1 00:00:07,674 --> 00:00:09,274 Marker. 2 00:00:09,343 --> 00:00:10,142 - Ok, ready? 3 00:00:10,210 --> 00:00:10,709 - Yes. 4 00:00:10,777 --> 00:00:12,411 I'm ready. 5 00:00:12,479 --> 00:00:14,380 [bell dings] 6 00:00:16,350 --> 00:00:20,152 Sergei was a cruiserweight, at 195 pounds. 7 00:00:20,220 --> 00:00:24,623 - Undefeated with a record of 15 and 0, sergei kobozev. 8 00:00:29,396 --> 00:00:31,196 - This is a guy that was just like a machine. 9 00:00:36,303 --> 00:00:40,105 Brighton beach in the early '90s was called little odessa, 10 00:00:40,173 --> 00:00:42,074 From the ukraine. 11 00:00:42,142 --> 00:00:45,710 This is where the russian mob is really gobbling up territory. 12 00:00:45,712 --> 00:00:48,981 You had underground bare-knuckle brawl fights. 13 00:00:49,049 --> 00:00:53,418 You had gambling joints, speakeasies, you name it. 14 00:00:53,487 --> 00:00:57,322 Sergei was an amazing fighter and had a great reputation 15 00:00:57,391 --> 00:00:59,057 In the russian community. 16 00:00:59,126 --> 00:01:00,425 He was a tough guy. 17 00:01:00,494 --> 00:01:02,260 He didn't realize that he really stepped 18 00:01:02,329 --> 00:01:07,232 On a violent, dangerous, wily monster of a human being. 19 00:01:07,301 --> 00:01:09,201 And he says, I don't care what you do to him. 20 00:01:09,269 --> 00:01:12,304 Bury him in the backyard, for all I care. 21 00:01:12,372 --> 00:01:15,473 As we are driving on a dark highway in the middle 22 00:01:15,542 --> 00:01:19,211 Of the night, he looks at me, smiles, and says, 23 00:01:19,279 --> 00:01:21,446 Then in russian, I bet you you you 24 00:01:21,515 --> 00:01:23,448 Want to know about the boxer. 25 00:01:23,450 --> 00:01:25,484 It hit me like a thunderbolt. 26 00:01:43,670 --> 00:01:46,572 It's a fallacy that you think, oh, there's a body buried. 27 00:01:46,640 --> 00:01:47,673 Let's just go dig it up. 28 00:01:51,311 --> 00:01:54,279 [tense music] 29 00:01:59,687 --> 00:02:02,621 - Livingston, new jersey, is a typical-- 30 00:02:02,689 --> 00:02:03,822 What I call typical-- 31 00:02:03,890 --> 00:02:07,826 New jersey middle-class town. 32 00:02:07,828 --> 00:02:12,497 And the only reason we came over to that area from new york city 33 00:02:12,499 --> 00:02:17,669 Is because we had a pretty good lead on where a body was. 34 00:02:17,738 --> 00:02:22,207 That house, it's owned by some citizen, a mother and father 35 00:02:22,275 --> 00:02:23,208 And a couple of kids. 36 00:02:28,281 --> 00:02:30,749 We went over, and we knocked on the door. 37 00:02:30,817 --> 00:02:31,950 A woman answered the door. 38 00:02:32,018 --> 00:02:34,319 We dropped our creds on them. 39 00:02:34,388 --> 00:02:37,422 Her husband comes down, and then we tell them, 40 00:02:37,491 --> 00:02:40,925 We believe there is a body buried in your backyard. 41 00:02:40,927 --> 00:02:43,795 [sinister music] 42 00:02:46,533 --> 00:02:48,800 So the next morning, the word gets out that we're 43 00:02:48,802 --> 00:02:50,835 Going to dig in this yard. 44 00:02:50,904 --> 00:02:54,939 We had news helicopters flying overhead. 45 00:02:55,008 --> 00:02:56,408 There was a crowd of people. 46 00:02:56,476 --> 00:03:00,379 And our evidence response team go to work. 47 00:03:00,447 --> 00:03:03,248 - We aerated the soil. 48 00:03:03,316 --> 00:03:06,251 We brought in cadaver-smelling dogs. 49 00:03:06,319 --> 00:03:08,720 We brought ground-penetrating radar. 50 00:03:08,722 --> 00:03:11,823 It was a very stressful number of days. 51 00:03:11,892 --> 00:03:17,963 On the fourth day, we had an excavator taking earth away. 52 00:03:18,031 --> 00:03:21,099 I was standing in the pit, and I saw something. 