Feds: 33 alleged Russian mobsters indicted in criminal scheme
Thirty-three alleged Russian mobsters were indicted in Manhattan federal court on Wednesday for schemes ranging from the theft of a 10,000 pound shipment of chocolate confections and rigging casino slot machines to using a woman to seduce, chloroform and rob male targets.
The defendants, most of them from Brooklyn, included Razhden Shulaya, 40, of Edgewater, New Jersey, identified as a “vor” or elite criminal from the former Soviet Union who allegedly headed a nationwide racketeering enterprise that included 27 of those charged.
Four separate indictments laid out what Acting Manhattan U.S. Attorney Joon Kim called “a dizzying array of criminal schemes” ranging from old standards like illicit poker operations in Brighton Beach, extortion and sale of untaxed cigarettes to murder for hire and the slot machine and seduction scams.
Shulaya was taken into custody in Las Vegas where he was expected to appear in court. A defense lawyer could not be identified late Wednesday.
'It's personal to me' The law would require businesses to have proper state licensing, prove that their employees are paid and ban staff from living at the spas or sleeping there overnight. Repeat offenders could face penalties up to $25,000. NewsdayTV's Shari Einhorn has more.
'It's personal to me' The law would require businesses to have proper state licensing, prove that their employees are paid and ban staff from living at the spas or sleeping there overnight. Repeat offenders could face penalties up to $25,000. NewsdayTV's Shari Einhorn has more.
