Rochester woman at center of bizarre kidnap trial

Thomas Minichiello (Eagle-Tribune photo)

DOVER, N.H. - A prominent Massachusetts businessman and community activist is expected to be back in Strafford County Superior court today where more testimony will be heard regarding his alleged kidnapping of a Rochester woman at a Dover motel.

Thomas Minichiello, 63, of Groveland, Mass., who formerly owned a Bradford, Mass., insurance agency, lured the woman to his room at the Comfort Inn under the pretense of a job interview at a fitness company, but once inside the room he locked the door and ordered her to take a shower and change into shorts and a T-shirt, prosecutors say.

Then he allegedly took several pictures of her while monitoring her heart rate with a stethoscope and blood pressure with a blood pressure gauge around her ankle, all the while having two syringes with an unknown substance nearby.

The alleged victim said she was scared to death and at one point told the man she had AIDS so he wouldn't try to have sex with her.

She said she was scared of needles and that he'd indirectly threatened her kids, so she felt compelled to comply with his requests.

The defense, meanwhile, stated the alleged victim arranged to meet Minichiello at a nearby 99 Restaurant, and went back to the hotel to apply for a job and fill out an application for employment that asked questions about sex toys.

Defense attorneys tried to paint her as someone who knew Minichiello was interested in a sexual dalliance, contending she was paid money at the end of the photo session, a fact prosecutors denied.

This wasn't the first time the former insurance agent was arrested after such an accusation.

Minichiello was arrested in April 2008, in Marlborough, Mass., where he was held for four days before being released on personal recognizance.

According to court records in that case, a woman said Minichiello lured her to the Courtyard Marriott on the pretense of getting a job with his fitness company. Court papers said the woman and Minichiello met on the Internet and arranged the meeting over the phone.

Minichiello was alleged to have touched the woman inappropriately several times and beat and dragged her back to his hotel room after she tried to flee. The second time she fled the room, the woman escaped, running naked to the front desk to seek help, police said.

In June 2008 prosecutors apparently dropped the case and he was later called in on just misdemeanor charges.