Part 1

The fate of Moscow's "kings" of the criminal world turned out to be much worse. Givi Rezany (who we talked about him in the story about Yura Sukhumsky) disappeared—he said goodbye to his wife, went out to his modest "Zhiguli," Shortly after, people in police uniforms came to his wife and politely returned the car keys. Since then, no one has seen Rezany. But what's most curious is that neither the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD) nor the counterintelligence agencies can explain anything about Givi's disappearance.

In a bold manner, by the standards of the criminal world, unknown assailants dealt with Givi’s compatriot, a young Georgian "thief-in-law" Pipia. The thirty-three-year-old, who had been convicted multiple times, owned four cars (including the dream of eccentric millionaires, a Porsche, worth up to $700,000). He had no official job and, according to operational data, was involved in drug trafficking, living in a rented apartment in Moscow. What brought him to the suburban town of Zelenograd? This is now a matter of interest for the criminal investigation and the prosecutor's office because Pipia and his younger brother were found with bullet holes neatly placed in their heads in a "Zhiguli" parked on a Zelenograd street near the "Malino" garage cooperative.

The fate of another "thief-in-law," the well-known Georgian criminal Mikeladze, known by the nickname Arsen, was also tragic. On June 22 of last year, the officers from Petrovka 38 arrested him near the "Hanoi" restaurant (You can read more about it here - The Raid on Hanoi restaurant). At the time, the fifty-year-old authority figure was acting as a mediator in a conflict between the "Georgian" and "Solntsevskaya" criminal groups. The operatives found 34.5 grams of marijuana on Arsen. After going through the usual procedures, he was released on bail.

Unfortunately, Mikeladze lived only about six more months after that. At the start of winter - December 12, 1993, he and a friend went to Tbilisi for a friend's birthday. The gathering was small—about six or seven people. Incidentally, one of the guests was the famous actor Kikabidze (from Mimino). Around 9 p.m., on Mikeladze's suggestion, the group began to leave. Arsen and his friend exited the building, got into their Mercedes, and were about to drive away when two men (Later it will be revealed the killers were Members of Mkhedrioni: Gia Svanadze, Zaza Vepkhvadze). armed with AKM rifles quickly emerged from a nearby "Zhiguli" and riddled the occupants of the Mercedes with bullets

In Balashikha, a suburb of Moscow, the only Chechen "thief-in-law," known by the nickname Sultan, was shot and killed. That morning - March 21, 1994, he was flying to Crimea with his bodyguard Deryabin for a meeting with a local authority figure known as Bashmak. As the "Jeep" headed towards the airport, Sultan unexpectedly suggested stopping briefly at the "Rosinter" company office in the Moscow suburbs.

Deryabin entered the office first. Sultan stayed back for a moment, showing something on the car's dashboard to the driver, Osmaev. The exact details of what happened next are yet to be fully reconstructed (witnesses to the crime are understandably keeping quiet), but it's clear that Sultan and his bodyguard were professionally, coldly, and brutally executed. Investigators believe Sultan may have been carrying a large sum of money from the criminal "common fund," which has not been found. The regional RUOP detectives know the names of the killers, but the exact motive behind the shooting at the "Rosinter" office remains unclear. One theory is that it was revenge for the murder of a local Balashikha crime boss named Frol (Sergei Frolov) on the last day of the previous year.

Frol had long been in conflict with members of the "Chechen Mafia" and was one of the leaders of the "Slavic wing" of the Russian mafia. He had received multiple threats, and the confrontation, which some say began in 1988, escalated in 1993 into a series of "showdowns" between Frol's fighters and the Caucasians. On August 18, for instance, Frol's villa was attacked with a grenade launcher.

Sultan lived in Balashikha and, of course, knew Frol well. Frol had even given him money for the "common fund." However, there's no solid evidence yet to suggest that Sultan gave the order to kill Frol. Similarly, it's premature to definitively link Frol's group to Sultan's death. Other theories are also being considered.

Not only Frol opposed the dominance of Chechens in the Moscow region. According to investigators, "thieves-in-law" don’t like Chechens, considering them reckless and lawless. Chechens frequently clash with "thieves," encroaching on their territory, which leads to armed conflicts and "showdowns." This also explains the "thieves'" lobby against Chechen authorities. "Thieves-in-law" don’t want Chechens to have a say at their gatherings. It’s telling that Sultan repeatedly tried to make a Chechen named Mairbek Dzhunitovich Dakaev (Maer) a "thief-in-law." Twice, these attempts failed. Sultan also had issues with the late Globus, a well-known "thief," who frequently accused Sultan of "making breadcrumbs," meaning he was granting the title of "thief" to young criminals who didn’t deserve the high rank.

Interestingly, a young leader nicknamed Pushkin, who was "crowned" as a watcher last year (1993) by Sultan and controlled Podolsk and Serpukhov, was quietly killed by unknown assailants. For a true respected "thief," this is unacceptable. The death of any of them is a major incident, which is discussed at a "gathering" with appropriate consequences.

After Sultan's murder, there was an assassination attempt on his close friend, a Lyubertsy crime boss nicknamed Avil. Avil was nearly shot in Solntsevo by an unknown assailant. The killer fired several shots from a Makarov pistol as Avil stepped out of his apartment to walk his dog. He survived but ended up in critical condition in the hospital.

Investigators recall an incident that happened back in 1989 at the restaurant "Old Castle." It all started when a group of Caucasians at a table near Sultan and Avil began behaving provocatively. Sultan approached, introduced himself, and asked them to tone it down. The drunken Georgian men sent the "thief" away rudely. Naturally, a fight broke out, during which Sultan had his ribs broken and his head injured. The next day, Avil arrived at the "Old Castle," shot the bartender dead with a sawed-off shotgun, and fatally wounded one of Sultan’s attackers with a sharpened object.

Why did Sultan, who was heading to the warm sea in Crimea, end up being sent home in a coffin to Chechnya? Investigators don't rule out that Sultan's death may have been linked to his proximity to Zakhar, another "thief-in-law" who also lived in Balashikha. Zakhar was known as a figure who adhered to strict prison traditions and never hid his Slavic orientation or claims to leadership in his territory. According to detectives, Zakhar couldn't stand Chechens. He knew the "law" well, but also followed the golden rule: in a fight, the one who strikes first and hard usually wins. And as the saying goes, winners aren’t judged.

Was a meeting arranged for Sultan at the office? And if so, by whom and for what reason? According to tradition, a "thief" can only be summoned to a meeting by an equal, meaning another "thief." However, the hidden forces behind this case are still unknown. While investigators don’t rule out Zakhar’s involvement in the bloody "showdown," they fully understand that Zakhar didn’t personally kill Sultan. It's simply that any lead in this case deserves attention and discussion.

I've read about the crime involving Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka, aka The Ken and Barbie Killers, responsible for the murders of three school girls, one of them was Homolka's own sister, and I'm willing to write something as fiction, but taking the inspiration from their crime history. I'm not sure if I'm doing the right thing, even as it's my passion to write.

As you may know, Bernardo was sentenced to life in prison, while Homolka was released after serving only 12 years as part of her "Deal with the Devil", in which she got her reduced sentence for testifying against her husband. Ever since been released in 2005, she has gone by a new identity, according to reports, she remarried and became a mother of three. although more recent reports claim she no longer lives with her children, and her new husband already left her as well. Nothing is known from her since then.

Her three children, the oldest one now a young adult, must likely know very well about her crimes at this point. Although there is literally no information about them, it is asumed they must be still handling with the truth, with a really hard burden.

