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Nine Members of Interstate Gang Operating in New York, Ohio, and Pennsylvania Charged
LEV L. DASSIN, the Acting United States Attorney for
the Southern District of New York, JOSEPH M. DEMAREST, JR., the
Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York Field Office of the
Federal Bureau of Investigation ("FBI"), and JANET DIFIORE, the
District Attorney of Westchester County, announced today the
unsealing of an Indictment charging ARTEM CHERNE, YEVGENY DYNKIN,
ANDREW BURBAN, ANTHONY KALIKA, ANTON HUSYEV, LEONID VODVOZOV,
ALEH MASALAKOV, ROBERT WOJICKI, and ROMAN LIKHADZIYEVSKI with
offenses stemming from their membership in a criminal group
involved in retail store burglaries, extortion, firearms
offenses, marijuana trafficking, credit card fraud, identity
theft, and other crimes. As set forth in an Indictment unsealed
today in Manhattan federal court:
CHERNE, DYNKIN, VODVOZOV, MASALAKOV, WOJICKI, and
LIKHADZIYEVSKI are charged with conspiracy to possess and
transport in interstate commerce stolen property relating to a
series of commercial burglaries during January through April 2009
in New York, Pennsylvania, and Ohio. CHERNE and DYNKIN, as well
as BURBAN, KALIKA, and HUSYEV, are also charged with conspiracy
to extort, attempted extortion, and use of a firearm during a
crime of violence, stemming from the kidnapping of a marijuana
dealer in November 2008 and attempt to extort marijuana and money
from him, at one point taking him to a beach on Staten Island, forcing him to his knees threatening to kill him, and firing a
shot into the air.
CHERNE, DYNKIN, VODVOZOV, MASALAKOV, WOJICKI and
LIKHADZIYEVSKI face a maximum sentence of five years in prison on
the charge of conspiracy to possess and transport in interstate
commerce stolen property. CHERNE, DYNKIN, BURBAN, KALIKA and
HUSYEV face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on both the
extortion conspiracy and the attempted extortion counts, and a
maximum sentence of life imprisonment on the firearms offense.
ANDREW BURBAN, 21, and ANTHONY KALIKA, 19, both of
Staten Island, New York; and LEONID VODVOZOV, 21, ALEH MASALAKOV,
19, ROBERT WOJICKI, 20, and ROMAN LIKHADZIYEVSKI, 18, all of
Brooklyn, New York, were arrested earlier today and are expected
to be presented in Magistrate Court later today. ARTEM CHERNE,
20, YEVGENY DYNKIN, 21, and ANTON HUSYEV, 21, all of Brooklyn,
New York, are currently in custody on separate charges. This
case has been assigned to United States District Judge RICHARD J.
SULLIVAN.
Mr. DASSIN praised the cooperative work of the many
agencies involved in this investigation, specifically the FBI;
the Westchester County District Attorney's Office; the Richmond
County District Attorney's Office; the New York State Police; the
New York Police Department; the Nassau County Police Department;
the Suffolk County Police Department; the Westchester County
Intelligence Center; the New York State Waterfront Commission
Harbor; the Port Authority Police Department; the Pennsylvania
State Police; the Greenburgh, New York Police Department; the
Copley, Ohio Police Department; and the Fredericksburg, Virginia
Police Department. Mr. DASSIN said that the investigation is
continuing.
Assistant United States Attorneys ELIE HONIG and PETER
SKINNER are in charge of the prosecution.
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