Usurers demanded €450 a month after lending €200, threatened to kill borrower

Two men have appeared in court, charged with usury and threatening to use violence against a 19-year-old boy to whom they had lent money.

Inspector Maurice Curmi arraigned 33-year-old Briton Simon Anthony Robert Tartaglia and 18-year-old Timothy Dennis Bonello, both of whom live in St. Paul's Bay and charged them with receiving interests in consideration of a loan, in excess of that allowed by law.

The pair were also charged with having threatened the borrower and his mother.

Magistrate Joe Mifsud heard how Simon Tartaglia and Timothy Bonello had lent a man €200 and, when the money was not repaid within a month, upped the demand to €450.

They had also called the borrower's mother threatening to kill her son if he failed to pay them. After finding out where she lived, Tartaglia had yesterday threatened to break down her door.

Legal aid lawyer Noel Bartolo entered a plea of not guilty on behalf of both of the accused.

The court noted that both Bonello, who works as a bartender and Tartaglia, who is a plasterer, were not entitled to legal aid due to the fact that they had an income. It instructed Bartolo to only assist them during their arraignment.

Tartaglia, who claimed to have lost his passport and was waiting for his ID card to be issued was remanded in custody.

Bonello, however was granted bail against a personal guarantee of €2,000 also being ordered to sign a bail book daily.