Alleged La Cosa Nostra associates charged with extortion
Men with ties to the Italian mafia allegedly threatened to decapitate the owner of a Springfield towing business and bury his body, according to a federal indictment unsealed Thursday.Ralph Santaniello, 49, Giovanni Calabrese, 53, and Gerald Daniele, 51, Francesco Depergola, 60, and Richard Valentini, 51, were all charged with extortion, according to federal prosecutors.The businessman allegedly paid $20,000 over a period of four months to protect himself and his business.Authorities say the men were associates of the Genovese La Cosa Nostra crime family in New York and allegedly extorted Springfield area businesses and illegal gambling businesses. They also took part in loan sharking, according to the indictment.Attorney information for the five indicted men was not immediately available on Thursday.In one incident on September 30, 2013, Santaniello allegedly threatened to cut off the Springfield businessman’s head and bury his body in the backyard if he did not pay up. On that same day, Santaniello also allegedly hit the victim in the head, according to the indictment. When Santaniello and Calabrese first approached the business owner, they allegedly noted that he had previously made payments to another mob family member but had not paid anyone since 2003. He made the first payment of $5,000 on October 4, 2013, at which point Calabrese and Valentini told him they would help him get contracts for his payments, documents show. Calabrese, Depergola, and Valentini allegedly collected their last payment of $10,000 on November 25 of that year and assured the victim that they would not continue to extort him.
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