ARMENIAN REPORTER
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July 21, 2007 — From the community section
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1. ARS delegates focus on orphans in Armenia, newly arrived immigrants
(by Paul Chaderjian)
* 52 delegates from 26 Western U.S. chapters gather
2. Across the Southland it’s time to say goodbye high school, hello
college (by Lory Tatoulian)
3. "To the martyrs as a cross," Zaven Khanjian "plants a tree" (by
Arin Mikailian)
4. Crime Beat: He wanted to be a "contender" — but ended up running
guns (by Jason Kandel)
5. Crime Beat: Suspected fatal hit-and-run driver in police custody
* Arrested in Mexico
****************************************** *********************************
1. ARS delegates focus on orphans in Armenia, newly arrived immigrants
* 52 delegates from 26 Western U.S. chapters gather
by Paul Chaderjian
IRVINE, Calif. — Whether it is providing for the basic needs of
families in the republics of Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh or helping
Armenian families from Iran and Iraq seeking asylum in the United
States, the Armenian Relief Society’s mission to provide humanitarian
and educational assistance is realized daily around the world, thanks
to the dedication of volunteers and the kindness of donors. The
nickels and dimes that make these projects possible, the ledgers and
business plans that ensure all those who need help are addressed, the
vision and goals for addressing humanitarian needs, and the challenges
undertaken and facing the ARS Western U.S. chapters were the focus of
this region’s 87th annual convention July 12~V15 at the Marriot Hotel
in Irvine.
Fifty-two delegates from ARS chapters from Texas to California
gathered for the annual convention, and on their agenda was to
carefully audit and understand the organization’s finances for the
fiscal year starting June 1, 2006 and ending May 31, 2007, gauge the
successes of overseas projects, and plan how to address the growing
needs for social services in the United States.
"We presented the delegates our reports about social services,
psychology center, our projects in Armenia and Karabakh and our
financial reports," said Sonia Peltekian, chairwoman of the ARS
Western Regional Executive. "The delegates looked at all the figures
and heard from the special auditing and budging committees."
After deliberating about finances, convention participants continued
by examining the results of each of the region’s outreach program,
discussed ways to improve ongoing projects, voted on accepting or
rejecting recommendations made to the group from individual members
and chapters and on whether to fund specific regional efforts in the
United States and the homeland.
"The suggestions the Western Regional Executive offered were passed
as resolutions," says Mrs. Peltekian. "We also had some suggestion
from the floor that the chapters had for the Regional Executive. They
were suggestions on how to improve the style, to improve our
relationship with our sister organizations, and to improve our
fundraising mode, finding new grants to fund our projects. Most of the
recommendations were about these subjects."
* Long-term vision
In addition to choosing five new members to serve on the Regional
Executive for the new fiscal year, delegates heard reports about the
special committees that have been hard at work, like the Centennial
Endowment Fund Committee, which has already raised $400 thousand
dollars and plans to raise one million dollar by 2008. The ARS hopes
to raise $5 million dollars worldwide before its 100th anniversary;
the money will be invested in a high-interest account, and the
interest earned will fund ongoing or new projects.
"That committee works really hard and around the clock," says Mrs.
Peltekian. "Other committees that also work very hard are ARS Voice
Committee, which broadcasts an hour-long weekly program on Horizon TV.
They work diligently and make sure they improve the program every
week."
Another success story delegates learned about was the work of the
Hayastan-Artsakh Committee, which has raised $100 thousand dollars to
help schools in the Republics of Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh. This
committee funds food programs for schools and underwrites renovation
projects at ARS-sponsored kindergartens.
"Whenever these schools need anything, we provide it." says Mrs.
Peltekian, "We have provided clothing, new school uniforms, items like
plates, utensils with children’s designs, placemats, shoes for all the
children, new and nice clothing for the kids to wear when they’re not
in school. Last year, we sent a big shipment of toys and gifts to
Armenia and Artsakh via the United Armenian Fund."