Stephen King has been my favorite author ever since I started reading as passion. I've read over 10 of his books. But I've seen an article regarding one of his most recent books, Full Dark, No Stars, about short stories, one of them, A Good Marriage, which took his inspiration from another case. Dennis Rader, aka BTK killer, responsible for the death of 10 people, between 1974 and 1991. He'd already been married and became a father in the middle of his killing spree. He commited his murders secretly, while living a normally life, along his family. When he was finally caught in 2005, his wife, daughter and son were devastated. When his daughter, Kerri Rawson, found out about King's story, she was outraged and critiziced him badly, arguing he was exploiting his father's victims for his own success. Never thought my biggest idol could face such a hard criticism for a big mistake.

My concern his is that if I take some inspiration about the Bernardo and Homolka case, for a fictional novel, which would be focused after prison life, would it be indignating for someone with a dark family history, with one of they're parents responsible of murder, like in this case, her children?

If I took inspiration from a case so long ago, which not only the criminals are dead, but most of their victims families, would it still cause polemic?

https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/convicted-teen-killer-karla-homolka-volunteering-at-montreal-elementary-school/article_501ccd6c-7f15-5c70-88d5-79caa4e4413a.html

https://people.com/crime/btk-serial-killers-daughter-stephen-king-is-exploiting-my-fathers-10-victims/

According to the USSR Ministry of Internal Affairs, the number of "thieves in law" within the former superpower approached 600. Today - 1994 , there are fewer of them in Russia. It is difficult to provide an exact figure, as "Thievs in Law" do not form a union, and the police rely solely on operational information and informant sources.

Currently, from the Baltic states to the Pacific coast, there are approximately two hundred "thieves in law." The reduction in the number of "generals" of the criminal underworld is explained not only by the collapse of the Soviet Union (some "Thieves in Law" live outside of Russia) and their deaths (which are not always natural). Many, while evading law enforcement and amassing considerable wealth, have successfully relocated to the West. However, this does not prevent them from continuing their main function: overseeing, directing, and acting as arbitrators within the criminal fraternity.

Becoming a "thief in law" is not something just anyone can achieve. It is not enough to have a reputation as "tough" and a long "resume" of various criminal code violations. (Though having served time in prison is mandatory for a "law thief.") The main criteria are respect and widespread recognition among the criminal elite, authority, and the ability to "cover your tracks." According to unwritten rules from earlier times, a "thief" was forbidden from starting a family, was under no circumstances allowed to work, and was prohibited from accumulating wealth. A "thief" could fulfill any desire by withdrawing money from the "obshchak" — a kind of collective criminal fund. In the past, to uphold these codes, "thieves" would even clash with prison administrators and go so far as to chop off their own fingers to avoid being forced to work. However, in recent decades, while the core principles have remained, many of these traditions have changed significantly.

"Thieves In Law" of the new "generation," much to the dismay of older authorities nostalgic for the past, have not always "seriously served time," meaning they lack the prison experience traditionally required of a "Thief in Law." But most importantly, according to informed operatives, the process of "crowning" new thieves is far from ideal. It is known, for example, that in recent years, many wealthy representatives of the Criminal world in the Caucasus have even bought their prestigious titles. (This practice, according to investigators, was particularly common among Georgians, who accepted their fellow countrymen into the ranks of "thieves in law" in exchange for a contribution to the criminal "obshchak.") Incidentally, this explains, in part, the less respectful attitude towards the title of "Vor V Zakone" among younger people who have chosen a life outside the law.

The arrival of a "thief in law" at a prison camp or detention center is known well in advance. An infallible and highly reliable communication system operates between the transit points. The honored guest is received accordingly—he is given the best place in the cell or barracks, and a special person, akin to an orderly, is assigned to him.

The camp administration is also quite willing to cooperate. A strong "thief in law," with whom contact has been established, helps maintain order among the inmates, ensures that the required number of "regular guys" go to work, and achieves the necessary productivity levels. For instance, the Perm "thief in law" Yakutenok, while serving his last sentence at Colony No. 12 in Nizhny Tagil, had a separate clean room in the medical unit, along with access to cognac, tea, chocolate, and drugs. Moreover, Yakutenok managed his associates from prison over the phone, directing the "policy" of the criminal underworld. Upon his release, a Perm apartment with a reinforced door and a brand-new Lada car awaited him.

The way "thieves in law" administer their "court of honor" can be understood from the situation in the "Matrosskaya Tishina" prison. A detective, who has an inmate under his supervision in the famous Detention Center No. 1, explained that two "Thieves in Law" hold sway there. On their orders, those who have betrayed their accomplices to the police or are suspected of informing are thrown from the top bunks onto the concrete floor, landing on their backs. After such "falls" during "sleep" (no victim would ever reveal the real reason), the person ends up in the infirmary for a long time, and if they survive, they are unlikely to remain healthy. What can be done? A "thief in law " is not only required to live by the "Thieves Law" himself but also to ensure that the criminal fraternity strictly follows it.

Interestingly, if a "thief in law" is treated disrespectfully, he must prove his superiority. How and by what means is up to him, but losing face means losing his authority and, therefore, his title. A notable example is the story of the well-known Thief in Law Kalina, who was mentored by the even more famous "patriarch" of the criminal world, Yaponchik.

Kalina was not particularly respected. He was a "musician", respected the "Thieves Laws," and took pride in it. However, many felt he didn't live up to the status of a real "Thief in Law." One day, while he was dining at the "Olymp" restaurant in Luzhniki, another patron, Mansur Shelkovnikov (we talked about him already) a very "tough" figure, leader of one of Moscow's gangs, and a black belt in karate—was dining nearby. When Kalina became too noisy, Mansur made a remark. Things escalated into a verbal argument, leading to insults, which were intolerable for a self-respecting "Thief in Law." Kalina, lacking Shelkovnikov's physical prowess, took a knife and killed Mansur with two strikes. He then disappeared during the ensuing chaos. Kalina was charged with murder and arrested, but the witnesses just didn't came to court...

However, Kalina's story ended tragically. Two years later, he was killed by a shot to the head from a "Makarov" pistol. The shooter was a slight young man in a sports cap pulled low over his eyes. He did the deed and calmly walked away toward the nearby residential buildings. The killer's identity remains unknown.

Kalina's death marked the beginning of a series of sensational and always unexpected murders of "thieves in law" and criminal authorities. To be precise, both groups had been targeted before, but not in such numbers, and they weren't as influential or prominent in ordinary society as they later became. However, the situation in Russia changed, as did its economic policies, and many mafia figures, eager to keep up with the times, plunged into commerce, racketeering, dubious, and outright criminal businesses, becoming a real force. As a result, the death of any of them became an event not only for criminals but also for business people, "new Russians," and even politicians.

In Vladivostok, a "thief in law" named Oleg Banin, also known as Bandit, a former athlete, became actively involved in commerce. During one "settling of scores," his competitors killed Banin and two of his bodyguards, then burned their bodies. Another "Thief in Law," Vladimir Ankundinov, nicknamed Khozyaika (The Hostess), a native of the Saratov region, was killed. Shortly before his death, as if sensing his fate, he passed his "thief" status to Banin and Kitaev (nicknamed The Chinese).

Yevgeny Vasin, also known as Jem, a native of Chita, became a "thief in law" and, until his recent arrest, controlled a vast territory beyond the Urals. The "thief in law" Yablochko (who we talked about before) took control of Samara, Tolyatti, Novokuibyshevsk, and Chapayevsk, but as his health deteriorated, other criminals began dividing up his territories

While we could guess for days about the reasons, Doc, William, Jackie, Gary and Ted headed to Berry Creek after seeing a basketball game in Chico, Ca on 2/24/1978, I will try and keep this post a little more focused on things that we do know. That for whatever reason they ended up in Berry Creek that night.

