Four area men are implicated in an August 2011 home invasion at 64 Cross Road in Waterford that became the "talk of the town" among a circle of friends who knew the suspects and the victim, according to a court document released Tuesday.

Waterford police on Monday charged Benjamin D. Stavens, 23, of New London and Matthew J. Hamler, 25, of Waterford with conspiracy to commit home invasion, conspiracy to commit third-degree burglary, conspiracy to commit second-degree assault and conspiracy to commit first-degree kidnapping. The police said the investigation is continuing and additional arrests are expected.

Hamler is accused of arranging for Stavens and two other men, Jared K. Hastings, 23, of Waterford, and Lester Fantauzzi, 27, of Niantic, to break into the home of Alex "Booger" Pignataro, a one-time friend, and beat him up in retaliation for a marijuana transaction that had gone awry, according to an arrest warrant affidavit prepared by Officer Raymond E. Carroll III.

Hastings and Fantauzzi, who have not been charged, are currently incarcerated on unrelated charges. Hastings is serving a one-year sentence for illegal possession of a weapon in a motor vehicle, failure to appear in court and evading responsibility, according to court records. Fantauzzi is serving three years for setting fire to a building in Manchester in May 2012, according to court records.

Pignataro, the alleged victim, told police he woke up at about 8 a.m. on Aug. 3, 2011, to find Stavens, Hastings and Fantauzzi in his bedroom dressed in dark clothing, gloves and black masks, according to the affidavit. He said they pulled him out of his bed, tied him up with cords from his laptop computer and began punching and kicking him in the head, face and body. He said one of them asked him about money and struck him in the face with a gun. He said he lost consciousness and was being kicked in the ribs when he awakened.

He said his attackers also tied up his girlfriend and forced her into a closet.

Pignataro said he recognized the suspects' voices because he graduated from high school with them and they used to be friends.

During the incident, he suffered abrasions on his knees, neck and right arm, bumps on his head and forehead, a puncture wound on his left cheek, cut and swollen lips, three chipped teeth and one lost tooth, according to the affidavit. He was treated at Lawrence + Memorial Hospital.

During a lengthy investigation, police interviewed several people who said they knew all of the men and had heard about the incident, according to the affidavit. One witness said the home invasion had become "the talk of the town."

In November 2011, Pignataro asked the police to withdraw his complaint and stop investigating, according to the affidavit. He said that he and Hamler had distributed marijuana while living together in East Lyme. He said that Hamler had given him $64,000 and instructed him and another man to fly to California to purchase marijuana. He said agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration seized the money at Newark Liberty International Airport, but Hamler believed Pignataro still had the money and arranged the home invasion.

In July 2014, Inspector Kenneth Edwards from the Chief State's Attorney's office received a fax from the DEA indicating that agents had seized an undetermined amount of money from Pignataro at Newark airport in March 2011, according to the affidavit. Pignataro told the agents the money was proceeds from marijuana sales and that he was transporting it for an unknown individual.

Hamler, who is free on a $150,000 bond, is due in court on Oct. 10.

Stavens was arraigned Tuesday in Superior Court, where Judge Kevin P. McMahon set bond at $230,000 based on the new charges and pending narcotics and motor vehicle charges. The case, which is likely to be transferred to the court where major crimes are heard, was continued to Oct. 20.

k.florin@theday.com

Twitter: @KFLORIN