NYC Jeweler Shot to Death on Sidewalk

[James]

Politics are still for fags.

NEW YORK (AP) - A jeweler under indictment in a money laundering case was shot to death on a midtown Manhattan sidewalk, and the gunman remained at large early Friday, police said.

Police said Eduard Nektalov, 45, was shot once in the back of the head and twice in the back Thursday evening. The gunman vanished into the crowd.

``He spoke nothing. Just shoot,'' witness Jimmy Koci said. ``(It took just) a second. Pop, pop, pop. And he run.''

The shooting happened in the Diamond District, an area just a couple of blocks south of Radio City Music Hall famed for its numerous diamond merchants.


Among those at the crime scene were actresses Candice Bergen and Lorraine Bracco, who were being hosted by police on a ride-along program. Bergen, who starred on ``Murphy Brown,'' and Bracco, of ``The Sopranos,'' didn't see the shooting but arrived there shortly afterward.


``Suddenly we were going 60 mph up 6th Ave.,'' Bergen told the Daily News.


Nektalov was among 11 jewelers indicted last year in an international money laundering scheme, accused of helping Colombian drug lords launder money by molding gold into belt buckles, screws and other items.


The gunman approached Nektalov from behind and fired three shots, police said. He then fled, chased by an armed retired police officer who was working security nearby. He brandished a weapon and then disappeared into the crowd, Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said.


It wasn't immediately clear whether Nektalov had been robbed.



05/21/04 13:38


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