Also on 2/24/1978 Joe Schons visited the Mountain House (bar/restaurant) around 5:30. He had three beers, then got into his wife's VW and headed in the opposite direction of where he lived. Workers at the restaurant thought it was strange that he was going north instead of south, where he lived. Joe would return to the Mountain house the next morning around 9:50 am. Asking for two aspirin, and a glass of water. Then asked for a ride home. Never once mentioning that he had a heart attack. Only stating that he had gotten stuck.

At 10:00am Bill Neil headed to the snow line to go cross country sking. This is where he encountered Doc's Mercury Montego. Bill claimed that he had to shovel around the car to get by. However, weather information that was collected by law enforcement that is in the case file. The weather information from Feb 22 until Feb 28 showed that it had not snowed. Bill also did not give an address or phone number. Just leave a message at the store where he works.

The Forestry worker that called in the Montego 3 after seeing it in the middle of the road had claimed there was melted snow on it, and that it had looked like it had been there for a day or two. His account about the vehicle was on 2/25/1978. As already said before, the car was there since late night on 2/24/1978. It did not snow in that period of time. Jump to June of that year, and they find the body of Ted in a forestry trailer. Here it is the guy had already lied seemingly for no reason, and they find one of the missing in their cabin and there is just no connection whatsoever? I wish I could say that is the end of the weird of this post.

So Joe claims later that he had this heart attack, and he threw up and shit everywhere outside his car. Bill Neil of no particular residence other than living in Berry Creek and tells the police to call his work, remember that guy. Well, bill says that he parked next to Joe's abandoned VW, and doesn't recall seeing a bunch of shit and vomit. However, when she goes up that same day to try and get the car out, she says he "made quite a mess." However, she wasn't able to get the car out that day. She went back on Sunday with her next door neighbor with gas and jumper cables and got the car out. I mean, why not call a tow truck, unless you don't want the other car towed.

I'm sorry this is way to many lies, from what seems like the only 4 people who had any contact with the car is flat out weird. Why lie about a car you saw in the road? Why are 4 different people lying about just seeing a car in the road? What is with the magic disappearing/reappearing vomit? If these 5 guys just stopped the working car and got out and walked away, then what is with all the fiction. It shouldn't matter this much to any of them.

I agree with police, and I am glad they thought to check the low hanging muffler to see if the Montego bottomed out. It didn't have a scratch. You put 3 guys in the back, with 500 lbs of body weight, you are going up and down a mountain, with all sorts of potholes. That muffler never scrapped the ground? Sounds more like to me it was a single driver, who knew the roads, and was driving super careful as to not get pulled over or draw attention.

As for the cans from the C-raitions from the Forestry cabin? The FBI tested all of them for latent fingerprints and could not find a usable print. No one turned on the heat, no one found the other food.

The case files that I referenced this information from is given at the bottom of this post.
https://www.reddit.com/r/yubacountyfive1978/comments/1fbmx7e/did_ted_weiher_really_live_up_to_13_weeks_in_the/

An overview of the case from ABC.

https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/families-plead-for-answers-mystery-yuba-county-five/103-6322d75e-a8dc-4153-91b4-72f5bb5dea09

On the evening of June 22, 1993, officers from the Anti-Banditry Department of the Moscow Criminal Investigation Department and a Special Police Unit conducted an operation to prevent a confrontation between two criminal groups. During the operation, authorities arrested a major figure, Dzhemal Mikeladze (nickname "Arsen"), who had multiple prior convictions. That evening, he was set to act as an arbitrator in a dispute between several major criminal clans.

Later that evening, members of the criminal groups began gathering near the "Hanoi" restaurant on the 60th Anniversary of October Avenue. The meeting, which had been carefully planned, was intended to resolve conflicts between the "teams," with Arsen acting as mediator. At the same time, officers from the 6th Department of the Moscow Criminal Investigation Department arrived discreetly at the location.

the confrontation at "Hanoi" involved the Solntsevskaya Bratva, Lyuberetskaya Bratva- from Lyuberetsky, and one of the Caucasian criminal groups.

Arsen got into a Mercedes with one of the parties involved, Tariel Todua (who we talked about in our last story), and began negotiations. The rest of the group members were peacefully awaiting the outcome. However, in the midst of their conversation, the operatives appeared.

The criminals attempted to resist the police, but failed. They were also unable to escape.

In total, 16 people were arrested during the operation. A search of the vehicles and a personal inspection of the detainees revealed a large quantity of weapons, including metal rods, rubber and telescopic batons, knives, and baseball bats. In Tariel Todua’s car, police found an unregistered hunting rifle with 20 rounds. The confiscated weapons are being checked against records to determine their connection to previous crimes.

At the time of his arrest by the Criminal Investigation Department, Arsen was under the influence of drugs. Police found 35.5 grams of marijuana on him. He is currently being held under Article 122 of the Russian Criminal Procedure Code (on suspicion of committing a crime). According to one of the investigators, Mikeladze is suspected of organizing several kidnappings of Georgian businessmen and their relatives in Moscow.

As for Tariel Todua he will be freed and will continue his work for the Mikeladze Crime Family at least until the early 2000s, while working for the Brother's Mikeladze he will pursue a career in Politics and will become Deputy Minister of the Autonomous Adjarian Republic for Special Assignments in 2000

A question for those who had major crimes happen that you were around for and how did it affect you?

Was wondering for anyo who's had a well known true crime event happened in thier area and you probably ether went to school or such with ether a victim(s) or purpotraters of said crime how did you and the community at large react to the event's and fallout of said crime?

I was a senior at Knoxville,TN central high school and was the year before graduation for class of 2017 and Emma Walker was murdered in 2016. From what I remember the school was all in shock about it happening. A lot of my friends also knew Emma and say how nice and kind of a person she was. I never interacted with her myself. Just never saw her around but for everyone who i knew who knew her where destroyed.

For anyone else who's been in my situation of not really knowing the victims and and or purpotraters of the crimes how did those crimes affect you?

On May 12, 1994, regional officers from the Moscow Main Internal Affairs Directorate (GUVD) conducted an operation as part of the "Signal" operation, resulting in the arrest of 30 members of the so-called Tbilisi criminal group. According to RUOP officers, investigators received information about an impending "showdown" between two criminal groups operating in Moscow—the Tbilisi group and one of the Chechen groups. Arriving at the location of the supposed confrontation, the police arrested members of the Tbilisi group (the Chechens did not show up for the meeting). Among those arrested was a Vor V Zakone (Thief in Law) known as Mamuka (Mamuka Dzhemalovich Mikeladze), who was found to be in possession of 105 grams of poppy straw. Two other Georgian criminal "authorities" - Tariel Todua and Gela Kananadze had a Margolin pistol, a PM pistol, and ammunition confiscated from them.

Mamuka Dzhemalovich Mikeladze is no other then the son of one of the most influential Thieves In Law in Soviet Era and in the early 90s, Arsen Mikeladze, the Mikeladze Family were an integral part of the Soviet and Post-Soviet Criminal World, already in the 70s Arsen Mikeladze found himself in conflict with Goga Yerevansky (Yaponchik Godfather) and with Svo Raf (the Leader of the Armenian Mafia and a close alley of Yaponchik and Dad Hassan), following the killing of their father Arsen in 1993, his sons Mamuka and Dzhemo both will raise and become themselves Thieves in law

They will strengthen their family's status in the Criminal World and become the one of the most notorious thieves of the last 30 years, while small in numbers the Mikeladze Crime Family will be remembered forever as an important actor in the criminal chronicles of Russia

The Mikeladze Family will be mentioned numerous time in upcoming stories

UFC Fighter with a Russian Mafia Boss

Just an interesting photo Shara Bullet posted on his Instagram, ordinary people would look and see just bunch of Russian in a restaurant, but the man who is seated right next to Shara is no other then the Leader of a Notorious Russian Gang in the 90s the Podolsk Bratva / Podolsk Organized Crime group

Sergey Nikolaevich Lalakin also known in criminal circles as "Luchok" was one of the founding members of the group who operates in the city of Podolsk, Chekhovsky District and Serpukhovsky District.