53 00:03:23,837 --> 00:03:26,771 - That's a bone. 54 00:03:26,840 --> 00:03:30,209 - A forensic anthropologist jumped down in that hole. 55 00:03:30,277 --> 00:03:33,545 She was brushing away the dirt. 56 00:03:33,613 --> 00:03:36,315 And then you could see the ribs and the rest 57 00:03:36,317 --> 00:03:37,649 Of the body showing up. 58 00:03:37,718 --> 00:03:40,619 [dark music] 59 00:03:41,655 --> 00:03:43,755 The body was laying face up. 60 00:03:43,824 --> 00:03:48,493 But the arms, the head, all that stuff, was all there. 61 00:03:48,561 --> 00:03:53,431 Everything has to be labeled, and then they reassembled it. 62 00:03:53,433 --> 00:03:56,801 - Skeletal measurements indicate that the john doe is male, 63 00:03:56,870 --> 00:04:03,474 25 to 35 years old, 6' 1", and about 200 pounds. 64 00:04:03,544 --> 00:04:05,644 - They determined his neck was broken. 65 00:04:10,250 --> 00:04:12,718 - We needed to find out what happened to this man. 66 00:04:21,728 --> 00:04:23,729 [water sloshing] 67 00:04:27,801 --> 00:04:31,470 - Brighton beach is located right next to coney island. 68 00:04:31,538 --> 00:04:33,238 It's the last part of brooklyn. 69 00:04:37,878 --> 00:04:41,513 - Brighton beach in the '90s was like a russian neighborhood. 70 00:04:41,581 --> 00:04:44,416 You almost felt like you were in russia. 71 00:04:44,484 --> 00:04:46,852 - It was called little odessa for a reason, because-- 72 00:04:52,592 --> 00:04:55,560 - On the boardwalk, you would see all of these card tables 73 00:04:55,628 --> 00:05:00,031 Set up in the summer, with the brass samovars on them 74 00:05:00,100 --> 00:05:02,501 And people drinking hot tea. 75 00:05:02,503 --> 00:05:05,437 It was its own little bubble. 76 00:05:05,505 --> 00:05:07,939 - A favorite pastime in the community is boxing. 77 00:05:08,008 --> 00:05:11,376 And in the early '90s, the sport is experiencing 78 00:05:11,445 --> 00:05:12,311 A russian invasion. 79 00:05:15,882 --> 00:05:18,683 - I went to russia and brought back the first russian world 80 00:05:18,685 --> 00:05:22,754 Champions in 1989 and '90. 81 00:05:22,823 --> 00:05:26,291 - When these excellent exotic fighters-- 82 00:05:30,864 --> 00:05:33,932 - So, of course, being a kid of russian descent, 83 00:05:34,000 --> 00:05:36,501 It was very exciting for me to be able to know 84 00:05:36,569 --> 00:05:37,402 About these boxers. 85 00:05:59,359 --> 00:06:02,827 - In 1995, the star of the show is the latest 86 00:06:02,896 --> 00:06:04,095 Addition to the team-- 87 00:06:04,164 --> 00:06:06,365 31-year-old sergei kobozev. 88 00:06:08,902 --> 00:06:12,637 - Sergei was a cruiserweight, 195 pounds. 89 00:06:12,706 --> 00:06:14,673 This is a guy that was just like a machine. 90 00:06:21,581 --> 00:06:23,515 - He was an unusual individual for a boxer. 91 00:06:23,583 --> 00:06:24,950 He was very well-educated. 92 00:06:28,488 --> 00:06:31,756 - He was here because he knew that he 93 00:06:31,758 --> 00:06:33,958 Could make it in america. 94 00:06:33,960 --> 00:06:37,862 He knew he was using boxing to improve himself 95 00:06:37,931 --> 00:06:40,732 And to be just about anything he wanted. 96 00:06:40,800 --> 00:06:42,334 And he was dedicated. 97 00:06:42,402 --> 00:06:45,269 There was no question about that. 98 00:06:45,271 --> 00:06:47,472 Sergei wanted to be somebody. 99 00:06:55,582 --> 00:06:59,050 - At home, sergei is inseparable from his girlfriend, 100 00:06:59,119 --> 00:07:01,686 25-year-old yelena cherskikh. 