Two Russian gangsters with obsessions of owning expensive Yeezy sneakers and lavish cars were convicted on Tuesday for running a syndicate organization in Brooklyn.
Leonid ‘Lenny’ Gershman, 35, and 39-year-old Aleksey Tsvetkov were charged with racketeering, illegal gambling, loansharking, extortion, arson and marijuana distribution.
The three week trial culminated after prosecutors proved that the pair had been following orders from the Soviet Union from 2011 to May 2017.
Leonid ‘Lenny’ Gershman, 35, (left) and 39-year-old Aleksey Tsvetkov (right) were charged with racketeering, illegal gambling, loansharking, extortion, arson and marijuana distribution
‘Members of the criminal syndicate were linked to high-level members of Russian organized crime known as “thieves in law”’, the release stated.
‘The“Thieves” authorized syndicate members to use violence to protect their criminal activities.’
Both men operated a to a Coney Island poker ring that raked in well over $800,000 a night while working under Soviet Union mob bosses from 2011 to May 2017
Both men operated a to a Coney Island poker ring that raked in well over $800,000 a night. They used a number of tactics to keep folks in line.
In Spring 2016, they instructed two others – both of whom testified at the trial – to set a Sheepshead Bay building ablaze.
Two residents were injured in connection to the fire – including a 12-year-old boy.
During the trial, prosecutors provided evidence to show how the duo adjusted to their lucrative lifestyles.
One witness shared how Gershman owned a pair of grey Yeezy sneakers with a hefty price tag of $1500 – as made evident in a 2016 photo of the mobster.
Witnesses also shared that the two defendants had a love for lavish vehicles. Tsvetkov drove a Porsche while his accomplice drove a BMW M5.
The two also tended to sport luxurious watches including brands Piaget, Rolex and Hublot.
Another photo shows Tsvetkov posing with a new motorcycle that he had been given as a birthday gift that Gershman and pals all chipped in for.
During the trial, prosecutors provided evidence to show how the duo adjusted to their lucrative lifestyles. One witness shared how Gershman (circled) owned a pair of grey Yeezy sneakers with a hefty price tag of $1500 – as made evident in a 2016 photo of the mobster
Another photo shows Tsvetkov posing with a new motorcycle that he had been given as a birthday gift that Gershman and pals all chipped in for
Evidence revealed that Gershman worked with the bosses in Russia to track down the father of a man who was extorted out of more than $40,000.
‘Thieves have found him . . . in Israel,’ he is said to have said on a wire tap. ‘They were at [his] place today.’
Surveillance video also showed an August 2016 altercation where Tsvetkov brutally attacked a man and put him ‘to sleep’ outside of a Aces Auto Bodyshop in Gravesend.
Gershman (center right) is sporting a $1500 Hermes belt buckle in the picture. He and Tsvetkov will serve life sentences
Gershman pictured with his girlfriend Lorena
The two also pistol-whipped another victim and shattered his teeth. All for supposedly stealing cannabis from their stash house.
Both will face up to life in prison for the crimes.
‘Today’s verdicts hold Gershman and Tsvetkov responsible for years of using intimidation, violence and their association with Russian organized crime to inflict crimes on our local communities, including carrying out beatings in broad daylight and committing arson in the dead of night, endangering the lives of tenants and New York City firefighters,’ said United States Attorney Brooklyn Donoghue.
Others associated with the crime organization are also awaiting trial.