In the 2000s Luchok start to go into business and legalize his activities, but didn't cut his connections to the criminal world entirely, his group start to work in Europe (especially in Spain) and Luchok have close connections with the Thieves in Law, two important figures in particularly - Zakhariy Kalashov (Shakro Molodoy) and Guram Chikhladze (Kvezhoevich) - (we will talk about Guram in the near future)

Not much information about him on english but here some articles -

Moscow Post article about Luchok

Spanish Police raid against Podolsk Gang 2020

Spanish Police Video 2020

According to the press service of the Sverdlovsk Region Internal Affairs Department, the Sverdlovsk Regional Prosecutor's Office has initiated a criminal case under Article 77 of the Russian Criminal Code (banditry) against 12 members (names undisclosed) of a stable criminal group that had been engaged in highway robberies in the Nizhny Tagil region for a long time. The operation to apprehend the criminals was carried out by officers of the Yekaterinburg Department for Combating Organized Crime (RUOP).

During the search, the arrested individuals were found in possession of various Kalashnikov assault rifles, ammunition, several passenger cars, and significant material assets. According to the ongoing investigation, the criminals had been carrying out armed robberies on truck drivers over the past two years.

Investigators have estimated that the group committed a total of 26 attacks, resulting in the theft of large sums of money and a considerable amount of valuable cargo. The gang's victims were drivers from the Sverdlovsk, Novosibirsk, Yaroslavl, Perm, and several other regions of Russia. The exact amount of the damages is still being determined.

According to investigators, the gang was led for a long time by a certain 32-year-old Vladimir Malygin, identified by police as a criminal authority (He has already mentioned in another story - The Battle of the Ice Palace), Malygin had connections to Thief in Law Korogly Mamedov "Caro" and to the Local "Afghan Gang" Leader Seleznev. On March 20, 1994, Malygin was shot by an unknown assailant with a Kalashnikov assault rifle while leaving the Nizhny Tagil taxi station in a Ford car with his personal driver and bodyguard. He died from his injuries on the way to the hospital. However, his subordinates continued robbing drivers on the roads for about another month.

(21.04.1994) Just three years ago, back in 1991 no one could have imagined that gunshots would be heard daily in Moscow and that the number of murdered individuals would be in the dozens. On Tuesday, an attempt was made on the life of 67-year-old Gyak Gevorkyan, known in certain circles as the thief-in-law with the nickname "Goga Yerevansky."

One of the police officers who arrived at the crime scene described the sequence of events.

Around 7:30 p.m., Mr. Gevorkyan left his apartment in Building #9 on Garibaldi Street. Reaching the first floor, he was about to exit the entrance when shots rang out behind him. The attacker, hiding behind a wall on the staircase, fired two bullets from a TT pistol at the "thief-in-law" and fled. It seems that the shooter first aimed at Mr. Gevorkyan's chest and then fired a second, "control" shot to the head.

The severely wounded Goga was taken to the hospital, and within a few minutes, more than ten foreign cars arrived at the facility. The police who arrived at the crime scene found the abandoned pistol and two spent casings. Investigators are convinced that this was another attempted contract killing. The crime could very well be part of the ongoing criminal war that started not so long ago.

As reported by the press center of the Moscow Main Medical Department, the injured man is currently in intensive care at one of the city hospitals in critical condition. The bullets hit his head and the right side of his chest. The doctors are doing everything possible to save his life.

Thief in Law Goga Yerevansky was crowned (got the title) Thief in Law in 1942 in Yerevan, he was only 15 years old at the time.

Between 1951-1959 Goga Yerevansky was stopped - his title of Thief in Law was taken from him temporarily, why isn't clear as he adhered to the Thievs in Law rules, custom and traditions, in 1959 Rafael Bagdasaryan (Svo Raf) who by this time already become the Thief in Law N.1 of Armenia, reinstated Goga status in the criminal underworld, we have already talked about Svo Raf before here

Goga Yerevansky spent in total 25 years in Soviet Prison Camps and Gulags, he first served under Stalin in 1943, he was released last time in 1974, Goga spent most of his sentence in Unzhlag (Unzha Correctional Labor Camp) — he received his second nickname, "Unzhlagsky," in honor of this colony

in 1974 he together with Valery Kuchuloria (Piso) (mentioned in the following story) would be the Godfathers of Vyacheslav Ivankov (Yaponchik), they will formerly invite him to become a Thief In Law, following the collapse of the USSR Goga Yerevansky will join Yaponchik in the USA with his mission of consolidation the Russian Mafia in New York

In the 1990s, shortly before his death, Gayk Gevorkyan developed interests in the arms trade — of course, the illegal kind. He resold weapons that were being supplied at the time from conflict zones such as Yugoslavia and Chechnya. It is believed that he aimed to exert influence over this area of the "black market" in the Yaroslavl region — and, naturally, he encountered competitors

The "clients" of the hit turned out to be Chechen criminal "authorities," whom Goga Yerevansky was interfering with in the arms trade. They found the "hitmen" — a few individuals working in the police agreed to carry out the job. The "special operation" was led by Alexander Perepelitsa, but the actual shooter was another person — Maxim Bogdanov, also a law enforcement officer

For eliminating this person, the group of the "hitmen" received $15,000 from the Chechens. At the time of the crime, the actual killers had no idea who they were hired to "take out." Only later, from news reports, did they learn that the elderly man with a cane was a famous "thief-in-law." After the investigation, all the killers were found and sentenced.

Goga Yerevansky will eventually die in hospital on July 13, 1994, he was 67 Years old

Story of Alexei Konstantinov, better known in the criminal world as "Kupa," who operated in Veliky Novgorod.

Kupa was an influential figure. He financially supported prisoners in the zone, particularly the only recognized Novgorod thief-in-law, Alexander Egorov, known as "Koshelek," and maintained close relations with Slava Cherkes, a respected figure in the criminal hierarchy.

Kupa worked for a long time at the "Compass" beer bar on Oktyabrskaya Street in the 1980s, which attracted a criminal crowd, including card games players. At the same establishment, Kupa worked alongside, perhaps, the only Novgorodian who served time in a European prison — Valera Gogol (who, in the 1990s, was imprisoned in the French city of Marseille).

Kupa was killed in May 1993 during a confrontation with Sergey Yelin, known as "Yolka," which took place at a campsite on Derzhavina Street. According to contemporaries, the conflict occurred over a card game debt.

After serving his sentence, Yolka was released. While in prison, he was repeatedly warned that he would be avenged for the murder once he was free. In 2000, the principle of vendetta was fulfilled.

Yolka was shot dead in the entranceway of a building on Zelinsky Street.

As for "Vor V Zakone - Thief in Law" Alexander Egorov (Koshelek) he will stay in prison almost continuously between 1982-1999 (between arrests he would spend a few months in freedom), following his realse in 1999 he will continue his criminal career up to 2008, when he will give up the title of thief in law himself (among the few who did so)

Nikolai Pushkin was the right-hand man of Kolya Bes, a respected businessman, and the owner of the “Timur” meat processing plant.

Nikolai Pushkin, born in 1966, was registered at Stratilatovskaya Street and graduated from School No. 2.

In the late 1980s, during the "dry law" period (during Perestroika), Pushkin provided protection for vodka sales through taxi drivers, where he met the future crime boss, Bes.