101 00:07:04,491 --> 00:07:07,025 - I was about two years old when I came here to america 102 00:07:07,093 --> 00:07:09,660 From the soviet union. 103 00:07:09,662 --> 00:07:11,029 My mother was a single mother. 104 00:07:11,097 --> 00:07:14,266 Sergei started dating my mom in '95. 105 00:07:14,334 --> 00:07:17,569 They probably been together two years. 106 00:07:17,637 --> 00:07:20,905 Sergei and my mom were very happy together. 107 00:07:20,907 --> 00:07:22,574 And he was a great dad to me. 108 00:07:25,812 --> 00:07:28,680 Sergei taught me how to throw my first punch. 109 00:07:28,748 --> 00:07:32,517 He always told me not to use it for the wrong reasons. 110 00:07:32,585 --> 00:07:35,119 My mom would go with him to his fights, 111 00:07:35,188 --> 00:07:37,722 And I'd be sitting watching it on tv. 112 00:07:37,791 --> 00:07:40,792 Me and my cousin, we'd, like, hold our fists for good luck 113 00:07:40,860 --> 00:07:43,528 For him to win, and you would hear the announcers 114 00:07:43,597 --> 00:07:46,931 Say it, sergei, the russian bear. 115 00:07:47,000 --> 00:07:48,834 - And a straight right hand. 116 00:07:48,902 --> 00:07:51,069 Wilson goes flat on his back. 117 00:07:51,071 --> 00:07:54,673 - Sergei kobozev from russia, unbeaten. 118 00:07:54,675 --> 00:07:56,575 [camera shutter clicks] 119 00:07:58,011 --> 00:08:01,145 - On November 8, 1995, sergei heads 120 00:08:01,147 --> 00:08:04,549 To bring his car to a mechanic. 121 00:08:04,551 --> 00:08:06,751 - I remember I jumped on his back. 122 00:08:06,820 --> 00:08:08,753 He went down a few flights of stairs, 123 00:08:08,822 --> 00:08:12,056 And he stopped maybe two flights down and said, hey, 124 00:08:12,058 --> 00:08:13,958 You should go back and stay with your mother. 125 00:08:14,027 --> 00:08:16,127 She's going to be by herself, and I'll be right back. 126 00:08:18,898 --> 00:08:22,901 It was maybe three hours later, and he didn't show up. 127 00:08:22,969 --> 00:08:24,903 My mom knew something was wrong. 128 00:08:24,971 --> 00:08:27,639 [ominous music] 129 00:08:27,707 --> 00:08:30,108 It just wasn't his character. 130 00:08:30,176 --> 00:08:33,778 - Yelena called around the community to everyone she knew, 131 00:08:33,847 --> 00:08:36,047 Asking if they knew anything. 132 00:08:36,049 --> 00:08:38,816 No one had heard from him. 133 00:08:38,885 --> 00:08:41,786 - As a kid, it's hard to understand the seriousness 134 00:08:41,855 --> 00:08:43,054 Of a situation like that. 135 00:08:43,123 --> 00:08:44,456 I saw my mother crying. 136 00:08:44,524 --> 00:08:45,924 I didn't really know why. 137 00:08:50,230 --> 00:08:54,932 - Desperate for answers, yelena decides to call the police. 138 00:08:55,001 --> 00:08:57,969 - It was absolutely something serious for my mother 139 00:08:58,038 --> 00:09:01,072 To call law enforcement because people in the community 140 00:09:01,141 --> 00:09:03,074 Did not trust law enforcement. 141 00:09:03,143 --> 00:09:05,977 [ominous music] 142 00:09:11,518 --> 00:09:16,555 - At first, the police told her that it had to be 48 hours. 143 00:09:16,623 --> 00:09:19,691 She was hysterical, and she called again. 144 00:09:19,759 --> 00:09:24,762 And, finally, they started looking into it. 145 00:09:24,831 --> 00:09:28,332 - Officers went to sergei's house. 146 00:09:28,401 --> 00:09:31,503 - --That sergei was going out to have his car repaired. 147 00:09:31,571 --> 00:09:34,272 That was the last that she heard from him. 148 00:09:34,340 --> 00:09:35,073 She said-- 149 00:09:39,746 --> 00:09:41,780 - Investigators visit the nearby garage 150 00:09:41,848 --> 00:09:43,648 To speak to the mechanic. 