Khurtsidze was arrested last year, accused of being an enforcer for Russian syndicate leader Razhden Shulaya
Avtandil Khurtsidze is going to prison for a long, long time.
The former Interim WBO Middleweight Champion, arrested last year as part of an Eastern European crime syndicate, has been found guilty of racketeering and a variety of associated charges.
“As a unanimous jury found, Razhden Shulaya [Russian so-called thief-in-law] and his chief enforcer, Avtandil Khurtsidze, engaged in an array of criminal schemes that included violence, extortion, theft, trafficking in stolen goods, and fraud. Shulaya, a Russian ‘vor v zakone’ or ‘thief-in-law,’ is now a convicted thief under U.S. law. Both defendants now await sentencing for their crimes,” Manhattan U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said.
Khurtsidze was reportedly caught on video doing some pretty disturbing mob stuff.
In one video, the jury is expected to see Khurtsidze stand up and punch a man directly in the face after he is accused of stealing money from a Brighton Beach poker ring Shulaya allegedly ran, court papers show. Shulaya then slaps the man’s face and tells him he had better pay up or be punished further, court papers say.
“Tazman” (33-2-2, 22 KO), coming off of back-to-back knockouts of Antoine Douglas and Tommy Langford, was all set for a career-high payday against Billy Joe Saunders before he was snared alongside Shulaya, UFC veteran and fellow Georgian Levan Makashvili, and several others. Already 39 years old, he could be anywhere from 60 to 80 before he is released.
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