Evsei Agron
Evsei Agron | |
|---|---|
| Born | Yevsei Borisovich Agron 25 January 1932 |
| Died | 4 May 1985 (aged 53) |
| Cause of death | murder |
| Nationality | Russian American |
| Occupation(s) | Mobster, mob boss |
| Parent | Boris O. Argon |
| Allegiance | Russian Mafia |
Evsei Borisovich Agron (Russian: Евсей Борисович Агрон, tr. Yevsei Borisovich Agron; 25 January 1932 – 4 May 1985) was a thief in law (Vor v zakone) and boss of New York City's Russian Mafia during the 1970s and 1980s. Known for his cruelty, he was called the "Godfather" of the Russian American mafia.[1]
Born in Leningrad, Agron immigrated to the United States under the Jackson–Vanik amendment in 1975. He swiftly gained control of criminal operations among the Soviet Jews living in Brighton Beach. Agron organized a motor fuel racket which would earn millions, if not billions, through fuel tax fraud. This type of fraud, which involved selling tax-free home heating oil as diesel fuel, eventually cost the state of New Jersey alone an estimated $1 billion annually in lost tax revenues.[2]
However, as other mobsters closed in on the operation, a rival organization began expanding its own criminal operations under Boris Goldberg (who, in 1989, would be charged under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) for drug trafficking, armed robbery, extortion, arms dealing and attempted murder).[3]
Agron died after being shot twice in the head outside his Brooklyn apartment in May 1985, at age 53.[4] He was succeeded by Marat Balagula as leader of the Russian mob in the United States.[1]
Further reading
- Robert I. Friedman, Red Mafia: How the Russian Mob Infiltrated America.
- Sifakis, Carl. The Mafia Encyclopedia. New York: Da Capo Press, 2005. ISBN 0-8160-5694-3
References
- ^ a b "Русская тень над Нью-Йорком". Kommersant. 18 December 1996. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
- ^ New Jersey State Commission of Investigation. "Russian-Emigre Crime in the Tri-State Region"
- ^ Gordon, Mark. "Ideas Shoot Bullets: How the RICO Act Became a Potent Weapon in the War Against Organized Crime"
- ^ Friedman, Robert I. (19 March 1993). "Family Business - the Russian Mob in New York". The Moscow Times. Retrieved 30 November 2015.