151 00:09:43,716 --> 00:09:47,952 - The officers were told, yep, he was here. 152 00:09:48,021 --> 00:09:50,655 - I was proud to have such a big celebrity come to my shop, 153 00:09:50,723 --> 00:09:53,057 And he left a happy man. 154 00:09:53,126 --> 00:09:56,194 It was a dead end in terms of leads. 155 00:09:56,262 --> 00:09:59,363 - The cops talked to me, said, we can't find sergei. 156 00:09:59,365 --> 00:10:01,399 I said, what are you talking about? 157 00:10:01,467 --> 00:10:02,233 I was shocked. 158 00:10:05,738 --> 00:10:08,206 - Sergei's girlfriend told the police at the time 159 00:10:08,274 --> 00:10:10,642 That he also did some freelancing on the weekend. 160 00:10:10,710 --> 00:10:13,678 He was a bouncer at a club in a nearby part of brooklyn. 161 00:10:20,019 --> 00:10:22,720 - They spoke to people there, but they 162 00:10:22,789 --> 00:10:26,424 Got no useful information. 163 00:10:26,492 --> 00:10:29,728 - The police department checked hospitals and the morgue. 164 00:10:29,796 --> 00:10:33,831 - There was a lot of pressure on the police from the community. 165 00:10:33,833 --> 00:10:35,133 People were really, really-- 166 00:10:35,201 --> 00:10:37,435 Wanted to know what happened to this guy. 167 00:10:37,503 --> 00:10:41,172 He was very, very beloved in the community. 168 00:10:41,241 --> 00:10:43,041 - Then the nypd was going out there, and-- 169 00:10:45,645 --> 00:10:49,247 - All that activity, all that walking the beat 170 00:10:49,315 --> 00:10:51,883 And talking to people, all led to dead ends. 171 00:10:58,424 --> 00:10:59,557 But you have to remember-- 172 00:11:08,468 --> 00:11:13,337 - Everything on the beach was controlled by organized crime. 173 00:11:13,339 --> 00:11:15,740 It was just woven into every part of the fabric 174 00:11:15,809 --> 00:11:18,176 Of the community back then. 175 00:11:18,244 --> 00:11:20,879 - This is all starting to look like something much 176 00:11:20,947 --> 00:11:22,213 More than a missing person. 177 00:11:25,952 --> 00:11:27,986 [dramatic music] 178 00:11:28,054 --> 00:11:30,855 - My first thought when I heard they found the car 179 00:11:30,924 --> 00:11:34,392 Was, was he in the trunk? 180 00:11:34,460 --> 00:11:35,960 - In the russian criminal dialect-- 181 00:12:01,287 --> 00:12:04,955 - You had underground bare-knuckle brawl fights that 182 00:12:05,025 --> 00:12:07,225 People would bet on, gambling joints, 183 00:12:07,293 --> 00:12:10,794 Speakeasies, you name it. 184 00:12:10,796 --> 00:12:12,330 - The russian organized crime task force 185 00:12:12,332 --> 00:12:15,233 Was a combination of fbi agents and new 186 00:12:15,301 --> 00:12:16,935 York city police detectives. 187 00:12:18,438 --> 00:12:21,405 Our squad got involved in the kobozev case early on. 188 00:12:21,474 --> 00:12:23,842 Detectives contacted us to see if we 189 00:12:23,910 --> 00:12:29,781 Knew anything about this boxer or if we had any information. 190 00:12:29,849 --> 00:12:32,416 - The news that kobozev was missing really 191 00:12:32,485 --> 00:12:33,952 Resonated with me because-- 192 00:12:40,026 --> 00:12:42,761 - Korotaev, he was a very famous boxer, 193 00:12:42,829 --> 00:12:47,031 But in the early '90s, he decided to come 194 00:12:47,100 --> 00:12:47,999 Over to the other side-- 195 00:12:54,140 --> 00:12:56,074 - Oleg korotaev ran afoul-- 196 00:13:03,416 --> 00:13:06,117 - --In front of the arbat nightclub. 197 00:13:06,186 --> 00:13:08,086 [gunshot] 198 00:13:12,792 --> 00:13:14,893 - There were hundreds of people there at night, 199 00:13:14,895 --> 00:13:18,429 But no one saw anything, anything at all, that night. 