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Francis A. Garzon, 30, and Endrit Kllogjeri, 26, were both charged with conspiracy to commit extortion in an indictment returned by a jury in U.S. District Court in Trenton.
Garzon, Kllogjeri and an unidentified conspirator plotted to shake down the Marlboro victim and his son, who lived in Brooklyn, according to the indictment.
The defendants threatened to harm the father if he didn't recover a bag from his son that purportedly held undisclosed property worth $100,000 and was stolen from them, it says.
"Garzon further demanded an additional payment of $100,000 as 'interest' for [the son's] possession of the bag," according to a complaint filed by the FBI.
Garzon went to the father's home, told him that he "did not know who he was dealing with," then pulled out a revolver, pointed it at him and cocked the weapon's hammer, the complaint says.
A series of threatening in-person and phone conversations followed -- including cellphone texts that included photos and videos of the son and his family, it says.
Authorities alerted to the situation used an undercover detective who, posing as the dad, offered to settle the situation with $70,000 in cash, according to the complaint.
They then tracked down both Garzon and Kllogjeri and took them into custody.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric A. Boden of U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Philip R. Sellinger's Trenton office is handling the case.
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