Vladimir Reznikov (died June 13, 1986,
Brighton Beach,
Brooklyn,
New York City) was a
Russian American
Russian Americans ( rus, русские американцы, r=russkiye amerikantsy, p= ˈruskʲɪje ɐmʲɪrʲɪˈkant͡sɨ) are Americans of full or partial Russian ancestry. The term can apply to recent Russian immigrants to the United State ...
gangster. After attempting to retrieve money owed to him for a fraudulent gas license provided by
Marat Balagula (for whom he sold bootlegged gasoline in a western New York gas station, among many other enterprises) Reznikov was shot dead by the
Lucchese crime family, to whom Balagula was paying street tax. Reznikov's murder remained unsolved until the 1994 cooperation of Lucchese acting boss
Anthony Casso. According to Casso, the shooting was actually committed by
Joseph Testa and
Anthony Senter, two veterans of the
DeMeo crew.
Biography
Gangster career
In the spring of 1986, the
Colombo crime family crew, led by
Michael Franzese
Michael Franzese () ('' né'' Grillo; born May 27, 1951) is an American former mobster who was a caporegime in the Colombo crime family, and son of former underboss Sonny Franzese. Franzese was enrolled in a pre-med program at Hofstra University ...
, began shaking down associates of Balagula, who was running a multibillion-dollar gasoline bootlegging operation. In response, Balagula asked for a sit-down with
Christopher Furnari
Past member(s)
Joseph Abate
Joseph "Joe" Abate (July 8, 1902 – 1994) was a capo in the family's New Jersey faction. In the 1920s, Abate served as an enforcer for Al Capone in Chicago before settling in New Jersey.Raab, p.1-3 In June 1976, Ab ...
, the
consiglieri for the
Lucchese crime family. After the sit-down took place in Brooklyn's ''19th Hole'' social club, Balagula agreed to pay street tax to the Lucchese family. The money was not only strategically shared, but also became the
Five Families' biggest moneymaker after
narcotics trafficking.
According to Philip Carlo,
It didn't take long for word on the street to reach the Russian underworld: Marat Balagula was paying off the Italians; Balagula was a punk; Balagula had no balls. Balagula's days were numbered. This, of course, was the beginning of serious trouble. Balagula did in fact have balls—he was a ruthless killer when necessary—but he also was a smart diplomatic administrator and he knew that the combined, concerted force of the Italian crime families would quickly wipe the newly arrived Russian competition off the proverbial map.
Shortly afterward, on June 12, 1986, Vladimir Reznikov entered Balagula's headquarters at the Odessa nightclub. He pushed a
9mm Beretta into Balagula's skull and demanded the $600,000 that he alleged Balagula owed him. After Balagula promised to get the money, Reznikov allegedly snarled "Fuck with me and you're dead—you and your whole fucking family; I swear—you understand?" (although all conversation took place in Russian, so proper translation is suspect)).
Shortly after Reznikov left, Balagula suffered a massive heart attack. He insisted, however on being treated at his home in Brighton Beach, where he felt it would be harder for Reznikov to gain access to him. When Lucchese
underboss Anthony Casso arrived, he listened to what had happened and said, "Send word to Vladimir that you have his money, that he should come to the club tomorrow. We'll take care of the rest." Casso also requested a photograph of Reznikov and a description of his car.
The following day, Reznikov arrived at Balagula's nightclub for the meet. Instead, Reznikov was attacked by Gambino associate
Joseph Testa from behind, who fatally shot him on Casso's orders. According to Casso, "After that, Marat didn't have any problems with other Russians."
[Robert I. Friedman, ''Rad Mafiya; How the Russian Mob has Invaded America'', 2008 p. 55.]
References
Sources
*
Philip Carlo
Philip Carlo (April 18, 1949 – November 8, 2010) was an American journalist and best selling biographer of Thomas Pitera, Richard Kuklinski, Anthony Casso, and Richard Ramirez. Carlo had amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), commonly known as "Lo ...
, ''Gaspipe: Confessions of a Mafia Boss'' William Morrow (2008)
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Reznikov, Vladimir
1986 deaths
American people of Russian-Jewish descent
People murdered by the Lucchese crime family
Jewish American gangsters
Deaths by firearm in Brooklyn
People murdered in New York City
Male murder victims
Murdered Russian gangsters
Russian Jews
Year of birth missing
People from Brighton Beach