* Kindergartners
On of the outreach projects organized by the ARS Central Executive,
which represents ARS chapters all over the world, is the sponsorship
of 450 kindergartners at 12 different schools in Artaskh. Western
Region chapter representatives say that when they contribute gifts to
this project, they make sure that all 450 kids will receive a gift,
whether the children are being directly sponsored by the Western U.S.
region or other ARS regions.
"We try to accommodate all the children," says Mrs. Peltekian,
mentioning that her regional body has taken full financial
responsibility of two of the kindergartens. "We sponsor the
renovations, the salaries of the teachers and principals, and all
tuition."
Other educational outreach projects underwritten by the Western
Region Executive include the Sponsor A Child project, which takes care
of orphans.
Since the program’s official start in 1992, the ARS has taken care
of more than seven thousand orphans. Currently, the organization is
taking care of 735 and has had years when the number exceeded 1,200.
For each of the orphans, the ARS sends $120 a year. When the children
turn 18, the ARS also offers them tuition for college or a technical
school.
"The sponsorship is only $130 for each orphan," says Mrs. Peltekian.
"We collaborate with the Central Executive on this project, and we
send them the money. They send the money to Armenia, and one person is
in charge there. She receives the orphan money, she gets in touch with
the orphans and asks them to come in and pick up the cash."
The entire Sponsor A Child program employs only two people; one
employee works in Boston and one employee works in Armenia. To fund
these employees, the ARS retains $10 of the $130 sponsorship cost.
* Medical and social services
One of the projects that Western Region Executive members are
extremely proud of is the Mother and Child Clinic and Birthing Center
in the Akhurian village in the Gyumri region. There, the ARS has built
a state-of-the-art maternity hospital that helps mothers from the
area. "It’s now one of the best-run clinics and maternity hospitals,"
says Mrs. Peltekian. "The mothers come before the baby arrives, and
after they give birth, they stay and receive care. They have excellent
state-of-the-art equipment, and our region had a $40 thousand donation
for the clinic from an anonymous donor in his father’s memory."
In Southern California, the ARS serves more than 55 thousand
Armenians through its six social service centers in Glendale,
Hollywood, Pasadena, Burbank, Studio City, and Montebello.
"Our staff works with the existing community," say Mrs. Peltekian.
"They provide social services, fill out forms, help people find jobs,
teach English, match businesses and families who want to hire people
with newly arrived immigrants looking for work. They make sure
immigrants are acculturated and placed in good jobs."
The most-pressing issue for the 28 fulltime ARS employees in
Southern California is addressing the needs of immigrants pouring out
of Iran and making their home here, among other Iranian-Armenians.
"We have an influx of immigrants," says Mrs. Peltekian. "We’re
hoping that our grant requests to help refugees will be met. We made a
written and then an oral presentation to the City of Los Angeles. If
all things go well, we’ll be approved for next year."
************************************* **************************************
2. Across the Southland it’s time to say goodbye high school, hello college
by Lory Tatoulian
LOS ANGELES — Ah the daily grind of high school — from distasteful
cafeteria food to the threat of detention, to fitting in with the
"right" group, to parental restrictions, to trying to learn SAT words,
to the anxiety of not knowing who is going to be your prom date.
It is a time when the body and mind witnesses some of the most
extreme changes: the horrors of puberty and the freedom to establish a
sense of self.
Some high school students reach an accommodation with their high
school, feeling seamlessly attached to a world that is filled with
friends and extracurricular activities. Others feel irrevocably
detached, counting the minutes on the clock in the back of the
classroom, waiting until graduation arrives to be free from the
academic ennui.
This year thousands of young Armenian students made their rite of
passage from high school to college. Most students anticipate their
life of adult responsibility and unrestrained freedom, other are
anxious to be thrust into a world that is not definable.
* The next Gandhi
Cynthia Tomboulian, a 2007 Pasadena High School graduate, is excited
to start her college career. Beginning in the fall Cynthia will be
attending UC Irvine. She describes her feeling about entering college:
"I know its going to be a lot of hard work, but I look forward to the
challenge. I’ll finally be able to work toward my career in a serious
way. It will also be the first time that I will be living away from
home, but I’m sure I’ll adjust living with people who are not my
family. I just look forward to meeting new people and learning about
the world in a serious academic setting."