200 00:13:22,735 --> 00:13:24,803 And that case was unsolved. 201 00:13:24,871 --> 00:13:27,005 The russian mob continued to flourish. 202 00:13:36,882 --> 00:13:38,950 - Of course, you'd want to know, other than boxing, 203 00:13:39,018 --> 00:13:40,752 Was sergei mixed up in something else? 204 00:13:44,257 --> 00:13:48,192 So you start going to all the people in your precinct, 205 00:13:48,261 --> 00:13:51,495 Your informants on the street. 206 00:13:51,564 --> 00:13:54,064 Does anybody know anything? 207 00:13:54,066 --> 00:13:57,368 - The feds, they had a lot of eyes on that neighborhood, 208 00:13:57,437 --> 00:14:01,906 So they just wanted to see if there was any chatter. 209 00:14:01,975 --> 00:14:03,808 - These people in the russian community-- 210 00:14:14,320 --> 00:14:17,121 - In fact, I've never received one word of 211 00:14:17,123 --> 00:14:18,990 Negative information about him. 212 00:14:22,228 --> 00:14:25,663 - He was very calm and relaxed, composed. 213 00:14:25,731 --> 00:14:29,333 To know such a guy that's in the ring getting so aggressive 214 00:14:29,335 --> 00:14:34,405 With people that, to be so calm, I just always wanted to be 215 00:14:34,407 --> 00:14:37,275 Like that myself afterwards. 216 00:14:37,343 --> 00:14:39,076 - Sergei, he had no enemies. 217 00:14:39,145 --> 00:14:40,111 He didn't piss anyone off. 218 00:14:53,960 --> 00:14:56,394 - Although there's no evidence that sergei was involved 219 00:14:56,462 --> 00:14:59,663 In organized crime, there's no doubt that he crossed 220 00:14:59,732 --> 00:15:02,300 Paths with those who were. 221 00:15:02,368 --> 00:15:05,102 - Social life in brighton beach revolved 222 00:15:05,171 --> 00:15:07,005 Around these big nightclubs. 223 00:15:14,947 --> 00:15:20,217 - And sergei was employed, was a greeter, bouncer, at this club. 224 00:15:20,286 --> 00:15:22,186 The paradise club had a reputation 225 00:15:22,188 --> 00:15:25,590 In the russian community. 226 00:15:25,658 --> 00:15:28,192 You, as a regular customer walking off the street, 227 00:15:28,194 --> 00:15:30,328 If you can get a table there, you could be rubbing elbows 228 00:15:30,396 --> 00:15:32,297 Also organized criminals. 229 00:15:39,539 --> 00:15:43,207 - But if the mob is to blame for sergei's disappearance, 230 00:15:43,276 --> 00:15:46,043 Proving it will not be easy. 231 00:15:46,045 --> 00:15:47,578 - People are still living with the culture 232 00:15:47,647 --> 00:15:48,513 From the old country-- 233 00:15:54,120 --> 00:15:57,121 [gentle music] 234 00:15:58,658 --> 00:16:02,961 - My mother, after he went missing, took it very hard. 235 00:16:03,029 --> 00:16:06,697 I remember I would ask, is daddy coming home or not? 236 00:16:06,699 --> 00:16:11,102 And she just-- she didn't have an answer for me. 237 00:16:11,170 --> 00:16:12,270 She was just crying and-- 238 00:16:19,946 --> 00:16:22,113 - When you have a missing persons case of this kind-- 239 00:16:30,656 --> 00:16:36,660 - And we realized that there had been a major event in his life. 240 00:16:36,662 --> 00:16:40,164 - Two weeks before sergei disappeared, 241 00:16:40,166 --> 00:16:44,268 He'd had his first international fight in paris and that he had 242 00:16:44,337 --> 00:16:48,539 Entered it 23-0 in the win column 243 00:16:48,608 --> 00:16:52,676 And had his first defeat there. 244 00:16:52,745 --> 00:16:53,744 - You start theorizing. 