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The case discussed this week on New York Homicide season 3 is the killing of jeweler Eduard Nektalov in 2004 in Manhattan's Diamond District. Nektalov was killed in broad daylight right outside his jewelry store on 47th Street following a violent encounter over stolen diamonds.
Detectives found a sinister web of thieves and silence over the murder, with evidence leading to a robbery where Miami-stolen diamonds were tried to be resold to Nektalov, leading to a fight outside his shop. The investigation uncovered organized crime connections and an intricate underworld in the Diamond District.
Five important facts regarding the assassination of Eduard Nektalov
1) The public execution on the Diamond District
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As per The New York Times, Eduard Nektalov was murdered on May 20, 2004, at approximately 7:20 pm, during rush hour. Nektalov was followed from his family's jewelry store, Roman Jewelers, on West 47th Street, as reported by the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Less than a block from the theater, on the corner of Sixth Avenue and 47th Street, a hitman assassinated him by shooting him once in the head and twice in the back, amid a crowded sidewalk.
2) The murder-for-hire plot
As per the documents from the United States Court of Appeals, Second Circuit, federal officials later confirmed that the murder was not spontaneous. Hector Rivera, who prosecutors identified as the ringleader of a brutal robbery gang, was behind the hit. Rivera paid two men a total of $30,000 to murder Nektalov.
The hitman was Carlos Fortier, a heroin addict with a criminal past, who was hired by Rivera's accomplice, Lixander Morales. Rivera arranged the logistics, including getaway routes for the killer.
3) Business disputes and criminal affiliations
As per the court documents, the motive for the murder was based on business conflicts and criminal affiliations. Rivera and Nektalov had a history of conflict, as indicated by court papers, which described Rivera's associate being attacked by Nektalov's associates following a business disagreement in 2001.
By 2004, Rivera had suspected Nektalov of collaborating with the police, particularly as the latter was then charged with a criminal offense related to money laundering. Rivera felt that killing Nektalov would safeguard his interests, as well as those of his colleagues, within the Diamond District.
4) Link to Operation Meltdown
As per The New York Magazine, Eduard Nektalov was federally indicted at the time of his murder. He was among about a dozen jewelers who were arrested in 2003 under "Operation Meltdown," a federal sting operation aimed at money laundering in the jewelry trade.
As per the court documents, Nektalov and others were accused by authorities of money laundering for Colombian cocaine traffickers by melting gold into common items for smuggling. Nektalov's trial was to start around two months after his murder.
Although it was never established that the murder was related to the indictment, the timing raised suspicions about any possible connections.
5) The aftermath and convictions
As per the court documents, following the murder, police initiated a large investigation. Testimony of cooperating witnesses, phone records, and physical evidence implicated Rivera in the offense.
Rivera was convicted in federal court of conspiring to murder for hire, murder for hire conspiracy, and discharging a firearm to commit murder. He is in for a mandatory life sentence. Carlos Fortier, the gunman, died in prison roughly one year after the killing and never stood trial for the crime.
Eduard Nektalov's murder was a much-publicized execution in Manhattan's Diamond District. For more details about the murder of Eduard Nektalov, watch New York Homicide on Oxygen.