When the era of organized crime groups began to flourish, Nikolai Pushkin worked as the leader of a brigade of enforcers. His combat teams provided security at the “Azot” (later renamed “Akron”) discos, the Trade Union Palace of Culture, and even organized security for a concert by the band “Alisa” in 1992. It’s said that Pushkin’s crew sat right on the stage during Kinchev’s performance, keeping an eye on order.

Pushkin showed a good talent for criminal leadership: providing protection for various types of businesses, lending money at interest, and more.

Ordinary Novgorodians began turning to Pushkin with various requests and complaints, as they saw him as a defender against lawlessness. This played a fatal role.

Pushkin's authority grew rapidly, which did not sit well with the main godfather of the Novgorod mafia, Kolya Bes.

At the end of August 2003, Pushkin, accompanied by his friends from the criminal organization, went on a hunting trip. Along with them was Pushkin’s very young girlfriend, Valeria Ryzhova.

All of them disappeared without a trace.

The hunting lodge where the group was supposed to stay was found burned down, and the car was discovered in the Solnechnogorsk district of the Moscow region.

A reward of one million rubles was offered for any information on the whereabouts of Pushkin and his friends, which was a huge sum at that time. However, to this day, nothing is known about the missing group.

Almost everyone who had dealings with the criminal structures of Veliky Novgorod is convinced that Nikolai Pushkin and his friends were killed by their own gang members from the Kravchenko-Mkhitaryan financial and industrial group (FPG).

In the photo: the missing group: Nikolai Pushkin (bottom center), Valeria Ryzhova (bottom left), Sergey Grigoryan (bottom right), Igor Vedekhin (top left), Dmitry Vasilyev (top right).

Rashad Jamal is an American rapper who at some point decided to give his opinion on spiritual issues, starting an online project known as the University of Cosmic Intelligence. Currently, Jamal is in prison after being found guilty of sexually taking advantage of his ex-girlfriend's young daughter.

Despite being in prison, he continues to influence his followers through social media and internet platforms, especially on TikTok. On January 16, 2022, in Alabama, Rashad's young online follower, Damien Washam, took the life of his own mother with a katana.

He later injured his autistic brother and one of his uncles, who was disabled. Damien's brother managed to call the police and after the attacker tried to escape in his vehicle, he was finally caught by the authorities. On August 14 of that same year, followers Yasmine Hider and Krystal Pinkins were involved in the crime of a 22-year-old young man whom they tried to rob.

While relatively recently, at the beginning of 2024, the American authorities were investigating the strange disappearance of a small group of 6 Rashad followers (4 adults and 2 minors).

The subjects had met on the internet, and later after moving away from their families, they had decided to get together to live in the city of Berkeley, Missouri. But a few months later, they suddenly left the house, deleted their social media accounts and disappeared from the face of the earth.

To this day, Missouri authorities have still not found those followers of Rashad Jamal and fear the worst. Several specialists blame Jamal for having acted as a kind of catalyst for these events.

Disclaimer: This post was originally written in Spanish. I'm a Spanish-speaking Youtuber about true crime, destructive cults, and more. This post is a summary of a script for a video I made on the subject. I know English, but not 100 percent. So I apologize for any errors in translation.

In January 2000, a notorious confrontation in the style of the 1990s took place at the "Titan-SN" gas station in the center of Veliky Novgorod.

According to eyewitnesses, about ten cars with license plates from Novgorod, Moscow, St. Petersburg, and Tver pulled up to the station. The people who got out of the cars gathered near the gas station. Within minutes, the conversation turned into a brawl. The opposing sides used baseball bats, metal rods, and then started shooting with pistols and automatic weapons.

When the police arrived at the scene, they found the bodies of two employees from the Novgorod private security firm "FFF," and five wounded individuals were taken to the hospital. One of them, the chairman of the "Legion" movement, Valery Ivanov, died on the operating table.

It turned out that the veterans of the Afghan war from Novgorod, St. Petersburg, and Moscow had gathered at the gas station that evening to resolve some issues. It's unclear who provoked the conflict, but it seems the leader of "Legion," Novgorodian Valery Ivanov, had called for the meeting. He had asked Kolya Bes to send fighters from his security agency for support. On the opposing side were fighters from the private security firms "Barracuda" and "Skat."

The construction branch of "Legion" was building one of the country's largest rehabilitation centers for Afghan veterans, called "Pearl," on Lake Seliger. Some serious buyers from the northern capital had shown interest in the project, but the deal fell through. The conflict of interest arose from this failed deal.

Valery Ivanov, the head of "Legion," had served in Afghanistan. Upon returning to Novgorod, Ivanov worked as a taxi driver, and in 1996, he became the leader of the local Afghan veterans' movement, which later attracted veterans of other wars. Ivanov ran for the regional Duma, but lost. It's said that Valery was eager to break free from Kolya Bes's control and create his own independent organized crime group (OPG), but he didn’t have the chance.

After his death, Ivanov's real estate and assets passed to his wife, who was also murdered later (In November 2000). Following the tradition of "Novgorod's Chicago," full control over Ivanov's assets eventually went to the Kravchenko-Mkhitaryan financial and industrial group - FPG (into the hands of Nikolai Kravchenko - Kolya Bes Novgorodskaya OPG).

I am reaching out to this community for help in finding Shaun David Steward, who went missing from Phoenix, Arizona on February 1, 2008.

Shaun was 29 years old at the time of his disappearance. He was last known to be living in the vicinity of North 7th Avenue and West Indian School Road. He led a transient lifestyle but would always contact family during holidays. Unfortunately, he has not been seen or heard from since that day.

Over the past year, I have been actively involved in trying to find him. I have been in regular contact with Detective Starks at the Phoenix Police Department, who is currently assigned to his case. I received a copy of the PHX PD investigation via the FOIA and had the Salvation Army Missing Persons Bureau temporarily looking for him. I’ve scoured the internet, contacted numerous podcasts, television series, and news agencies about covering his story.

I am reaching out to see if anyone here has any information or suggestions on other avenues to explore. I created an account on NAMUS, but the only possible automated match that came up appears to have been confirmed not to be him.

Here are some links with more information about Shaun's case:

Missing People In America (https://missingpeopleinamerica.org/16-years-later-sons-unwavering-search-for-vanished-father)

Phoenix Police Department Missing Person Bulletin (https://www.phoenix.gov/policesite/Documents/087259.pdf)

NamUs Case MP7406 (https://namus.nij.ojp.gov/case/MP7406)

The Charley Project (https://charleyproject.org/case/shaun-david-steward)

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for taking the time to read this.

Dustin Kjersem was initially reported as the victim of a bear attack at a Moose Creek campsite located east of Big Sky, Montana. His death was later ruled a homicide. His body was found with "chop wounds" and significant damage to the skull.

The homicide is suspected to have occurred between the evening hours of Thursday, October 10, and at around 10am Saturday, October 12, when his body was discovered.

Original press conference with Gallatin County Sheriff's Office: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7EKlp65Kd10

Kjersem's sister stated in an interview with Fox News Digital that many people in the area are unaware of the homicide. https://www.foxnews.com/us/outdoor-loving-family-man-killed-tent-afraid-camp-killer-loose This case should be of interest to anyone located in or around Gallatin County or anyone traveling in the area during the timeline indicated above.

