Overview

• The Sept. 16 indictment charges seven men with conspiracy to commit kidnapping and obstruction, which carry maximum penalties of life in prison and 20 years, respectively.
• Prosecutors say masked assailants abducted a Quincy man at gunpoint on Feb. 27, held him in a Saugus garage where he was beaten and burned, then released him early Feb. 28.
• Investigators report the kidnappers used the victim’s phone to video-call contacts to demand $150,000, yielding $4,000 and cards from the victim and $18,000 plus a Rolex from his spouse and a friend via a Malden drop and a balcony handoff.
• Five defendants were publicly identified — Brian Cardoso, 33; Marcus Castaldi, 29; Melvin Coleman, 34; Anthony Lima, 37; and Samuel Alouidor, 27 — while two remain at large.
• Four pleaded not guilty in Boston federal court; Cardoso has been in U.S. Marshals custody since April with an arraignment set for Sept. 23, and prosecutors allege he is linked to the Dorchester-based NOB gang.