245 00:16:53,813 --> 00:16:55,646 Perhaps that loss led him-- 246 00:16:59,986 --> 00:17:01,719 - Detectives spoke to other people 247 00:17:01,787 --> 00:17:04,755 He boxed with, coworkers, people at the gym 248 00:17:04,824 --> 00:17:08,358 Who he was close with. 249 00:17:08,428 --> 00:17:11,195 - He was excited about what was happening next. 250 00:17:11,264 --> 00:17:12,530 He said, get me a rematch. 251 00:17:21,374 --> 00:17:24,108 - So that theory ultimately fell on its face. 252 00:17:26,846 --> 00:17:31,315 - Now, almost a week into the case, 253 00:17:31,384 --> 00:17:34,052 A call comes in from a local diner. 254 00:17:34,120 --> 00:17:35,653 - The owner of the diner realized 255 00:17:35,721 --> 00:17:37,621 There's a car that's been sitting in the same spot 256 00:17:37,690 --> 00:17:39,723 For five or six days. 257 00:17:39,725 --> 00:17:41,392 He calls the police. 258 00:17:41,461 --> 00:17:45,563 The responding unit runs a tag, and it gets a hit on the bolo. 259 00:17:45,631 --> 00:17:49,533 They found sergei kobozev's vehicle. 260 00:17:49,535 --> 00:17:52,103 - My first thought when I heard they found the car 261 00:17:52,171 --> 00:17:54,138 Was, was he in the trunk? 262 00:18:07,420 --> 00:18:11,755 - Sergei kobozev has been missing for five days. 263 00:18:11,824 --> 00:18:15,093 Now his car has been found abandoned at a local diner. 264 00:18:18,097 --> 00:18:21,299 - We opened the car, but sergei was not inside the vehicle. 265 00:18:36,382 --> 00:18:38,649 - The squad detective had the car 266 00:18:38,718 --> 00:18:44,021 Towed back to a nypd garage. 267 00:18:44,089 --> 00:18:46,724 [soft music] 268 00:18:46,792 --> 00:18:50,528 - My mother tried to protect me from all this. 269 00:18:50,596 --> 00:18:53,664 But I first started to get the sense that something was really 270 00:18:53,733 --> 00:18:57,201 Wrong after his car was found. 271 00:18:57,269 --> 00:19:00,604 She really tried to keep me away from thinking about it, 272 00:19:00,673 --> 00:19:03,241 And she kept me busy. 273 00:19:03,243 --> 00:19:06,477 Why would he leave his car and just 274 00:19:06,546 --> 00:19:08,446 Disappear like that, you know? 275 00:19:17,823 --> 00:19:22,326 - Detectives started now putting this out publicly. 276 00:19:22,328 --> 00:19:27,331 - There were russian-language posters up with his picture. 277 00:19:27,400 --> 00:19:31,235 - Sergei kobozev, he was a big deal in the russian community. 278 00:19:31,303 --> 00:19:32,703 So when someone like that went missing-- 279 00:19:37,577 --> 00:19:40,111 - I wanted to know what happened to him. 280 00:19:40,179 --> 00:19:42,046 It was part of my job to find out. 281 00:19:46,786 --> 00:19:48,418 [dramatic music] 282 00:19:48,420 --> 00:19:50,153 There's so much work to be done when you find 283 00:19:50,223 --> 00:19:52,389 A vehicle that's abandoned somewhere, especially 284 00:19:52,458 --> 00:19:53,924 In an urban environment. 285 00:19:53,993 --> 00:19:55,926 You interview the regulars. 286 00:19:55,995 --> 00:19:58,095 You interview people come to pick up the garbage. 287 00:20:04,937 --> 00:20:07,572 - So it was very frustrating. 288 00:20:12,378 --> 00:20:14,211 [tense music] 289 00:20:14,280 --> 00:20:18,215 - The nypd evidence team went over the car 290 00:20:18,283 --> 00:20:23,320 Looking for fingerprints, blood samples. 291 00:20:23,389 --> 00:20:25,423 - There was no blood, nothing of that nature. 292 00:20:31,296 --> 00:20:34,165 - When the vehicle was found, there was additional theories 293 00:20:34,233 --> 00:20:35,800 Flying around in the community. 294 00:20:47,012 --> 00:20:49,613 - --Because the community was controlled by the russian mob, 295 00:20:49,615 --> 00:20:51,549 Various brigades that operated there. 