Information of Interest

The Gallatin County Sheriff's Office released an update on October 24 requesting information about items possibly removed from the crime scene. https://www.kbzk.com/news/crime-courts/sheriffs-office-gives-update-on-moose-creek-murder-investigation

Items possibly removed from the homicide scene:

• Estwing camp axe, blue and silver, likely with a 26” handle (photo of similar item included in the KBZK article)
• Remington 11-87 12ga shotgun, wood stock
• Ruger Blackhawk .44mag revolver, blued 4 5/8” barrel, wood grips
• Orange YETI brand cooler – Tundra 45 (photo of similar item included in the KBZK article)

Law enforcement is seeking assistance from anyone who:

• Was in the Moose Creek area, anytime from Thursday evening, Oct. 10 through Saturday morning, Oct. 12
• Saw anything out of place or out of the ordinary in the areas surrounding Moose Creek
• Saw Kjersem's truck in the area (black Ford F-150)

People should submit footage from the following cameras:

• Trail or game cameras in the Moose Creek area, even if the footage seems irrelevant
• In-car cameras traveling in the Moose Creek area during this time frame

Oleg Zhuravlev, who later, thanks to his friendship with Nikolai Kravchenko (known as Kolya Bes - who was the leader of the Novgorodskaya OPG), became one of the influential businessmen of Veliky Novgorod. However, this friendship cost him his life.

In the 1990s, Oleg Zhuravlev was involved in protecting various businesses. This included lending money at interest, real estate, and wholesale trade.

In particular, two commercial floors of the "Sadko" hotel were under his protection in the mid-1990s. Zhuravlev was closely associated with very influential people of that time. For example, on one of the hotel's floors, a man named "Uncle Borya" (Boris Likhman), who received money from the Malyshev gang in St. Petersburg, was actively engaged in lending to individuals and organizations under Zhuravlev’s patronage. At some point, Likhman and Zhuravlev had disagreements regarding "protection payments," but no one touched Uncle Borya, as he was closely associated with a well-respected Novgorod fixer, Mikhail Ginzburg, who was held in high esteem in both Moscow and St. Petersburg. In the late 1990s, rumors spread that Uncle Borya had died in South America, but many believe this is untrue and that he simply moved abroad.

Thanks to such connections, Zhuravlev gradually started to move out of Kolya Bes’s sphere of influence. The culmination of the conflict between the two authorities occurred when they could not agree on control over the Novgorod Meat Processing Plant and the restaurant "Pri Dvore." This conflict ultimately led to Zhuravlev’s murder.

On the evening of November 9, 1996, while returning from a vacation in Valdai in his jeep, Kolya noticed Oleg Zhuravlev’s car on the road. Zhuravlev was heading to his dacha that day. Seeing his rival, Bes ordered his bodyguards Borovykh and Solovyov, who were accompanying him in another car, to catch up to and kill Zhuravlev, and then burn their car somewhere afterward.

Zhuravlev stopped at a gas station in the village of Kresttsy, and while he was refueling his car, Bes's bodyguards shot him five times with pistols. Zhuravlev’s bodyguard, Yuri Nesterenko, who was with him at the time, managed to escape the killers. He later fled to a European country, where he still lives.

Police officers who arrived at the scene found Zhuravlev still alive. However, his wounds were too severe: on November 10, after surgery at the Kresttsy District Hospital, the businessman died from massive blood loss.

The Murder of Oleg Zhuravlev will come back at "Kolya Bas" - it will be one of the main charges against him in a 2007 criminal case

During the 1980s, several young Americans decided to gather around the figure of a strange subject who called himself Master Michel. The group, which was baptized as Buddhafield, was made up of approximately 120 members who lived together. But behind the facade of Eastern religiosity and toned bodies, Buddhafield would become a dangerous sect oriented to the service of its narcissistic leader.

He demanded extreme devotion from his followers, exploited them at work and economically, humiliated them publicly and demanded that they learn ballet choreography and plays.

In addition, he prohibited his devotees from reading books, listening to the radio and watching television. Master Michel, who later called himself Andreas, gave ambiguous messages regarding the physical appearance of the devotees. He mentioned that they should not obsess about their bodies, while forcing them to be in shape and even to undergo cosmetic surgery.

With the sole purpose of ensuring that everything would turn out well, he would also have them done as soon as possible. But everything would change in 2006, when a former follower decided to send an email to all members, detailing the illegalities that were committed, including the abuse of several men in the cult.

And during the individual hypnotherapy sessions, Andreas took advantage of the opportunity to force some men to have intimate encounters with him. They would soon discover that Andreas' real name was Jaime Gomez, a mediocre actor who had been born in Venezuela and who had even ventured into gay adult films.

After studying hypnotherapy and becoming an acting teacher, Gomez would start his cult. After the serious accusations, the sect fragmented, but to this day it continues to operate in Hawaii.

Disclaimer: This post was originally written in Spanish. I'm a Spanish-speaking Youtuber about true crime, destructive cults, and more. This post is a summary of a script for a video I made on the subject. I know English, but not 100 percent. So I apologize for any errors in translation.

The Facts

• The US Dept. of Justice (DOJ) has indicted Raul Gorrin Belisario, the owner of Venezuela's state-owned media company Globovision, on money laundering charges linked to the country's state-owned oil company, Petroleos de Venezuela S.A. (PDVSA).[1]
• The indictment claims that as part of a $1.2B scheme, Belisario paid hundreds of millions in bribes to Venezuelan officials in exchange for foreign currency exchange contracts with PDVSA.[2][3]
• The DOJ alleges that with the foreign currency, Belisario and his co-conspirators purchased real estate and yachts in the US, among other luxury items.[4]
• Belisario is known as a member of the "boliburgueses," a group of wealthy elites with ties to the old Hugo Chavez regime. He purchased Globovision in 2013 and reportedly reduced its criticism of Pres. Nicolas Maduro.[2]
• He faces 20 years in jail if arrested and convicted, though he remains at large. This is not his first stint with the US justice system, having previously been accused of money laundering in 2020.[1]

Read more here

On May 1, 1998, on the Rostov-Baku highway, a group of Chechen militants from Baudi Bakuyev's gang kidnapped the deputy plenipotentiary representative of the President of the Russian Federation in the Chechen Republic, Valentin Vlasov.

For several months, there was no information about him. At that time, security officials, according to a source, decided to turn to Aslan Usoyan (Ded Hasan) to help get information about the diplomat’s fate through his own "channels."

A few weeks later, Usoyan reported that Vlasov was alive and that $7 million needed to be paid for his release. Ultimately, Usoyan became the mediator in the negotiations and managed to arrange for Vlasov to be freed, which happened on November 13, 1998. What the Thief in Law received in return is not disclosed, but since then, he has not faced serious problems with the authorities.

An athlete during the Soviet era, a crime boss in the '90s, and a politician in the 2000s — Igor Zvonnikov, nicknamed "Zvonar."

Igor Zvonnikov had been involved in business in Kyiv since the late 1980s. Like many entrepreneurs, he fell under the influence of racketeers. To pressure him, the extortionists kidnapped Zvonnikov's wife and threatened to force her into prostitution. Igor turned to some police officers he knew, who freed his wife and began protecting his business in exchange for money.

Later, Igor stopped paying the police and started collaborating with a crime boss named Rybka (We have already covered Rybka story here), who brought Zvonnikov into his inner circle, making him one of his brigade leaders. Zvonnikov was responsible for overseeing the construction business and Kyiv's real estate market and even started his own construction company, building cottages and high-rises.

After Rybka's death in 2005, Zvonnikov fully transitioned into business, legalize his activities and began pursuing a political career. He became a deputy in the Brusyliv District Council.

On June 5, 2009, Zvonnikov was killed by an explosion in the elevator of his own home in central Kyiv. In 2010, the person who ordered the murder, also a deputy of the Brusyliv District Council and a business associate of the deceased, was arrested, along with the individual who built and planted the bomb.

On the day of his death, Zvonnikov, as usual, came home for lunch. He was accompanied by two bodyguards, whom he left at the entrance of the building, telling them he would be out in about 30 minutes. Upon entering the elevator, he pressed the button for his floor. The elevator started moving, but a few seconds later, an explosion occurred, resulting in Zvonnikov sustaining multiple shrapnel injuries that were incompatible with life.