Cynthia plans to double major in political science and international
studies. She says she picked this area of study because she has always
had an affinity for politics and it will also help her do the
humanitarian world she has always wanted to do.
"I want to work in the political sphere because I believe I can
contribute my skills in diplomatic relations. Being Armenian has
already helped me have an understanding of two disparate cultures and
political systems that can differ from each other. This will allow me
to also better understand other cultures and systems."
Besides speaking fluent English and Armenian, Cynthia is also
learning Arabic and French to help her get footing in her political
endeavors. Cythnia has always been a precocious child, maintaining a
3.8 GPA in high school and taking advanced placement classes at
Pasadena High School. She was also awarded a seal from the National
Honors Society and the California Scholastic Federation.
"I knew that it was important to do well in high school so that I
could be prepared for college and eventually fulfill my dream of being
in politics," she says. Cynthia also feels that her parents’ support
gave her the courage to succeed.
Cynthia says "there are many political figures whose activism I
would like to emulate, like Gandhi or Princess Diana, but ultimately
my parents have given me the inspiration to pursue my work. They have
always encouraged me to believe I can do whatever I want with hard
work, knowledge, and discipline."
* The member of Congress
Joining Cynthia on the UC Irvine campus will be Razmig Khayalian.
Razmig attended Marshall Fundamental High School in Pasadena. The two
know each other from the Armenian Church Youth Organization, and they
share a love for politics.
Razmig will also be double majoring in political science and
economics. He is excited to be leaving high school life. Razmig
explains, "To be honest, I didn’t learn much at my high school. It was
relatively easy and not very challenging, I can’t wait to be in
classrooms where the instruction is enlightening and applicable."
Razmig also looks forward to the freedom he will be experiencing
"College will be a big jump because I am going to have a lot of free
time and I will be able to plan my own schedule, which I think is so
liberating. But I wonder if making friends will be difficult because
it’s not like high school where you are stuck with the same people for
four years taking the same classes."
Razmig is also a little hesitant about living with an anonymous
roommate. "I just pray that my roommate is normal. I’ll be happy if my
roommate is extremely cool."
Like Cynthia , Razmig also has lofty dreams of becoming a
politician. He says he would love to be a mayor or even a member of
Congress. Razmig appears to have the political sensibilities that will
make him an effective politician. "I love dealing with money and
arguing with people about major political issues. I think this is the
right sector for me to go into."
* The laser eye surgeon
Another Marshall graduate is Ani Janszyan. Unlike Razmig, she harbors
no negative feelings toward their high school. She says she is going
to miss her high school days. With a hint of sadness in her voice, Ani
explains: " I love Marshall so much. I was president of the Armenian
Club and captain of the girls’ volleyball team for three years. With
the Armenian club, I planned so many events to help expose Armenian
culture to non-Armenians."
Ani just attended her orientation at Cal Poly Pomona. "There are so
many choices in college, I finally decided to major in psychology and
minor in biology. But eventually I know that I want to be an
ophthalmologist and become a laser eye surgeon."
Ani is geared up to take on the challenges of college. "In my last
two years of high school I took almost all AP classes. So I pretty
much know what to expect when it comes to academia. The social
atmosphere, though, is going to be quite different from high school.
But I look forward to it."
* The rock star
Budding rock star Chris Daniel is a 2007 Ferrahian High School
graduate. Chris has already graced the clubs on the Sunset Strip with
his percussion and drum playing. He has been balancing a hyphenated
career of high school student and working musician.
Chris has been playing percussions for the bands Ed and Visa. He
describes the music of both bands: "Ed is four-piece punkrock/hard
rock band. Nobody in Ed is over 20 years old. We toured with the band
Alien Antfarm and have played at the Henry Fonda Theater. Visa is a
nine-piece band and people love Visa because it is world music fused
with folk and Arabesque influences. For Visa I play the hand
percussions."
Chris is looking forward to establishing himself as a musician and
gaining more recognition for his work. He will be attending Pierce
College in the fall while pulsating the stages of music clubs across
the Southland. Even though he has a bright musical career looming in
the future, he will still miss his cushy life at Ferrahian.
