Read Chapter 18 "Wine Press of Fury"
GUNMAN CUTS DOWN JEWELER May 21, 2004 --
By HASANI GITTENS, LARRY CELONA and ERIC LENKOWITZ
Nektalov's rabbi said that hours before his death, he confessed that
he was worried about his safety. Rabbi Itzhab Joshua of the Binat Chaim
Synagogue said Nektalov told him he was tormented by thoughts of urban
violence.
Nektalov, a native of Uzbekistan, was under federal indictment for allegedly
using his business to help Colombian drug dealers launder money
A federally indicted Diamond District jeweler was executed yesterday
in a brazen rush-hour shooting on a Midtown street jampacked with commuters
and tourists.
Eduard Nektalov, 46, had just closed up his shop, Roman & Sons
Jewelers at 74 W. 47th St., at around 7:20 p.m. when he was approached
from behind by an olive-skinned assassin in front of 1212 Sixth Ave.
Without a word of warning, the baby-faced killer coldly pumped two
bullets into his back and one in his head, cops said.
"The guy came up behind him and shot him in the head, I think three
shots, then the guy ran away," said Matis Zahav, who was standing just
feet from the shooting.
Witnesses said the shooter was calm and collected as he tried to fade
into the commuter rush, strutting with the gun in his waistband. "He ran
slowly like he meant to let people know he did it," said Alexis Genoa,
a Rockefeller Center security guard.
Nektalov's widow told The Post she fears for her life."I don't want
to be killed," a sobbing Marina Nektalov said. "Maybe they're going to
kill me, too. I have two kids. We're devastated."
Law-enforcement sources speculated that the killing also could
be related to the shooting of Nektalov's cousin Alik Pinkhasov on Dec.
17 in Forest Hills. Pinkhasov survived, and three people were arrested.
.The sting resulted in the arrest of eight other Diamond District defendants.
Prosecutors said some of them agreed to melt down the gold and mold it
into screws, belt buckles and other items that could be safely funneled
back to Colombia.