Randallstown Man Accused In Murder-For-Hire Extortion Scheme

BALTIMORE, MD — Prosecutors allege a Randallstown man was part of a scheme to extort a Baltimore County restaurateur to get him to pay back a loan. It involved a murder-for-hire plot, arson and death threats from 2018 to 2019. The victim was not named, nor was his restaurant.

Stepfen Gerard Gaither, 29, of McChurch Court in Randallstown, is accused of setting fire to the victim's home in Baltimore County on Aug. 2, 2019, as part of a pattern of behavior aimed at threatening the man to pay off his debt.

The fire caused $50,000 in damage, and the victim and his wife had to move out of their home, according to the affidavit in support of the criminal complaint against Gaither and his alleged partner in crime, Clement Robert Mercaldo Jr., 61, of Timonium.

Prosecutors said Mercaldo gave the business owner an "interest-only" loan to open a restaurant in June 2008, and the restaurateur paid it off through monthly installments by 2011.

When he took out additional loans, Mercaldo began to require weekly cash payments.

Because of outstanding debt, investigators said the victim reduced his monthly payments in March 2017 and February 2019.

Mercaldo enlisted Gaither to help get the business owner to pay, according to the affidavit, which stated the victim began to receive threatening text messages and phone calls in March 2019.

Here are some of the incidents detailed in court filings:

Vandalism (March 29, 2019): The restaurant owner's car was vandalized while parked in front of his house overnight between 9:45 p.m. and 6 a.m. The culprit used a garden statue to break the back window and smashed the front windshield.

Arson (Aug. 4, 2019): Someone broke the basement window at the victim's home, poured liquid inside and ignited the liquid, sparking a fire that set off smoke detectors, waking the restaurant owner and his wife at 2:52 a.m. The fire spread from the basement to the first floor. Nobody was injured, but there was $50,000 in damage, and the couple had to move.

Threatening messages (March to September 2019): Using various applications, Mercaldo and Gaither sent threatening messages to the victim and his business partner, according to the affidavit. In some, they referenced the fire and threatened further harm to the victim's family should he not pay his debt.

Gaither sent a text message to the victim that said: "A fire wasn't good enough ... I'll record you dying slow and send it to you kids on Facebook," according to the court filing.

Murder-for-hire plot (October 2019 to January 2020): The affidavit details text messages exchanged between Mercado and Gaither, including evidence that Gaither was conducting surveillance on the victim to carry out the plan.

Mercaldo and Gaither appeared in federal court Wednesday in Baltimore and are scheduled to appear for detention hearings at 10 a.m. and 1:30 p.m., respectively, on Friday.

They face 20 years in prison for credit by extortionate means and interstate communications with intent to extort. However, prosecutors said the actual sentences are usually less than the maximum penalty.