Updated news on the Gambino, Genovese, Bonanno, Lucchese and Colombo Organized Crime Families of New York City.

Thursday, June 21, 2018

Russian mob boss and former boxer convicted in New Jersey


A Russian mob boss from Edgewater and a pal who was once the middleweight World Boxing Champion were found guilty Tuesday of running a criminal operation together.
A jury convicted that boss, Razhden Shulaya, and boxer Avtandil Khurtsidze on racketeering conspiracy and wire fraud conspiracy this week. Shulaya was also found guilty of ID document fraud and conspiring to traffic stolen goods, according to a statement from Geoffrey S. Herman, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York.
The men referred to each other as "vor," or "vor v zakone," Russian phrases that translate to "thief" or "thief-in-law." Both terms also connote a level of respect for mob work done in the Soviet Union.
According to prosecutors, the thieves-in-law "engaged in widespread criminal activities" in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Nevada including:
  • An illicit poker business and brothel in Brooklyn
  • Attempts to defraud casinos by using smartphones and software to exploit slot machines
  • Kidnapping a software engineer in Las Vegas to write the algorithm that would help exploit those slots
  • Transportation and sale of untaxed cigarettes
  • Plans to pay bribes to local cops
Khurtsidze, who has since been stripped of his title, was caught on video twice beating up people for Shulaya. The fighter extorted gambling debts and went after members of the gang who the two men thought disrespected Shulaya.
The two men still have to go before a judge who will determine their sentence.

https://www.nj.com/bergen/index.ssf/2018/06/nj_mobster_and_former_boxing_champ_were_thieves-in.html


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