http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2016/08/reputed_springfield_mobsters_r.htmlSPRINGFIELD — Two reputed organized crime figures who allegedly conspired to shake down a local tow company operator for $20,000 were released on bail Friday after being arrested on Aug. 4.
Francesco "Frank" Depergola, 60, of Springfield, and Giovanni "Johnny Cal" Calbrese, 53, of Longmeadow, were granted pretrial release by U.S. Magistrate Judge Katherine Robertson on conditions including conceding to radio frequency monitoring, curfews and no-contact orders with witnesses in the case.
The two were among five men arrested on charges including loan sharking and extortion conspiracy. Others rousted in early morning arrests and searches by Massachusetts State Police and FBI agents were Ralph Santaniello, 49, and Gerald Daniele, 51, both of Longmeadow, and Richard Valentini, 51, of East Longmeadow.
All pleaded not guilty to the charges at their arraignments. The judge subsequently ruled that four of the defendants could be released pending further bail hearings.
Santaniello and Depergola also face charges in federal court in Manhattan in connection with a $30,000 extortionate loan to an unnamed witness at a Chicopee pizza shop at the behest of New York Genovese crime family capo Eugene "Rooster" O'Nofrio, 74.
According to court records filed in connection with the case, the loan was made in the presence of an undercover FBI agent who infiltrated the crime family. The New York case ensnared dozens of reputed mobsters up and down the East Coast and the alleged Chicopee exchange was just a snippet of the larger conspiracy, which included arson and brutal beatings, the charges state.
Valentini and Daniele have posted bail and have been released, according to court records. Depergola, a former Springfield restaurant owner, and Calabrese, a Braman pest and termite eliminator, were ordered to post the equity in their homes as a condition of release.
Santaniello has been held without bail. The judge ruled he exhibited "a casual brutality" toward the tow operator, Victim One, as he is labeled in court records. Two days of evidence and testimony presented during detention hearings for the local defendants, showed Santaniello arrived unannounced at Victim One's property in Hampden in 2013 and insisted he repay a decade of "street taxes" for his towing business.
Santaniello demanded $50,000 to make up for what he believed he was due since the witness stopped paying slain mob boss Adolfo "Big Al" Bruno after Bruno's murder in 2003. In addition, Santaniello proposed $2,000 monthly payments going forward but the witness resisted, according to the government.
The witness got a slap in the face and a fat lip, and went to state police, court records state. He told investigators Santaniello and Calabrese threatened to behead him and bury him in the woods on his land if he didn't pay up. Victim One agreed to wear a wire and visually record eight subsequent meetings over his alleged "debt."
The Republican has previously reported that Santaniello has emerged as the ad hoc head of the "Springfield Crew" under the Genovese crime family with the backing of his father, Amedeo Santaniello. The elder Santaniello was once of confidante of Bruno, and the current "crew" is bolstered by the fear factor of Albert Calvanese, a convicted loan shark who has not been charged in this case. Nor has the elder Santaniello.
Audio and video evidence presented during the detention hearings in Springfield's federal court portray Ralph Santaniello as the chief bully in the push to get Victim One to pay. He tears around the victim's property demanding to know whether law enforcement is watching. They were, and Santaniello missed it anyhow, according to video recordings played in court.
Santaniello made direct threats, according to court evidence, while Calabrese enthusiastically backed him up.
"Calabrese confronted Victim One with the fact that he is not a legitimate business: 'I'm listening to everything in your life and you are not, and I'll say it to your face, you are not a straight shooter. You've been shooting angles your whole f---ing life and now you've been f---ing talking to someone about crazy s--- because you are part of something you don't want to be part of no more. You're thinking you're being wronged, it was a deal that was legit, business I told you was going to grow,'" court records quote.
Depergola appeared more of a faux ombudsman, according to the government's recordings, accepting a $3,000 payment from Victim One in 2013, telling him he was doing the right thing because Depergola's cohorts were "vindictive mother-------," he said.
It is unclear, according to information released so far, how the players were allegedly splitting the profits, but the government footed the bill. They supplied the $20,000 Victim One paid over two months in exchange for being "left alone."
A second witness, Victim Two, was included in the Springfield indictment. He told investigators that he was a longtime debtor to Daniele, with whom he grew up, and got in arrears over gambling and loan-sharking while the alleged victim was in the throes of alcoholism and drug addiction. Their friendship went south between 2015 and 2016 as the witness fell further in debt, according to court records.
When Daniele confronted Victim Two at his place of work, a drug rehabilitation center, Victim Two told Daniele to get lost — which he did, according to all accounts. Calabrese resumed collections from Victim Two, investigators said, but never harmed or threatened him. The two occasionally met at Alcoholics Anonymous meetings.
Depergola and Calabrese were released with promises that they would not interact with one another or any of their co-defendants. To complicate matters, one defendant has an uncle who passed away, potentially bringing all together for funeral services on Tuesday, according to Calabrese's lawyer, Jeremy B. Powers.
"I will make sure that we walk in, pay our respects and leave immediately," Calabrese's wife reassured the judge.
Powers also said that if Calabrese encounters Victim Two at any AA meetings, he will also leave immediately.
The next pretrial conference in the case is scheduled for Oct. 13.
