Leader of Armenian crime ring in New York pleads guilty

PanARMENIAN.Net - The leader of an Armenian crime ring in New York pleaded guilty to racketeering charges on July 8 in a federal court, the U.S. Department of Justice announced.

Armen Kazarian, 47, pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy, admitting his association with the Mirzoyan-Terdjanian organization and acknowledging he engaged in extortion for the crime ring and on his own behalf, U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said in a release.

The indictment charged Kazarian used his leadership position in the crime community to help the Mirzoyan-Terdjanian crime engage in a range of criminal offenses, including operating a $100 million Medicare fraud billing ring.

Kazarian was a "vor" - roughly translated as "thief-in-law" - among high-level criminals from Russia and the countries that had been part of the former Soviet Union, including Armenia.

"International organized crime has emerged as one of the most serious law enforcement problems of the 21st century," Bharara said. "It is a problem that this office - and the Department of Justice as a whole - is committed to rooting out. [Kazarian's] guilty plea should send a strong message to international gangsters all over the world that if you commit crimes in this country, we will find you, and we will prosecute you with the full force of the law."

Kazarian will be sentenced on October 6, 2011, United Press International reported.

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