296 00:21:04,297 --> 00:21:06,297 - We're starting to look at different people, 297 00:21:06,365 --> 00:21:10,634 And one of the individuals, who was probably the best-known 298 00:21:10,702 --> 00:21:14,471 Russian organized crime boss that came from russia, was 299 00:21:14,540 --> 00:21:16,874 A guy named vyacheslav ivankov. 300 00:21:16,942 --> 00:21:19,410 My squad received information the paradise 301 00:21:19,478 --> 00:21:22,479 Was a place that the ivankov team frequented. 302 00:21:22,548 --> 00:21:25,383 [tense music] 303 00:21:25,385 --> 00:21:27,384 - Investigators visited the paradise club. 304 00:21:27,386 --> 00:21:28,152 Again-- 305 00:21:35,961 --> 00:21:37,662 - But when they asked about the mob-- 306 00:22:15,434 --> 00:22:16,400 - My mom was desperate. 307 00:22:16,468 --> 00:22:18,369 She wanted answers from anybody. 308 00:22:31,817 --> 00:22:34,818 - People didn't want to get involved. 309 00:22:34,820 --> 00:22:37,020 The only ones who cared and talked about it 310 00:22:37,022 --> 00:22:41,258 Was the other fighters, the other russian fighters. 311 00:22:41,327 --> 00:22:44,561 They were a part of his family. 312 00:22:44,630 --> 00:22:45,663 It was a sad time. 313 00:22:51,871 --> 00:22:54,972 - When you get a case like this, you never 314 00:22:55,040 --> 00:22:57,074 Say to yourself, this is over. 315 00:22:57,142 --> 00:22:59,576 It'll never be solved. 316 00:22:59,645 --> 00:23:02,946 We still were looking at the ivankov criminal group. 317 00:23:03,015 --> 00:23:06,383 - We were developing informants, figuring out all the locations 318 00:23:06,452 --> 00:23:09,286 And all the players involved in the russian mafia that were 319 00:23:09,355 --> 00:23:10,588 Operating in the brooklyn area. 320 00:23:14,093 --> 00:23:15,960 As the weeks passed-- 321 00:23:23,135 --> 00:23:26,537 - --At the paradise club between sergei and a bunch 322 00:23:26,605 --> 00:23:27,738 Of rough criminal types. 323 00:23:30,442 --> 00:23:33,844 - And they're walking away from serge-- 324 00:23:33,913 --> 00:23:35,346 - --It's not over yet. 325 00:23:35,414 --> 00:23:36,046 - They said-- 326 00:23:47,893 --> 00:23:49,660 - He didn't want to go to prison for life. 327 00:23:52,098 --> 00:23:53,864 - He says, I don't care what you do to him. 328 00:24:12,651 --> 00:24:16,086 - It's been a number of weeks since sergei went missing. 329 00:24:16,155 --> 00:24:21,025 Informants started bringing in pieces of information that-- 330 00:24:26,165 --> 00:24:27,898 - We start to prod and push. 331 00:24:32,938 --> 00:24:36,607 - --Between some other people at the nightclub 332 00:24:36,675 --> 00:24:38,709 And the house band. 333 00:24:41,213 --> 00:24:45,983 - There were three individuals, and kobozev tries to throw them 334 00:24:46,051 --> 00:24:48,319 Out, because that's his job, from the disturbance 335 00:24:48,387 --> 00:24:49,653 That they caused at the club. 336 00:24:52,557 --> 00:24:54,792 - Detectives interviewed the musician. 337 00:24:54,860 --> 00:24:58,695 He said, nobody hit me. 338 00:24:58,764 --> 00:25:00,931 - It was a nonsensical statement. 339 00:25:08,774 --> 00:25:10,107 [tense music] 340 00:25:10,175 --> 00:25:11,942 - If people are not willing to cooperate-- 341 00:25:14,614 --> 00:25:17,448 - We were in a very frustrating, difficult spot. 342 00:25:22,054 --> 00:25:24,889 [gentle music] 343 00:25:27,192 --> 00:25:30,894 - It is so devastating to have to tell the remaining family 344 00:25:30,896 --> 00:25:35,665 Members that you just don't have anything, you can't get there. 345 00:25:35,735 --> 00:25:37,134 It's just terrible. 