Money-Laundering Trial Witness Gets 9 Years
A Glendale man was sentenced to nine years in federal prison Wednesday for his role in a massive money-laundering ring that funneled $312 million through the downtown Los Angeles jewelry district in 1987 and 1988.
U.S. District Judge William D. Keller imposed the sentence on Vagram Mario Tankazyan, 30, who earlier had pleaded guilty to conspiracy to launder money and engaging in financial transactions with cash derived from crime.
Tankazyan then cooperated with prosecutors during a lengthy 1990 trial that resulted in convictions of five men on numerous felonies. Four of the men were sentenced to 505 years in prison and the fifth got a 27-year term.
Assistant U.S. Atty. Jean Kawahara recommended to Keller that Tankazyan receive a term from six to eight years because of the substantial cooperation he had provided. But Keller said that such a sentence would be insufficient because of the gravity of the crimes involved.
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