Posted on 03/21/2002 8:15:50 PM PST by ATOMIC_PUNK
Nation: Multiple homicides in California the work of Russian mob, prosecutors say
LOS ANGELES (March 21, 2002 11:00 p.m. EST) - Five people whose bodies were pulled from a reservoir near Sacramento had been abducted, blackmailed and killed by Russian mobsters, the U.S. attorney said Thursday.
The victims included two filmmakers, an accountant, an electronics executive and a home builder from the Los Angeles area. More than $5.5 million in ransom was demanded of relatives, U.S. attorney spokesman Thom Mrozek said.
Six men of Russian descent are in custody, without bond, charged in indictments with hostage-taking or receiving ransom money in connection with some of the victims.
The first body was found floating in New Melones Lake on Oct. 18, his hands bound and a plastic bag over his head. The last victim was recovered Tuesday.
Two of the suspects threatened to kill their victims if ransom demands were not met, while others "aided and abetted" the plot, the indictment charges.
The victims were identified as Meyer Muscatel, 58; Alexander Umansky, 35; Georgy Safiev, 37; Nick Kharabadze, 29; and Rita Pekler, 39.
Muscatel, a wealthy San Fernando Valley homebuilder, was suffocated, but the FBI has not provided a cause of death for the other four.
Muscatel vanished in October, while Umansky and Pekler disappeared in December and the other two in January, authorities and relatives said.
One of the kidnappers worked for Umansky's electronics firm before he was fired in 2001, authorities said. Safiev and Kharabadze co-owned the Matador Media film production company, while Pekler did accounting work for the company.
Mat Shatz, the stepfather of Kharabadze, called the alleged kidnappers "bad people who come to this country, who are impatient and want to have money."
Kharabadze worked as a sound editor on a number of films, including "Air Force One," in which the U.S. president's plane is hijacked by Russian dissidents, his family said.
Two suspects - Dubai businessman Andrei Agueev and Andrei Liapine, who lived in the United Arab Emirates - are accused of helping transfer $240,000 in ransom paid to the kidnappers. Both have pleaded innocent and face trials beginning April 9.
"He is totally innocent and the government has no evidence to indicate that any funds sent to his bank account came from any kidnapping," said Agueev's lawyer, Victor Sherman.
The remaining suspects are scheduled for trial April 30.
Russian criminals often work in family groups or clans, broken down along ethnic or religious lines, said Dr. Louise Shelley, an international crime expert at American University in Washington, D.C. Extortion, financial scams and other frauds are common.
The other one-half was strong, stolid, dependable, and loving.
The one-half that could sit down in front of a pickle--a good pickle, with maybe a little herring and some black bread -- and was utterly happy.
What's your point? The article clearly states that they are victims, and were kidnapped for ransom. They are not members of the mob.
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