Chris explains: "I am going to miss my friends and the warm
community I had at Ferrahian. It was like being in a learning
environment with my family. It was almost like the teachers were like
my tanteegs (aunts). But it’s time for me to move on and really pursue
my dreams in music."
The gray space between high school and college can seem cloudy and
indefinite. But the world of college can be a privileged life,
feasting on the spoils of higher education. What’s better than
dictating your own schedule, taking academic courses where you are
constantly living in the realm of theory, living off of Red Bull and
pizza, and best of all, life’s expenses are subsidized by a signed off
check from generous State Treasurer Bill Lockyer? You’ll worry about
your loans later.
Good luck to the 2007 College freshmen!
*************************************** ************************************
3. "To the martyrs as a cross," Zaven Khanjian "plants a tree"
by Arin Mikailian
GLENDALE, Calif. — Zaven Khanjian did not know the man whose door he
was knocking on, but he knew he was knocking on the door of his
father’s childhood home.
A 53-year-old man named Hussein answered the door, greeted Khanjian,
and invited him inside.
But Khanjian was not there to visit Hussein. He wasn’t there to gawk
at the aged walls of the nearly century-old building.
His only desire was to set foot in the structure his father once
called home, in the village of Agin, Turkey, during the Armenian
Genocide.
As Khanjian entered the house for the first time he glanced around
the interior while taking in a chapter of his family’s history he had
not known. Then Hussein uttered a question Khanjian would never
forget.
"Now tell me: Is this your house or mine?" asked Hussein.
The question bore so much emotional weight that Khanjian
appropriated it as the title of a book chronicling his thoughts,
encounters, and impressions during his 18-day pilgrimage through the
lands which were taken from his homeland, known as Western Armenia —
Arevmdahayasdan.
But despite having to navigate himself through historic Armenia,
Khanjian’s ties with his native land go back to his childhood years
thousands of miles away in Aleppo, Syria.
While growing up in Aleppo, Khanjian was surrounded by Genocide
survivors, including his father and both grandmothers.
The horrid events of 1915 claimed the lives of both of his
grandfathers, as well as his father’s childhood home in Agin.
With access to his relatives traumatic memories, coupled with his
own consciousness of and research on the matter, Khanjian said he
entered his young adult years eager to make a difference in his
community.
"We were all well equipped with that knowledge, and ready to
understand and face the world," he said. "We started thinking, ‘What
is our role now? What do we do now? What is expected from us?’ I was
burdened with the constant thought of the obligation of finding a way
of doing something about it."
* An Armenian oasis in the desert
Khanjian came to the conclusion that the only way was to help find
some sort of resolution, and he sought higher education as a path to
do so.
In 1967, Khanjian earned a degree in business administration from
the American University in Beirut and headed to the Persian Gulf in
search of work.
But having arrived in Kuwait — and in the subsequent years working
in Dubai and Saudi Arabia — he couldn’t help but notice a scattered
Armenian community.
"The land was kind of barren as far as Armenian culture was
concerned," he said. "Armenians living there were very small in
number. They weren’t organized so we had a lot to do to create our own
Armenian oasis. And we did."
While making use of his degree and working as an auditor and a
financial manager in the Middle East, Khanjian and some fellow
community members took it upon themselves to serve their motherland by
strengthening the Armenian diaspora in the region.
One of his first steps was to take a keen interest in educating the
Armenian youth of the region.
With a little help from some local Armenian teachers, Khanjian
launched a series of Friday classes to teach children their native
tongue and culture.
As for the grown-ups, Khanjian aimed to create a social arena for
the local Armenian adults — mostly made up of bachelors — to meet
for anything from political discussions to the occasional social
gatherings.
"Saudi Arabia didn’t have a nightlife, so it created an excellent
opportunity to do everything within our homes," he said. "That’s why
we were very close knit with each other. We were like a large family."
Throughout the year, including New Year’s Eve, the Khanjians opened
the doors to their home and welcomed any neighboring Armenian to come
and mix with their friends.
He recalls one of his proudest moments occurred on the 50th
anniversary of Armenia’s independence, when he and his peers and their
families took a trip to a local beach and celebrated with Armenian
music, the tricolor waving in the background.
