven broken bones and a permanent scar on her forehead from being struck with a pistol. She was living in Kensington with her youngest daughter and her parents. “I see my scars every time,” she said, “but I say to God, I am still beautiful and I am still alive.” Of Weston, she added: “Linda Weston, I am free. I have my kids.”20ABC7. Tacony Dungeon Survivor Speaks Out 6 Years Later