One of five reputed mobsters from Springfield that were indicted as part of a large-scale federal organized crime bust has been ordered held without bail.
The Republican newspaper reports U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge Katherine Robertson denied bail for 49-year-old Ralph Santaniello on Tuesday.
Santaniello was arrested earlier this month along with roughly 40 alleged members of the Genovese, Gambino, Luchese, Bonanno and Philadelphia organized crime families. He has pleaded not guilty to gambling, loansharking and extortion-related charges.
Prosecutors say Santaniello and another mobster implicated in the Massachusetts-to-Florida sweep extorted the owner of a local towing business.
Robertson wrote in her order to detain Santaniello that the "casual brutality" he displayed in his exchanges with the victim was enough to keep him held while he awaits trial.