Notably, Igor Zvonnikov used personal security services (he was constantly accompanied by two bodyguards). In media interviews, his father, Vyacheslav Zvonnikov, mentioned that at one point, his son even wore a bulletproof vest out of fear of an assassination attempt. From this incident, it can be concluded that the murdered man's personal security did not conduct any operational-technical inspections in the area of the protected individual’s residence, which ultimately allowed the killers to carry out the planned assassination successfully.

The Moscow Main Internal Affairs Directorate (GUVD) is continuing its investigation into the terrorist attack that occurred on March 30, 1994 in Krylatskoye, involving the explosion of a car belonging to the "Oton" corporation. As a result of the explosion, the corporation's driver, Sergey Shaifullin, was killed, and "Oton" associate Andrey Isaev, along with two children and a police officer who happened to be nearby, were injured. there are two versions currently being investigated. According to one version, the explosion was organized by the corporation's competitors; according to the other, it was orchestrated by Moscow criminal authorities who, in May of last year, had issued a death sentence against a gangster known as "Rospis," who, according to police, is Andrey Isaev.

As previously reported, on March 30, a car belonging to the "Oton" corporation exploded in Krylatskoye as Andrey Isaev and Sergey Shaifullin approached it. Preliminary estimates suggest that the explosive device had a power equivalent to at least 800 grams of TNT. The driver was killed, and Andrey Isaev was injured. Two children playing nearby and a police officer were also harmed. GUVD officers, who wished to remain anonymous, informed that two main versions of the incident are currently being developed.

According to their information, the assassination attempt was aimed at Andrey Isaev (known in the criminal underworld as "Rospis"). Consequently, investigators are trying to determine which of Isaev's business competitors or partners he had conflicts with.

The other version is related to Isaev's activities as a criminal authority. As early as the end of December 1992, he had been detained by the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs at the "Solnechny" hotel. At that time, more than 50 leaders of criminal gangs and "thieves-in-law" were celebrating the birthday of an authority figure known as Zakhar (We already covered up this incident over here). All the detainees, except Isaev, were released. He was only released in May, and then a gathering of authorities for unknown reasons sentenced him to death. However, "Rospis" managed to live for more than half a year afterward. He escaped the explosion with only a minor scare and is currently in the hospital

I was wondering if anyone could tell me the name of a wanted man I watched a documentary on years ago.

I don't know how accurate this is because it was a while ago that I watched it, but from what I remember he is thought to have killed his wife/partner and possibly her/their children in a house or ranch somewhere in the US (sorry, I'm bad with remembering states since I'm not from the US). They were found dead on the property, I think in a shed. He had been living a double life; he had another wife/partner in a different town not too far away. I think this was not his first time having two partners at once. He went on the run/disappeared after that, and when I watched the documentary it had been a while (a few years, I think) and he was still missing. I just remembered the case and wanted to see if he had been found. I'm pretty sure they were all over 50 at the time, and also pretty certain that it happened this century.

I've checked Robert William Fisher (wanted, but doesn't fit the double life criteria) and David Miller (doesn't fit either because he never went on the run). John List and a few others I've seen also don't meet it.

The thuggees, which can be translated from Hindi to English as “swindlers” were a sect oriented towards the veneration of the Hindu goddess of destruction and renewal, Kali. The first known record of the so-called thugs dates back to the 14th century.

The thugs made friends with merchants, investigated more about their possessions and then ritually suffocated them using a yellow rumal. The thugs kept the victims’ belongings and prepared the bodies of the deceased for a ritual ceremony in honor of Kali. They broke all the joints in the limbs of their victims to speed up the decomposition process and then buried them. According to the Guinness Book of Records, this cult took the lives of around 2 million people.

The Thugs had many leaders throughout their history, but their last and most lethal leader was a man known as Thug Behram, who by the age of 25 had become an accomplished killer and eventually became the leader of the cult. But with the entry of the British Empire into India during the 19th century, everything would change for the Thugs. In 1838, Thug Behram, the leader of the Thugs, was found in his native Jabalpur. He would be arrested and later confessed that he and his group had murdered approximately 931 people, of which 125 had been executed by himself.

Later, the Thugs began to betray each other, mentioning that this was the will of the goddess Kali and against all odds, in a few years the cult was completely paralyzed and at the end of the 19th century it would be declared extinct.

Disclaimer: This post was originally written in Spanish. I am a Spanish-speaking Youtuber about true crime, destructive cults and more. This post is a summary of a script for a video I made about the case. I know English, but not 100 percent. So I apologize for any errors in translation.

1994 opend up with a big police operation against the illegal drug market in Russia and Ukraine

Just in February 1994, about 200 kilograms of poppy straw and over 10 kilograms of opium were confiscated from criminals by the metropolitan police in the first week of February.

February 11th was particularly productive, with the police conducting 21 raids on drug dealers that day. First, operatives from the 5th Division of the Regional Directorate for Combating Organized Crime arrested 17 Georgian citizens at the Rossiyanka Hotel on Leninsky Prospekt, among them the thief-in-law Revaz Lortkipanidze, nicknamed "Rezo." They found 118 grams of koknar (poppy straw), 0.54 grams of promedol, and 5.5 grams of marijuana. Shortly thereafter, officers from the special police unit under the Moscow Main Directorate of Internal Affairs confiscated 50 grams of opium from a citizen named Kiryakin on Bolshaya Spasskaya Street

However, the biggest catch of the day belonged to operatives from the 8th Division of the Moscow Criminal Investigation Department (MUR). On 7th Parkovaya Street, in the apartment of a certain Shtukarev, they arrested a major drug dealer, an Azerbaijani resident named Dzhavadovogly. He had 17 packages of poppy straw weighing a total of 10.5 kilograms. Earlier, MUR operatives had caught another dealer, Osmanovogly, red-handed on Skakovaya Street with 1.127 kilograms of high-quality Afghan raw opium. They also found equipment for extracting this drug – flasks, acetic anhydride, alkalis, and other chemicals. The largest operation took place on Kerchenskaya Street, where officers from the 8th Division seized 96.83 kilograms of poppy straw from the apartment of Gubanov, who had previously served 12 years for drug trafficking. This straw had been brought from near the Ukrainian city of Lutsk.

According to metropolitan police, most plant-based drugs – poppy straw, marijuana, hashish – still come to Moscow from Ukraine. The Rovno, Sumy, Poltava, and Khmelnitsky regions are especially active in cultivating these drugs. A cup of straw costs wholesale buyers 2,000 rubles in Ukraine but sells for 15,000 rubles on the Moscow market, albeit retail. It's more profitable to convert koknar into opium solution for sale, with one "cube" of the solution fetching 2,000 rubles. Dealers can extract up to 20 cubes from one cup of straw, instantly tripling their profit.

Operatives attribute the increase in drug couriers between Ukraine and Russia not just to the growth of the Moscow drug market but also to seasonal factors. The main opium harvesting season, when straw and marijuana are smuggled into Russia by the ton and police scrutinize shipments more closely, has ended. Now, more cautious individuals are transporting the goods, hoping that as spring approaches, law enforcement's vigilance will diminish. However, this time they were wrong.

Lastly, here are some prices for various drugs on Moscow's black market: 1 gram of opium - 15,000 rubles, 1 matchbox of marijuana - 5,000 rubles, 1 matchbox of hashish - 7,000 rubles, a 5-milliliter ampoule of trimethylfentanyl - 15,000 rubles, 1 gram of impure heroin - $20, 1 gram of cocaine - $150.

