LOS ANGELES -- Federal authorities laid out their account of a botched kidnapping-for-ransom scheme that they said spanned the globe from Los Angeles to Dubai to Moscow, ending in an icy green reservoir in the rugged folds of the Sierra Nevada's gold country.
Along the way, law enforcement sources said late last week, interest in the case rose to the highest levels of government, with Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze -- a friend of the family of one apparent victim -- reportedly appealing for help to former U.S. President George Bush. As many as 150 FBI agents ultimately were involved in the probe.
With six suspects in custody, U.S. Attorney John Gordon described in detail a chain of desperate telephone calls, six-figure money transfers and faxed ransom demands that led agents to the suspected kidnappers and then to New Melones Reservoir, where four bodies were found earlier last week.
Those bodies were positively identified Thursday, bringing unwelcome but not unexpected confirmation to family members who, in some cases, have been waiting for word about their loved ones since December.
Authorities believe that the four people whose bodies were found last week -- two aspiring film producers, an electronics entrepreneur and a bookkeeper -- were kidnapped by a ring of East European criminals in Los Angeles, held for ransom and ultimately killed. Their weighted bodies were then dumped into the reservoir.
So far, none of those in custody has been charged with murder, and the kidnapping charges refer to only two of the victims, George Safiev and Alexander Umansky. But authorities did not rule out the possibility of filing additional charges. All six suspects have pleaded innocent.
The alleged criminal scheme, as described by Gordon and an FBI affidavit, involved ransom demands faxed from Russia asking for money to be transferred to bank accounts in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. There, authorities say, three Russian men were allegedly involved in receiving the money and routing it to banks in Latvia and the United States. Some money came through Moscow, a law enforcement source there said.
In the chronology laid out by Gordon, authorities learned of the Dec. 13 kidnapping of Umansky, 35, who lived in Los Angeles and owned an auto-electronics business. Three days later his family wired about $90,000 to a bank in New York, which sent it to a bank in Dubai in partial payment of a ransom demand for $234,628.
In telephone conversations over the next 10 days -- dozens of them monitored by the FBI -- the family refused to turn over any more money unless they could speak to Umansky, authorities said. After the kidnappers refused that request, the family wired $145,000 more to an account in Dubai.
During that investigation, Gordon said, "FBI agents learned that other Russian immigrants were missing and may have been kidnapped." Those include Rita Pekler, a 39-year-old businesswoman who had bookkeeping and other businesses in West Hollywood. She was reported missing Dec. 5, and her body was among those identified Thursday. However, she is not mentioned in Gordon's chronology or in the FBI affidavit.
The next developments were the alleged kidnappings of Safiev and Nick Kharabadze, a 29-year-old aspiring filmmaker whose mother is a prominent member of the Georgian emigre community in Los Angeles and is said by family members to be a friend of Shevardnadze.
Kharabadze had recently established Matador Media, a film production company, with Safiev, 37. Both men disappeared in January, with Safiev allegedly kidnapped Jan. 20.
In subsequent days, authorities said, Safiev's business manager received phone calls from Safiev telling him to transfer nearly $1 million from a business account, which he did, and $4 million to the bearer of a letter signed by Safiev. The latter amount was never paid.
According to one source close to the investigation, Kharabadze's family prevailed upon Shevardnadze at one point to contact Bush, with the hope that it would add more urgency to the investigation.
Along the way, law enforcement sources said late last week, interest in the case rose to the highest levels of government, with Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze -- a friend of the family of one apparent victim -- reportedly appealing for help to former U.S. President George Bush. As many as 150 FBI agents ultimately were involved in the probe.
With six suspects in custody, U.S. Attorney John Gordon described in detail a chain of desperate telephone calls, six-figure money transfers and faxed ransom demands that led agents to the suspected kidnappers and then to New Melones Reservoir, where four bodies were found earlier last week.
Those bodies were positively identified Thursday, bringing unwelcome but not unexpected confirmation to family members who, in some cases, have been waiting for word about their loved ones since December.
Authorities believe that the four people whose bodies were found last week -- two aspiring film producers, an electronics entrepreneur and a bookkeeper -- were kidnapped by a ring of East European criminals in Los Angeles, held for ransom and ultimately killed. Their weighted bodies were then dumped into the reservoir.
So far, none of those in custody has been charged with murder, and the kidnapping charges refer to only two of the victims, George Safiev and Alexander Umansky. But authorities did not rule out the possibility of filing additional charges. All six suspects have pleaded innocent.
The alleged criminal scheme, as described by Gordon and an FBI affidavit, involved ransom demands faxed from Russia asking for money to be transferred to bank accounts in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. There, authorities say, three Russian men were allegedly involved in receiving the money and routing it to banks in Latvia and the United States. Some money came through Moscow, a law enforcement source there said.
In the chronology laid out by Gordon, authorities learned of the Dec. 13 kidnapping of Umansky, 35, who lived in Los Angeles and owned an auto-electronics business. Three days later his family wired about $90,000 to a bank in New York, which sent it to a bank in Dubai in partial payment of a ransom demand for $234,628.
In telephone conversations over the next 10 days -- dozens of them monitored by the FBI -- the family refused to turn over any more money unless they could speak to Umansky, authorities said. After the kidnappers refused that request, the family wired $145,000 more to an account in Dubai.
During that investigation, Gordon said, "FBI agents learned that other Russian immigrants were missing and may have been kidnapped." Those include Rita Pekler, a 39-year-old businesswoman who had bookkeeping and other businesses in West Hollywood. She was reported missing Dec. 5, and her body was among those identified Thursday. However, she is not mentioned in Gordon's chronology or in the FBI affidavit.
The next developments were the alleged kidnappings of Safiev and Nick Kharabadze, a 29-year-old aspiring filmmaker whose mother is a prominent member of the Georgian emigre community in Los Angeles and is said by family members to be a friend of Shevardnadze.
Kharabadze had recently established Matador Media, a film production company, with Safiev, 37. Both men disappeared in January, with Safiev allegedly kidnapped Jan. 20.
In subsequent days, authorities said, Safiev's business manager received phone calls from Safiev telling him to transfer nearly $1 million from a business account, which he did, and $4 million to the bearer of a letter signed by Safiev. The latter amount was never paid.
According to one source close to the investigation, Kharabadze's family prevailed upon Shevardnadze at one point to contact Bush, with the hope that it would add more urgency to the investigation.
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