The tow truck company owner was given a choice: Pay us or we will behead you.
He selected the former, federal authorities said Thursday, paying thousands of dollars to four Western Massachusetts men who claimed to have ties to the infamous Genovese crime family.
They had vowed to bury his headless body in his own backyard if he did not comply, according to the office of US Attorney Carmen Ortiz.
Ralph Santaniello and Giovanni “Johnny Cal’’ Calabrese, both of Longmeadow, allegedly conspired with Francesco “Sammy Shark’’ Depergola of Springfield and Richard Valentini of East Longmeadow. They are accused of working with the New York crime family on numerous enterprises.
Authorities say the men “committed various criminal activities in Springfield, including loansharking and extortion from legitimate and illegitimate businesses, including illegal gambling businesses and the collection of unlawful debts.’’
According to court records unsealed Thursday as the men were arrested, the defendants allegedly conspired to extort about $17,000 from the tow company owner between September and November 2013.
“Johnny [Calabrese] will be here on Friday and you better have the money and nothing better happen to Johnny or I’ll be coming back to you,’’ Santaniello allegedly told the businessman on Sept. 30, 2013.
During that same meeting, authorities allege, Santaniello and Calabrese “threatened to cut off [the businessman’s] head and bury his body in the backyard if he did not pay’’ the two men $20,000 that week followed by $2,000 a month for the foreseeable future.
Calabrese and Valentini returned to the victim’s home Oct. 4 and collected $5,000 in cash, then returned five days after that to collect $500, authorities allege. The businessman was threatened with violence for paying just $500, and Santaniello ripped open his shirt to make to sure he wasn’t wearing a wire, authorities allege.
The victim made a $1,500 payment to Calabrese on Oct. 11, followed by a $3,000 payment collected by Depergola on Nov. 20 and a final payment of $10,000 on Nov. 25, authorities allege. Depergola allegedly told the man he would not have to make any further payments.
The four men are also accused of joining with a fifth man, identified as Gerald Daniele of Longmeadow, to loan $3,700 in cash to a person known only as “Victim No. 2’’ to pay for some gambling losses.
When the man did not repay Daniele, Calabrese and Santaniello allegedly worked together to collect the money and to “punish’’ the person for failing to repay as promised.
Santaniello, 49, Calabrese, 53, Daniele, 51, Depergola, 60, and Valentini, 51, were arrested Thursday, officials said.
Santaniello, Calabrese, Depergola, and Valentini face charges of conspiracy and interference with commerce by threats and violence, while Santaniello, Calabrese, and Daniele were charged with conspiracy and the use of extortionate means to collect extensions of credit. Daniele was charged with two counts of making extortionate extensions of credit.
“The defendants allegedly used violence, exploited their relationship with the [Mafia], and implied threats of murder and physical violence to instill fear in their victims,’’ Ortiz’s office said in a statement.
The charges grew out of a joint investigation involving State Police detectives, special agents from the FBI, and prosecutors in Hampden County and Ortiz’s office, officials said.
The men appeared in US District Court in Springfield on Thursday and were detained pending a detention hearing on Aug. 11, officials said.
John R. Ellement can be reached at ellement@ globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @JREbosglobe.