Today, October 9th, marks the day of remembrance for two thieves in law who left a significant mark on the history of the criminal underworld: Datiko "Tashkentsky" Tsikhelashvili (1951-2000) and Vyacheslav "Yaponchik" Ivankov (1940-2009).

In the photo: Thieves Vyacheslav "Yaponchik" and Dato Tashkentsky, March 7, 1992, Moscow—the night before "Yaponchik" departed for the USA

While i have already mentioned Datiko in another story about the Chechen Mafia, Yaponchik story and life experiences would be much better to write as a book or make a movie about him movie

Vyacheslav Ivankov started his criminal career when he was still a child at the age of 14, hin nickname Yaponchik meaning Japanese he got because of his facial features, but this wasn't his first nickname, after he married an Assyrian women in his 20s he got the name Assyrian son-in-law

In the 60s and 70s he became part of the Mongol Gang headed by Gennady Karkov known as Mongol, there he worked together with other Thieves in Law such as - Lev Genkin (Siska), Vladimir Bykov (Balda).

In 1974 Yaponchik will join the Thieves in Law and will get the title from Piso and Goga Yerevansky (A story about Goga Yerevansky is in the working)

In 1980 Yaponchik will set up his own criminal organization and soon enough will become one of the pioneers of the Russian Criminal World Renaissance in the 90s

By 1991-1992 Yaponchik was practically the Boss of all Bosses of the Russian Mafia, he was the highest criminal authority, the only one's who could have compete with him were Sergey Timofeev leader of the Orekhovskaya Bratva and Otari Kvantrishvili leader of the Georgian Mafia in Moscow, both at the time were good friends of Ivankov

So what made him to fly out New York? The American Dream? Or criminal investigation against him in his homeland? No one knows exactly what made him do this move, Vyacheslav Ivankov was sure he would conquer New York the same way he took over Moscow, but he miscalculated his chances, Post-Soviet Russia with rampant corruption and ineffective police forces was no mach to the American FBI

Does anyone know more about the disappearance of Charles de Nicolay? I watched an old segment about him from Dzień Dobry TVN from 2019 (a Polish morning TV show), and after reading more about him, I found information on the police website stating that he disappeared at the end of August.

Charles de Nicolay comes from an aristocratic French family. For centuries, its members lived in various parts of Europe, but they eventually chose Krzeczyn Mały—a small village in Lower Silesia, Poland—as their home. In an interview with Piotr Wojtasik, Charles revealed the history of his ancestors and what brought him to Poland. His family lived in France for generations, but during the French Revolution, they were forced to leave the country. Many settled in Switzerland and Belgium. Centuries later, Charles’ family came to Poland, where they made their home in a former German baroque palace.

I also found his Instagram and his wife’s, and since his disappearance, she continues to post cheerful content and hasn’t mentioned anything about her partner being missing for several months. To me, this whole situation is really strange. No one seems to have tried to raise awareness about it, and the only information you can find is here: https://zaginieni.policja.gov.pl/zag/form/r464277423,DE-NICOLAY-CHARLES.html (Polish government website).

Between 1974 and 1975, 6 bodies of individuals belonging to the LGBT community in San Francisco, United States, were found. The lifeless bodies were found near Ocean Beach, with obvious sharp object wounds and near strange drawings of their faces, drawings that were apparently made by the perpetrator of the crimes himself. It is because of that macabre last detail that the wanted subject would earn the nickname of the "doodler".

Apparently, his modus operandi consisted of visiting gay bars and clubs, identifying a possible victim (always a Caucasian man), drawing the subject and then using that drawing with a charming phrase to attract him. Later he would convince them to go to a private place and have privacy, to finally end up executing them and leaving the respective drawing of the victim near the place where he abandoned their inert bodies.

In 1975, three men were separately attacked in an apartment complex, but miraculously survived. This led to the first descriptions of the violent man. Eventually, police released a sketch of the suspect, describing the perpetrator as a handsome African-American, between 19 and 22 years old, about 1 meter 78 centimeters tall, and possessing significant knowledge of illustrations. Perhaps realizing how close he was to being caught, the Doodler never attacked again. But there is speculation that this killer may have been involved in around 14 violent crimes.

Despite the large amount of investigation that has been done over the years, the Doodler has not been caught and the case remains open.

Disclaimer: This post was originally written in Spanish. I am a Spanish-speaking Youtuber about true crime, destructive cults and more. This post is a summary of a script for a video I made about the case. I know English, but not 100 percent. So I apologize for any errors in translation.

In 2023, a school shooting has occurred at an Elementary School in Belgrade, Serbia. The shooter was identified as a 13-year-old boy named Kosta Kecmanovic, and he has shot 14 students and 2 staffs, resulting in the deaths of ten individuals, including nine students and a security guard. Six others, five students and a teacher, also sustained injuries. When the police arrived, Kecmanovic surrendered and was taken into custody. But since he was close to being 14 (for context he was born at the end of July of 2009), which falls below Serbia's age of criminal responsibility (14), he was unable to face legal charges. His father has owned the firearms used in the incident. After the apprehension, Kecmanovic has been placed to a mental health hospital located in the same city. Meanwhile, legal actions have been initiated against his parents. His father faces charges for acts against public safety, while the mother is charged with criminal possession of a weapon. Their criminal trial began in 2024. The attack occurred one day before a separate mass shooting in the country. Both shootings caused protests. Some people say Kecmanovic was bullied. However, he was bullied long before he shot the students and staff, so it can't possibly be the cause of it. Besides, most of the victims didn't even know him. Also, keep in mind that Kecmanovic was taught to use a gun by his father. And by the way the students who were killed were aged 11-14, so some of them were older than him (for context, there is no Middle School in Serbia), while the staff member who died was 51.

Some time ago, many women dreamed of tying their lives to criminal authorities. The motivation behind such a desire could be the aspiration to acquire wealth quickly or, on the contrary, the constant sense of security. Moreover, crime bosses had extensive connections, allowing their wives to secure excellent jobs. However, like always, this ambition came with its own risks. In this article, today we will cover the beloved women of crime bosses who lost their lives as a result of gang conflicts.

Svetlana Kotova

Svetlana Kotova was the beloved of Alexander Solonik, a man who needs no introduction. He was once one of the most professional hitmen, whose services were sought by various criminal groups. How many people fell victim to Solonik remains a mystery. He was arrested multiple times but always managed to escape. Remarkably, he became the only person to have escaped from the infamous "Matrosskaya Tishina" prison.

Solonik was fond of beautiful women, but his longest-lasting relationship was with Svetlana Kotova. Svetlana participated in the "Miss Russia-1996" competition and, after its conclusion, left for Athens with Solonik. On February 2, 1997, Solonik's body was found in the Varibobi forest near Athens. However, Svetlana Kotova went missing. Her search continued for three months until her body was discovered near the resort town of Saronida. At the time of her death, Svetlana had just turned 21.

Alexandra Petrova

Alexandra was from the city of Cheboksary. Even as a child, she stood out for her beauty, and her dream was to pursue a career as a model. At 16, she started to realize her dream. In 1996, she won the title of "Miss Russia."

After receiving the title, Alexandra's career took off rapidly. She constantly received lucrative offers from various modeling agencies. She actively worked, enrolled in a university, but soon met a young man named Konstantin Chuvilin, a member of the "Chapaevskaya" organized crime group. A passionate romance quickly developed between them, and soon they acquired a luxurious apartment and car.

On the evening of September 16, 2000, two men knocked on Alexandra's apartment door. She opened it, and the men burst inside. A neighbor who witnessed the incident called the police. By the time law enforcement arrived, all three people inside had sustained injuries. Alexandra was still alive but died on the way to the hospital. She was only 20 years old. The perpetrators were never found.