Vladimir Reznikov

Vladimir Reznikov was a

Biography

Gangster career

In the spring of 1986, the

According to Philip Carlo,

It didn't take long for word on the street to reach the Russian underworld: Marat Balagula was paying off the Italians; Balagula was a punk; Balagula had no balls. Balagula's days were numbered. This, of course, was the beginning of serious trouble. Balagula did in fact have balls—he was a ruthless killer when necessary—but he also was a smart diplomatic administrator and he knew that the combined, concerted force of the Italian crime families would quickly wipe the newly arrived Russian competition off the proverbial map.^[1]

Shortly afterward, on June 12, 1986, Vladimir Reznikov entered Balagula's headquarters at the Odessa nightclub. He pushed a

Shortly after Reznikov left, Balagula suffered a massive heart attack. He insisted on being treated at his home in Brighton Beach, where he felt it would be harder for Reznikov to gain access to him. When Lucchese underboss Anthony Casso arrived, he listened to what had happened and said, "Send word to Vladimir that you have his money, that he should come to the club tomorrow. We'll take care of the rest."^[3] Casso requested a photograph of Reznikov and a description of his car.^[4]

The following day, Reznikov arrived at Balagula's nightclub for the meet. Instead, Reznikov was attacked by Gambino associate

Sources

• OCLC 179805638
  .
• Friedman, Robert I. (2008). Red Mafiya: How the Russian Mob Has Invaded America. Little, Brown and Company.
  ISBN 978-0-316-29474-4
  .