Three blacks have been charged following the discovery of four malnourished mentally disabled adults chained to a boiler in a locked Philadelphia basement that reeked of waste from the buckets they used to relieve themselves, police said

Officers were investigating a report of squatters in a building when they found three men and a woman in a 15-by-15-foot room behind a steel door that was chained shut. Thomas Gregory, 47, Eddie Wright, 49, and Linda Ann Weston, 51, the ringleader, were arrested in connection to the horrific discovery as it emerged that the victims may have been kidnapped for their Social Security checks. Charges of criminal conspiracy, aggravated assault, kidnapping, criminal trespass, unlawful restraint, false imprisonment and related offenses have been filed against the African-American trio. Weston was convicted more than ten years ago on a murder charge in her native Philadelphia. Gregory is also reportedly from Philadelphia, while Wright is officially listed as homeless but originally from Texas. The victims have the mental capacity of 10-year-olds, police said.