Sobbing Leeds blackmailer told victim he would 'make his life hell' unless he handed over £10,000
He tried to extort £10,000 from former employer or hw would “make his life a living hell”
A handyman threatened to report a businessman to the Inland Revenue unless he handed over £10,000.
Nicky Towers sobbed as he was given a suspended sentence at Leeds Crown Court, despite a lengthy criminal record including burglary and attempted robbery.
The 40-year-old, who was being held on remand at HMP Doncaster and appeared in court over a video link, admitted a single charge of blackmail.
The court heard that Towers had been employed by an IT company as an odd-job man, painting and decorating.
But he became “unreliable”, failing to show up for work, prosecutor Carmel Pearson told the court.
In August this year the company owner began to receive anonymous messages saying he the authorities would be informed that he had been avoiding tax.
Towers told him he wanted a one-off £10,000 payment in exchange for his silence, telling him he wanted it delivering to a pub.
The victim had no idea who was sending the messages, but they became threatening and warned him of the consequences of not paying.
He told the victim he knew where he lived and was watching and following him.
But in late August, he began to receive the messages from Towers’ number, which the victim knew.
Towers brazenly admitted it was him but continued to make threats and became angry at the victim’s hesitation.
He told him he would “make his life a living hell” and that he would “send people to his house”.
The terrified victim finally contacted the police in early September, but Towers continued to send messages.
The victim was so scared he installed extra security at his home.
The court heard heard Towers, of Tong Road, Farnley, has seven previous convictions for nine offences, including perverting the course of justice, burglary, attempted robbery and an involvement in drugs.
He was last jailed for 36 months in 2009.
Mitigating, Michael Walsh said it had been years since he last committed a serious offence, so suggested the blackmail was “out of character” for him.
He said he was supported by his partner.
Judge Anesh Pema gave him a 20-month sentence, suspended for 24 months, ordered him to complete a probation requirement, 200 hours of unpaid work and subject to a six-month GPS tracker.
He was also given an indefinite-length restraining order to keep him away from the victim.