California expands probe of Russian mob
Published 9:00 pm Wednesday, March 20, 2002
Associated Press
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The body of a woman has been pulled from a Sierra lake, the fifth recovered in an investigation of a Los Angeles-area Russian mob.
Investigators found the body Tuesday in 220 feet of water under a bridge straddling New Melones Lake, FBI spokesman Nick Rossi said.
Acting on a tip, investigators Sunday recovered the weighted bodies of two males from the lake, about 30 miles northeast of Modesto, and another male body Monday. Rossi said he could not provide a cause of death or any information on the bodies. Autopsies are under way.
On Tuesday, investigators identified a body found in the 12,500-acre reservoir last fall as that of Los Angeles-area real estate developer Meyer Muscatel, 58.
Authorities said they believe the five are victims of organized Russian gangsters.
Muscatel’s body was found floating in the lake Oct. 18, hands bound and a plastic bag over his head. He disappeared Oct. 11 after telling his family he was going to a business meeting. His family offered a $54,000 reward a week later.
His 31-year-old daughter, Rachel, said her father was meeting new business associates who wanted to build 20 homes in Malibu. The next day he repeatedly tried to clean out his bank account.
"He called the bank four times saying that he needs the money out and that he was in danger, but there was a slip-up at the bank," she said.
She said she couldn’t believe he was the victim of an organized crime gang.
The Daily News of Los Angeles reported Wednesday that Muscatel was one of two Los Angeles businessmen believed to have been kidnapped for ransom by Russian mobsters.
The newspaper identified the other as Alex Umansky. His family told the Daily News it paid a large ransom.
The FBI’s Matthew McLaughlin said Umansky’s disappearance may ultimately be linked to Muscatel’s abduction.
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