"Whatever the circumstances were around us, we created our own
Little Armenia," Khanjian said.
* A detour to America
For Khanjian’s wife, Sona, her husband’s constant efforts to establish
an Armenian community in their local neighborhood will always be one
of the things she loves most about him.
Sona, who tied the knot with Khanjian in 1970 during a trip back to
Lebanon, has always encouraged her husband to stay active.
"He would tell me when we used to date, ‘The first thing that comes
closest to my heart is my nation, then you,’" she said. "Whenever he
is more involved, the satisfaction of serving is so high, it’s so
fulfilling for him, that he becomes a better person. And whenever he’s
a happier person he spreads his happiness around him, too."
When civil war broke out in Lebanon during the mid-1970s, Khanjian
helped gather his fellow Armenians together to open their hearts as
well as their pockets by donating money to their brothers and sisters
caught in the conflict. Khanjian also took the responsibility of
flying to Lebanon to personally hand out the donations.
But witnessing the destruction and devastation at first hand
diverted his family’s plans at the time of moving to Lebanon.
Khanjian, who by now had two children, decided the best alternate
route would be to start a new life in the United States.
In 1979, Khanjian and his family packed their belongings and headed
for Southern California. After a brief stay in Torrance during their
transition, they settled down in what would be their permanent home,
Glendale.
But just as he had provided an opportunity for the Armenian children
of Saudi Arabia to learn their language, Khanjian wanted to do the
same for his own children by enrolling them in Chamlian Armenian
School.
"Our aim and concentration was the education of our children," he
said. "For us, wherever we have gone, the preservation of our
identities has been of utmost interest. That was our highest
motivation of what we wanted to achieve, for our children to learn the
Armenian language, the culture, and to preserve our identity."
While living in Glendale, Khanjian took his involvement to a whole
new level by participating in the launch of an Armenian educational
institution. In 1982, he served as one of the founding members who
helped open the doors of the Merdinian Armenian Evangelical School in
Sherman Oaks.
Over the next 25 years, Khanjian showed no signs of slowing down in
his mission to enhance Armenian education. He served on the Chamlian
school board and later on the Merdinian school board, and he was
active in the religious community by serving on the various church
boards of the United Armenian Congregational Church. He also devoted
his time to other organizations, including the Armenia Fund, serving
as its president from 1978 to 2001.
But even with continuous participation in the community, Khanjian
has managed to branch out to aid any person or group he finds in need.
"The fact that we still face an unrecognized injustice done to us
makes me feel strong about caring for other victims today, anywhere in
the world, as well," he said.
To show his gratitude for the land that provided his family with a
safe home, Khanjian stepped out of his immediate community to help
those of different backgrounds by serving on the board of directors at
the town’s YMCA for almost a decade, and by sitting on the advisory
board of the local chapter of the Salvation Army.
Khanjian said although he sacrificed a lot of his own personal time
for his community involvement, his motivation is clarified by a quote
from the philosopher René Descartes.
"Descartes’ famous quote is, ‘I think therefore I am,’ he said. "As
for my version, it is: ‘I care, therefore I am.’"
* Change of mind
Despite reaching out to countless Armenians, Khanjian had yet to do
one thing: visit his ancestral homeland. But in order to take a trip
to the places he wanted to see, including his family’s century-old
home in Agin, Khanjian had to set foot inside the Turkish border.
For Khanjian, this was always the primary reason he put off visiting
the region; but an unlikely source prompted him to change his mind.
Since the American invasion of Iraq in 2003, Khanjian has been a
strong opponent of the war. He soon found out that a majority of Turks
were also against the occupation.
"For the first time I felt there was one common denominator between
us," he said.
For this reason, Khanjian said he shifted his view. It was the final
straw that tipped the scales, and inspired him to take the trip to
Turkey.
With his heart set on seeing his ancient homeland — regardless of
what country it was now a part of — Khanjian began to prepare. He and
Sona began to read and research as much as they could about the region
they were going to visit, covering its history, literature,
architecture, poetry and cultural structures.
In the fall of last year, Khanjian and his wife together with a
small group of friends set off for Turkey on a well planned
pilgrimage. Flying from Istanbul to the town of Aintab on the eastern
boarders of Cilicia, the group rode on a minibus for the next 18 days
and 3,000 kilometers, driving through the Western Armenian plain to
the borders of Iran, the Ararat Valley, Ani, Kars, and the Black Sea
region, until they reached their final destination, the city of
Trabizon, before taking a flight back to Istanbul.
With their minds prepared by over six months of extensive research,
Khanjian and his wife were able to comb parts of Turkey and felt how
it once belonged to Armenia.
"Even though this was the first time I had set foot in historic
Armenia, it didn’t feel unfamiliar," he said. "I went there well
equipped with this knowledge."
Visiting several mosques, they were able to see that they were once
actually Armenian churches, converted by the Turks.
To add to their experience, they visited churches throughout Turkey,
including the St. Garabed Monastery, Aghtamar Island in Van, and sites
in Mush, Bitlis, Ani, Gor, and Trabizon. They witnessed a vast
cultural heritage through Armenian inscriptions, art work, carvings,
and engraved pictorials.
* Your home or mine?
Another fond experience he recalled was meeting a group of Islamicized
Armenians who had only lately come to the notice of the diaspora: the
Hemshin Armenians.
Residing in the Jorokh Valley by the coast of the Black Sea, the
Hemshin are Islamicized Armenians who converted to Islam generations
before the Genocide. Despite being unable to read or write Armenian,
Khanjian said he was amazed after he met a 29-year-old Hemshin named
Ramadan, who spoke the Armenian language fluently, but in a different
dialect. Khanjian said he was astounded by the fact that these people
were able to maintain their language for so long on foreign soil.
"It’s amazing," said Khanjian. "Even though they communicate in
Turkish they still speak their [Armenian] dialect amongst themselves."
But the most emotional stop for Khanjian was when he paid a visit to
his father’s childhood home in the village of Agin in central Turkey.
One of his favorite memories from this visit was when he stood by a
small stream right next to the home: a stream his father had played in
and drank from as a child.
"I kind of had a connection with my father," he said. "It was a
journey in time, and I put myself in the place of my dad."
Although he had never met Hussein, the current owner of the house
had met Khanjian’s father back in 1969, when the senior Khanjian came
for a visit. Hussein welcomed Khanjian and his wife inside for a look
around.
When asked if the house belonged to him or Hussein, Khanjian did not
answer but rather changed the subject by presenting Hussein with a
gift: a walnut tree. They went to the back yard to plant the tree,
shared a few final words, and eventually parted ways.
Khanjian felt by planting the tree he was reviving a quote from poet
Levon Zaven Surmelian, "To the martyrs as a cross, I planted this
tree."
Despite returning to America with the same burden of the Genocide’s
horror and its trauma on Armenian souls, Khanjian said he now labels
himself a "convert."
Because of his visit, he said, he can separate the Turkish
government from most of its people.
"It doesn’t mean there are no Turks who live in the same kind of
mental status and have the same kind of hatred toward Armenians," he
said.
But while interacting with everyday people, Khanjian found most
Turks treated him kindly, even after he had openly identified himself
as an Armenian.
"Usually the people we met were not the antagonists I was
visualizing to face," he said.
For this reason, Khanjian now believes that if more Armenians would
visit Turkey it would work to the benefit of Armenians. He suggested
that such visits would help Armenians living in the region become more
comfortable and confident with their identities; it would also provide
opportunities to influence some everyday Turkish citizens.
"We can show them who we are, our links and bondage to the land, and
ask why our ancestors disappeared from the land," he said. "We can
raise those questions in their minds."
In addition to his return, he wrote a series of 14 articles
published in Asbarez chronicling his trip and thoughts along the way.
Khanjian soon developed a fan base within his community and across the
country. Bowing to popular demand, Khanjian published Is This Your
Home or Mine? earlier this year: a collection of his published
articles including a preface by the well-known Armenian writer Stepan
Alajajian.
* The unanswered question
With his book finally published, Khanjian still holds his day job as
the owner and broker of his own realty company.
While he spends his work days on the phone closing real estate
deals, he also works to spend more time with the newest additions to
his family: his five grandchildren.
"Being a grandfather is being a parent with experience," he said.
"Because parents do not have prior experience, they raise their
children only once."
Although he had accomplished a significant amount of progress in his
mind, Khanjian said he will return to Turkey because there is more to
be done. He said he would like to spend more time with the nation’s
people, including one familiar face.
"I want to spend more time with Hussein," he said. "I did not answer
his question."
********************************* ******************************************
4. Crime Beat: He wanted to be a "contender" — but ended up running guns
by Jason Kandel
LOS ANGELES — Artur "Alex" Solomonyan was tired of being a
bantamweight thief, making small change stealing cars and ripping off
credit cards, prosecutors say.
He aspired to be something more.
So — prosecutors allege — he went into business with a man who
bragged of Russian mob connections, sold assault rifles, and allegedly
made plans for a potential $2.5 million payoff smuggling
rocket-propelled grenade launchers and shoulder-fired missiles from
former Soviet republics to a South African man who said he was an arms
trafficker with ties to terrorists, court records show.
The problem was that the man was a paid FBI informant. He agreed to
wear a wire and secretly record conversations that would lead to the
10-count indictment in March 2005 of Mr. Solomonyan, now 28, his
partner, Christiaan Dewet "David" Spies, now 35, and 18 others,
including Mr. Solomonyan’s brother, Levon, who lived in Glendale.
The men are currently being tried in a Manhattan courtroom on
charges including arms trafficking conspiracy, interstate firearms
trafficking, and illegal transfer and possession of a machine gun. If
convicted, Mr. Solomonyan and Mr. Spies, the alleged ringleaders,
could face up to 30 years in prison.
Defense attorneys said the men, who were in the country illegally,
could barely deliver assault weapons. And the FBI informant,
identified in court papers as Kelly Davis, dangled the promise of
getting them green cards if they could come through on their promise
of delivering the military weapons.
"If the world had more arms dealers like Artur Solomonyan, it would
be a much safer place," Mr. Solomonyan’s lawyer Seth Ginsberg, a
former attorney for deceased mobster John Gotti, told the jury during
opening arguments last month. "What he really wanted was a green
card."
Mr. Spies’ lawyer John Burke denied his client was an international
weapons dealer. He accused the government of overreaching.
Prosecutors portray Mr. Solomonyan and Mr. Spies not as terrorists,
but as "mercenaries" who were "willing to sell weapons to anyone for a
price."
The case is spelled out in a 61-page affidavit, made through
thousands of intercepted phone calls, some translated from Afrikaans,
Armenian, and Russian. The documents describe how the men allegedly
tried to conceal their negotiations by using code words, calling
rocket-propelled grenade launchers fliers and machine guns toys, and
using words such as condos, SUVs and puppies for other guns, records
show.
The case began in March 2004, when agents on a New York Russian and
Eastern European organized crime task force uncovered the
gun-trafficking ring that stretched from New York to Los Angeles and
Miami, wrote Mario Pisano, an FBI agent, in court papers.
Mr. Spies and Mr. Solomonyan, who worked health-care fraud cases and
other crimes together, met at a New York restaurant to hash out a deal
with Mr. Davis, who told the men he had previously helped broker arms
deals in Africa, records say.
Mr. Solomonyan told the informant he imported products from Russia
and had ex-KGB contacts overseas who could help smuggle surface-to-air
missiles, stingers, assault rifles, and antipersonnel mines to U.S.
ports in two months or less, records show. Solomonyan even boasted he
could smuggle in enriched uranium, a contention prosecutors say was
unlikely, records show.
Documents suggest Mr. Solomonyan was brash, but insecure. Mr.
Solomonyan, who was then 26, fretted that Mr. Davis wouldn’t take him
seriously because of his age. Mr. Spies reassured him that he had
nothing to fear. He was trusted, serious, and knew what he was doing,
court papers show.
But he was tired of "making a few cents here and there." He wanted
to make a good impression on his newfound client for whom "money was
not a problem."
