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Sources: Midtown Murder A Russian Mob Hit
May 22, 2004 6:30 am US/Eastern
(1010 WINS) (NEW YORK) The brazen shooting of a jeweler on a busy midtown Manhattan sidewalk may have been a hit by the Russian mob, law enforcement officials said Friday.
A gunman dressed in black shot Eduard Nektalov once in the back of the head and twice in the back on Thursday in the Diamond District before disappearing into a crowd. The motive of the assailant, who remained at large, was unclear, police officials said.
The law enforcement officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said investigators were focusing on the victim's possible financial dealings with Russian organized crime figures.
Nektalov, 46, and his father, Roman, were under indictment for allegedly helping Colombian drug dealers launder money. But investigators don't believe the slaying was related to that case, or that it involved a robbery, the officials said.
The victim — a native of the former Soviet republic of Uzbekistan — and his father were in court earlier this week, when a judge set a July 12 trial date in their money laundering case, Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Margolis said Friday. He declined further comment.
The Nektalovs' attorney, Christopher Chang, insisted Eduard Nektalov was unlikely target for a hit by any group. His client, he said, never cooperated with the government and expected to be cleared at trial.
"Everything was fine," Chang said. "He was very optimistic."
The lawyer described Nektalov, 46, a married father of two who lived in Queens, and his father as hardworking immigrants who had a solid reputation as owners of Roman Jewelers on West 47th Street. The family was unaware of any threats against him, he added.
"Obviously, they're very distraught," he said.
An indictment unsealed in June accused Nektalov and his father of selling gold and diamonds to an undercover agent and an unidentified cooperating witness in a series of deals starting in 2002. The buyers used bags of cash, "which were represented to be narcotics proceeds," the court papers said.
The sting resulted in arrests of the Nektalovs and eight other Diamond District defendants. Prosecutors allege that some of the accused jewelers agreed to melt down the gold and mold it into screws, belt buckles and other items that could be safely funneled back to Colombia.
Nektalov, who was free on $250,000 bond, apparently was on his way home at about 7:20 p.m. Friday when the gunman approached him from behind on Sixth Avenue between 47th and 48th streets, an area famed for its numerous diamond merchants. The shooter fired three times and fled on foot, leaving behind a crime scene that drew actresses Candice Bergen, of "Murphy Brown" fame, and Lorraine Bracco, of "The Sopranos," who were being hosted by police on a ride-along program.
Investigators were collecting and reviewing videotapes from security cameras in the area to try to identify the shooter.
>>>They come under the communist manifesto, the order of "Destroy faith in the Government and leaders."
I've been finding similar updated instructions but now names 'the Art of War'.