Opinion ID: 439957
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Cosmo Incidents.

Text: 4 1. September and November 1979. In 1978 and 1979, Anthony DiPasquale, his brother James, and Michael Cosmo were engaged in the sale of speed, or methamphetamine. Twice during the autumn of 1979, Anthony, assisted on one occasion by August Redding, forced Cosmo to pay thousands of dollars that Anthony claimed Cosmo owed him. The opinion of the district court, 561 F.Supp. at 1341-42, reflects the details of these first two incidents. 5 2. December 1979. Cosmo worked for a man who installed carpet, and in December 1979, Anthony asked Cosmo and his employer to carpet his basement. Anthony, Redding, and others played cards while Cosmo and his employer worked in Anthony's basement. When Cosmo attempted to leave the house, Redding and Anthony attacked him with fists, feet, and a fireplace poker, until Cosmo lost consciousness. He awoke in the basement, handcuffed to a pinball machine, with Anthony shouting that Cosmo would die. Cosmo agreed to borrow money to pay what Anthony claimed he owed. 1 After Cosmo was taken upstairs, Victor Szwanki punched and tormented him. Cosmo was finally released, and he paid Anthony a few days later, after he obtained the money from his relatives. 6 Based on this incident, Anthony, Szwanki, and Redding were convicted of collecting a claimed debt by extortionate means. 7 3. January 1980. The following month, Szwanki, James DiPasquale, and two others visited Cosmo at his home. James demanded $25,000 that he claimed Cosmo owed Anthony. When Cosmo denied the debt, James and Szwanki beat and choked him. Although his attackers warned Cosmo not to contact the police, Cosmo reported the incident at his family's insistence. James called Cosmo and told him he would be killed, but for once Cosmo was fortunate. 8