Busted High Stakes Poker Ring had Ties to NYC Murder Suicide

A busted Russian mob linked high stakes poker and sports betting ring had ties to a murder suicide, the New York Daily News reported Tuesday. 

From the Daily News:

The connection was revealed at bail hearing in Manhattan Federal Court for Anatoly Golubchik, who is accused of laundering tens of millions of dollars in illegal gambling profits through a Cyprus shell company. Feds took down the poker ring, favored by A-list celebs and Wall Street multimillionaires, last month.

The incident occurred last year in Queens, New York.  That same Cyprus shell company wired $300,000 to Gary Zalevsky just one month before Zalevsky pulled out a Beretta .380-caliber handgun and shot Brian Weiss dead at the Hilton Garden Inn near Kennedy Airport. Zalevsky then killed himself with that same weapon. 

Authorities at the time claim the two men were meeting with associates to discuss a new business venture.  It was also revealed that Zalevsky was having financial problems.

One of the associates who witnessed the shooting is an unindicted co-conspirator of Golubchik’s.

Golubchik was one of 30 individuals charged on April 16 with running the illegal multi-billion dollar gambling enterprise that catered to wealthy Wall Street executives and Hollywood A-Listers.   

In recent days it was revealed that US President Obama’s choice to become the next Ambassador to France had close ties to one of the men indicted.   Marc Lasrey withdrew his name as a result of these revelations.

- Jagajeet Chiba, Gambling911.com