Ralph Santaniello, Extortion, Massachusetts 2018

Two associates of the Genovese La Cosa Nostra crime family were sentenced in federal court in Worcester on extortion-related charges.

BOSTON – Two associates of the Genovese La Cosa Nostra (LCN) crime family were sentenced today in federal court in Worcester on extortion-related charges. Ralph Santaniello, 50, and Giovanni Calabrese, 54, both of Longmeadow, were sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Timothy S. Hillman to five years in prison and two years of supervised release, and three years in prison and two years of supervised release, respectively.

Santaniello and Calabrese were arrested and charged in August 2016 along with three other associates, Gerald Daniele, 52, of Longmeadow; Francesco Depergola, 62, of Springfield; and Richard Valentini, 51, of East Longmeadow. The defendants used violence, exploited their relationship with LCN, and implied threats of murder and physical violence to instill fear in their victims.

According to plea documents and evidence presented in court, Santaniello, Calabrese, and their co-defendants, engaged in loansharking and extortion from legitimate and illegitimate businesses, including illegal gambling businesses and the collection of unlawful debts. In 2013, Santaniello, Calabrese, Depergola and Valentini attempted to extort money from a Springfield businessman. Santaniello assaulted the businessman, and Santaniello and Calabrese threatened to cut off the man’s head and bury his body if he did not comply. Over a period of two months, the businessman paid $20,000 to Santaniello, Calabrese, Depergola and Valentini to protect himself and his business.

In addition, during a six-month period in 2015, Daniele extended two extortionate and usurious loans to an individual, and then, along with Santaniello and Calabrese, threatened the individual if he did not make payments on the loans. United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; Acting Assistant Attorney General John P. Cronan of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Harold H. Shaw, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division; Hampden County District Attorney Anthony Gulluni; and Colonel Kerry A. Gilpin, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police, made the announcement.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin O’Regan, Chief of Lelling’s Springfield Branch Office; Assistant U.S. Attorney Katharine Wagner of Lelling’s Springfield Branch Office; and Trial Attorney Marianne Shelvey of the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section are prosecuting the cases.

The charges against Santaniello and Calabrese include one count of conspiracy to interfere with commerce by threats or violence; one count of interference with commerce by threats or violence – aiding and abetting; one count of conspiracy to use extortionate means to collect extensions of credit; and one count of using extortionate means to collect extensions of credit – aiding and abetting.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-ma/pr/two-associates-la-cosa-nostra-sentenced-prison-extortion-related-charges