346 00:25:39,838 --> 00:25:41,138 But you just keep trying. 347 00:25:46,145 --> 00:25:48,612 So you work your cases. 348 00:25:48,681 --> 00:25:51,482 You keep your feelers out on the street all the time. 349 00:25:58,223 --> 00:26:02,259 - Fast forward, months turned into years of sergei 350 00:26:02,327 --> 00:26:04,695 Being missing. 351 00:26:04,763 --> 00:26:06,730 It's a very difficult thing to have to live with. 352 00:26:15,808 --> 00:26:19,209 - I remember my mother not giving up hope. 353 00:26:19,211 --> 00:26:22,179 I remember hoping that I would see him again. 354 00:26:24,916 --> 00:26:27,685 And sometimes believing it, sometimes not. 355 00:26:33,926 --> 00:26:37,194 - Now we're looking at 1999. 356 00:26:37,262 --> 00:26:40,497 It's been four years since sergei went missing. 357 00:26:46,171 --> 00:26:50,140 - I'm doing something completely I thought was unrelated. 358 00:26:50,209 --> 00:26:52,275 [dark music] 359 00:26:52,344 --> 00:26:54,978 - Our mission was to attack organized crime 360 00:26:55,047 --> 00:26:58,615 And to disintegrate it if we could. 361 00:26:58,684 --> 00:27:01,352 We do rico investigations, and that is we're 362 00:27:01,420 --> 00:27:03,887 Looking to put people together in the group 363 00:27:03,956 --> 00:27:07,691 And then attack the entire group and take the group out. 364 00:27:12,864 --> 00:27:13,664 - At this point-- 365 00:27:25,110 --> 00:27:27,244 - Home invasion, hostage-holding, 366 00:27:27,312 --> 00:27:28,312 Torturing people. 367 00:27:32,184 --> 00:27:36,086 - Our task force eventually arrested five or six people. 368 00:27:43,762 --> 00:27:46,329 - One of the people that we were able to arrest 369 00:27:46,331 --> 00:27:49,033 Was a man by the name of alexander spitchenko. 370 00:27:55,140 --> 00:27:56,774 - And he led this bratva brigade. 371 00:28:02,948 --> 00:28:05,716 [tense music] 372 00:28:07,686 --> 00:28:09,019 - When we started seeing what we had 373 00:28:09,088 --> 00:28:10,354 Against the bratva brigade-- 374 00:28:15,060 --> 00:28:17,027 - He didn't want to go to prison for life. 375 00:28:25,270 --> 00:28:29,038 - After months in prison, alexander spitchenko agrees 376 00:28:29,108 --> 00:28:32,242 To become a federal witness. 377 00:28:32,311 --> 00:28:34,411 - And he advises that he has no intention 378 00:28:34,479 --> 00:28:36,213 Of going forward until-- 379 00:28:40,352 --> 00:28:42,319 - And I said to him, oh, it's no problem. 380 00:28:42,387 --> 00:28:44,021 We'll take your girlfriend-- 381 00:28:51,363 --> 00:28:54,331 - He says to me, no, I mean, I want 382 00:28:54,399 --> 00:28:55,999 My entire extended family-- 383 00:29:01,206 --> 00:29:02,739 Then come the helicopter. 384 00:29:02,808 --> 00:29:08,845 We were able to get his family whisked out of russia-- 385 00:29:08,914 --> 00:29:10,714 - --The entire extended family-- 386 00:29:10,783 --> 00:29:11,915 Kids and pets. 387 00:29:20,225 --> 00:29:22,959 - The next step is alexander spitchenko 388 00:29:23,028 --> 00:29:28,165 Needs to be taken out of prison and needs to be hidden. 389 00:29:28,233 --> 00:29:31,001 I showed up in prison, and they said, guess what-- 390 00:29:34,339 --> 00:29:37,374 - We put him in the back of a darkened out black suv. 391 00:29:37,442 --> 00:29:39,209 I sit in the back seat with him. 392 00:29:46,051 --> 00:29:48,251 - And as we are driving in the middle 393 00:29:48,320 --> 00:29:52,388 Of the night on a dark highway, spitchenko looks at me, 394 00:29:52,458 --> 00:29:54,691 Smiles, and says-- 395 00:30:04,569 --> 00:30:14,143 - Felt like a thunderbolt.