ALONGSIDE WAITING WIDOW, SCHUMER URGES DOJ TO RAMP-UP EFFORTS TO EXTRADITE ACCUSED, VICIOUS NYC KILLER NOW SITTING IN AUSTRALIAN JAIL; WIDOW HAS BEEN WAITING 7 LONG YEARS; SENATOR DEMANDS SUSPECT BE AGGRESSIVELY PURSUED & JUSTICE DELIVERED
Brooklyn Resident, Vladimir Tolstykh, Was Brutally Murdered 7 Years Ago Today; One of His Alleged Killers—Abakar Gadiyev—Later Fled To Australia Where He Was Arrested, Thanks To NYPD; DOJ Filed For Extradition in 2014 But Process Has Lagged On Back Burner As Suspect Sits A World Away
Victim’s Family Anxious for Justice Here At Home; Schumer Lauds NYPD & Victim’s Wife Who Have Worked Tirelessly In Pursuit Of Justice
Schumer: Family’s Fight For Justice Is Mine, Too
U.S. Senator Charles Schumer today urged the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to ramp-up its efforts to extradite from Australia the alleged killer of a Brooklyn man murdered in a 2009 robbery. Vladimir Tolstykh’s accused killer, Abakar Gadiyev, fled to Australia after the crime and now sits inside an Australian jail cell fighting U.S. extradition. Schumer stood alongside the widow of the victim, Rita Tolstykh, as he made an impassioned push for justice on the 7-year anniversary of the horrific 2009 murder.
“I am strongly urging the DOJ and FBI to make this case a top U.S. priority and to redouble its efforts to secure the long-awaited extradition with all due speed,” U.S. Senator Charles Schumer said. “Every second that ticks by is a second the Tolstykh family is denied some small measure of justice for this heinous murder of a loving husband and father and neighbor. The DOJ and State Department must do everything they can to ramp-up efforts to bring this accused killer back to New York to face justice. Bringing this accused killer back to the U.S. will let the judicial system deliver the final verdict, a verdict that should give this brave family some sense of closure.”
Schumer, today, also lauded the work of the NYPD and Brooklyn DA Ken Thompson, who have been working with the victim’s widow, Rita Tolstykh, to diligently pursue justice in this case, saying, “It was the dogged and diligent professionalism of the NYPD detectives leading this case, including Det. Peter McMahon, that lead to the successful arrest of Mr. Gadiyev in Australia. They are the very best at what they do.”
Schumer said Australia has an extradition treaty with the U.S. and that this treaty makes bringing the accused killer back to the U.S. possible. The Senator said that the federal government must move faster with the extradition request because the Tolstykh family has waited too long for justice.
Schumer wrote in his letter, “Because we have an extradition treaty with Australia, it is within our authority to bring Mr. Gadiyev back to the U.S. to be tried in a court of law. Given the violent nature of this crime and the clear standards set forth in the U.S.-Australian Extradition treaty, I urge you to use all tools at your disposal to aggressively pursue the prompt extradition of Mr. Gadiyev to the U.S. so that he can be tried.”
Accused killer, Abakar Gadiyev, fled to Australia after allegedly committing the 2009 Brooklyn murder. He was arrested in Australia for that crime in 2014. He has been awaiting U.S. extradition ever since.
A copy of Schumer’s letter to U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch appears below:
Dear Attorney General Lynch:
I write to express my deep concern regarding a case from Brooklyn, New York, involving Vladimir Tolstykh, who was viciously murdered in 2009. His alleged murderers fled the country to avoid trial, denying Mr. Tostykh’s family the small measure of justice they can hope for in the face of unspeakable tragedy. While I know the Department of Justice is engaged in this case, and I appreciate the agency’s work to date, I strongly urge that the DOJ and FBI redouble their efforts to promptly extradite and bring the suspected perpetrators to justice.
On March 14, 2009, Vladimir Tolstykh was brutally killed after exiting his shop, Brighton Bazaar, at the end of the business day. Tolstykh’s accused murderers, Abakar Gadiyev and Arsen Bashirov, stole a payroll bag that contained $32,000 and then beat him to death. Unfortunately, before the suspects could be prosecuted by U.S. authorities, Mr. Gadiyev fled to Australia and Mr. Bashirov to his homeland of Turkmenistan.
The New York Police Department (NYPD) and the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office have been diligently working to get Mr. Gadiyev, who was arrested in Sydney, Australia in February 2014, extradited to the U.S. so that he can be tried for murder and the Tolstykh family can receive justice. In fact, it was the dogged and diligent professionalism of the NYPD detectives leading this case that lead to the successful arrest of Mr. Gadiyev in Australia. Mr. Bashirov remains at large.
Because we have an extradition treaty with Australia, it is within our authority to bring Mr. Gadiyev back to the U.S. to be tried in a court of law. Given the violent nature of this crime and the clear standards set forth in the U.S.-Australian Extradition treaty, I urge you to use all tools at your disposal to aggressively pursue the prompt extradition of Mr. Gadiyev to the U.S. so that he can be tried. I pledge to do all in my power to assist in this effort, and I will be communicating to the Australian government and American diplomats the urgent need to complete this extradition process.
Since the tragic day when the Tolstykh family learned of Vladimir’s death, his wife Rita Tolstykh and their surviving children have patiently waited for their day in court. I respectfully ask that you make this case a top priority and take all appropriate steps to complete the extradition of Mr. Gadiyev with all due speed.
Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter.
Sincerely,
U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer
