Man Is Fatally Shot on Crowded Street by Diamond District

By SABRINA TAVERNISE and WILLIAM K. RASHBAUM

Published: May 21, 2004

n a brazen attack, a man who a police official said was indicted in an international money laundering case was shot in the back of the head and killed last night as he walked along a crowded Midtown street near the diamond district.

The man was walking north on the Avenue of the Americas between 47th and 48th Streets about 7:20 p.m., when another man approached him from behind and fired three shots with a large caliber pistol at close range, hitting him in the head and in the back, the police said.

The victim was identified by a law enforcement official as Eduard Nektalov, 46, a jeweler who worked in the area. He was taken to St. Vincent's Midtown Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

The attacker was described as a man with olive skin and long black hair in a page boy style. He was said to be wearing a long black T-shirt and black pants, the police said. He tucked his gun into his pants, and fled into the crowd, according to witnesses and the police.

"It took a second — pop, pop, pop, and then he runs," said Jim Koci, who works at 1212 Avenue of the Americas and was nearby at the time of the shooting. The attacker did not exchange words with the victim,the police said.

The attacker was pursued by a retired police officer, John Doherty, who was working as a security consultant for Fox News at 1211 Avenue of the Americas, the officer said.

Detectives were investigating a range of possible motives, including that Mr. Nektalov may have been thinking of cooperating with the authorities in the federal case, called Operation Meltdown, which involved drug-money laundering for Colombian drug dealers.

Eduard Nektalov was indicted last summer in the case, in which diamond district businesses bought gold from Colombian drug dealers and reworked it, turning it into everyday objects. Mr. Nektalov, who was charged with fraud and money laundering, was to go to trial on July 12.

A law enforcement official said it was too early to tell if that was the link.

"It may carry us that way down the road, but we're also looking at some squabbling with acquaintances," the official said.

There was also speculation among investigators that the hit-style shooting might have been ordered by Russian organized criminals.

Mr. Nektalov was from a family of prominent Bukharan Jews, who had emigrated from Central Asia in the former Soviet Union, a family friend said. He said that Mr. Nektalov's father, Roman Nektalov, hade been in the United States for 30 years.

Still, the official said of the killing, "It may not be as exotic as Russian organized crime."

Friends outside Mr. Nektalov's sprawling brick home in Forest Hills, Queens, said last night that the family donated generously for the construction of synagogues in New York.

"If we had any problems, we'll go straight to him," said Arkady Kataev, a friend who said he worked with Mr. Nektalov at Roman Jewelry, the family's store in Midtown. "This family helped everybody. That's why it shocked everybody here."

Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly said at a news conference last night, "It's certainly possible that it could be related to the diamond district." But Mr. Kelly added: "I would wait and see what the motive is. It could have been a personal relationship between the individual and the victim."

Shortly after the shooting, the victim's father arrived at the scene in a black Mercedes sedan. He left with homicide detectives, the law enforcement official said.

In a strange twist, celebrities were among those at the scene last night. Both Candice Bergen and Lorraine Bracco, who were participating in the Precinct Commander for a Day program, arrived with police officials after the shooting. They were accompanying the commander of the Midtown South Precinct and the chief of Manhattan detectives.

A stunned Ms. Bergen said, "This is the first time I've seen brain matter."

The shooting was the second attack in Midtown this week. On Tuesday, a man stabbed three people in an unprovoked rampage near Herald Square.

People were on edge after the shooting last night but said they still felt safe in the area. Robbers rarely escape the area, which is heavily patrolled by undercover police officers, said Allan Silverstein, who works in the district.

"Do I think it's safe?" said Mr. Silverstein. "I think it's fairly safe. If this was a robbery, I would say it was an isolated case. But if this was a hate crime, I would have my doubts."

Mr. Kelly acknowledged that hit-style shootings had become a rarity in New York City.

"It is unusual. It did take place on Sixth Avenue," he said. "New York is still the safest city in America."