"This deal was very important to him," records say.
Mr. Solomonyan allegedly tried hard to find willing suppliers of
guns, but had a hard time convincing some of them to deliver heavy
weapons. They were scared, records show.
"Everyone in Armenia was being checked out and the phones were being
listened to," an unidentified contact in Armenia told Mr. Solomonyan
in a recorded call on June 11, 2004.
While working contacts overseas, eventually, Mr. Solomonyan and Mr.
Spies found willing dealers in Fort Lauderdale who would come through
on machine guns, prosecutors allege. Using those contacts, the men
allegedly sold the informant eight weapons — an Israeli Uzi, SKS
fully automatic assault rifle, and AK-47s — all delivered to Los
Angeles, New York, and Florida storage lockers that had been
clandestinely rented by the FBI, records show.
The informant paid nearly $6,000 cash for the weapons. The FBI
secretly wired $3,900 to Mr. Spies’ bank account.
The assault weapons and machine guns were a good start, but they
weren’t enough, records show. Davis wanted the rocket-propelled
grenade launchers he had been promised and gave Mr. Solomonyan two
weeks to come through. That sent Mr. Solomonyan into a fit. "He’s
playing with me," Mr. Solomonyan allegedly told Mr. Spies according to
court papers. Mr. Davis would "see what it means to play."
He "won’t forget me for all his life. He’s gonna remember me for a
while . . . I’m not joking, you’ll see. I’ve got a couple of plans,"
Mr. Solomonyan allegedly told Mr. Spies.
The case came to a head when Mr. Solomonyan and Mr. Spies allegedly
gave Mr. Davis a username and password to a Russian e-mail account
with 17 digital photos that the FBI confirmed had been shot in
February 2005. The photos were a veritable catalog of military
weapons: two SA-7b Strella surface-to-air heat-seeking antiaircraft
missiles, a Russian AT-4 Spigot antitank guided missile and launcher,
a 120 mm mortar launcher, Russian 73 mm recoilless antitank guns, and
fully automatic AK-74 and AKS assault rifles, records show.
It was evidence enough to set up a sting and arrest Mr. Solomonyan
and Mr. Spies as they met with Mr. Davis on March 14, 2005, in New
York to allegedly work out the details of their military weapons
transaction. They never followed-up on their promise. They were
arrested before they could even try to carry it off.
Jason Kandel is a reporter at the Los Angeles Daily News. For the last
four years, he has been following the activities of Russian-Armenian
crime groups operating fraud schemes, burglaries and murders occurring
in L.A., Glendale, and Burbank.
**************************************** ***********************************
5. Crime Beat: Suspected fatal hit-and-run driver in police custody
* Arrested in Mexico
GLENDALE, Calif. — Twenty-year-old Glendale resident and Armenia
native Ara Grigoryan is in police custody after a weeklong search. He
was arrested in Mexico City. Glendale Police say Mr. Grigoryan fled to
Mexico after he struck 24-year-old Elizabeth Sandoval with his car;
she died at the scene.
Police asked for the public’s help in finding Mr. Grigoryan after
the accident on Tuesday, July 10, and the City of Glendale offered a
$10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of
the hit-and-run suspect.
Glendale police officer John Balian said a roadside assistance GPS
tracking device built into the 2003 black 4-door Mercedes-Benz S430
helped lead officers to a body shop in Van Nuys, where the car was
undergoing repairs to cover up damage.
Investigators say before Mr. Grigoryan was wanted as the suspect in
the hit-and-run accident, he crossed the border into Tijuana. He flew
from Tijuana to Mexico City, where he was apparently planning to fly
to Europe and eventually to his native Armenia.
The victim in the hit-and-run accident, Ms. Sandoval, was crossing
Glendale Blvd. at Windsor Avenue with another woman when the
Mercedes-Benz struck her. She was knocked nearly 100 feet; the second
woman crossing the street with Ms. Sandavol was not injured.
Glendale Police say that Mr. Grigoryan had previously been cited
with moving violations for failing to yield to pedestrians. They are
now continuing their investigation and looking for those who may have
helped Mr. Grigoryan plan his escape and evade arrest.
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