PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – An FBI informant has testified that he conspired with former Philadelphia police inspector Daniel Castro to extort $150,000 from a former business associate of the inspector (see related story).

And today, government prosecutors were in court, backing the allegations with audio and video recordings.

Castro (above) had lost $90,000 in a business deal gone bad, but informant Rony Moshe says Castro wanted to get $150,000 back for his trouble.  And, says Moshe, they were using some muscle — threats — to get it.

In one videotaped meeting, Moshe says he is handing Castro $4,500, and they are putting it in a bag during this taped conversation.

“Do you want to count it?” asks Moshe.

“No, I don’t want to count it; I trust you,” replies Castro.  “Are you kidding?  If I have to count money from you — yeah, put it in that envelope, baby — there’s a problem.”

Moshe says on the videotape that he collected $5,000 but is keeping ten percent as a fee.

“And we’re working our way up to fifty…a hundred…a hundred and fifty,” says Castro a moment later.

Moshe has testified that he repeatedly discussed the use of threats to get the money, and Castro was OK with it, even impatient.  But since it was an undercover operation, no one was actually threatened.

Castro has pleaded not guilty and the defense claims he was entrapped.

Reported by Tony Hanson, KYW Newsradio 1060