Russian Unit to Investigate Local Businessman’s Slaying

Russian authorities said they have assigned a task force to investigate the contract-style killing of Orange County businessman Paul Tatum.

“I’m very pleased with the response,” said Rep. Christopher Cox (R-Newport Beach), who along with other Congressional leaders have been pressuring Russian authorities to aggressively pursue Tatum’s killers. “President Boris Yeltsin has been personally briefed and understands the Congress is deeply interested in this case.”

Tatum, a 41-year-old Oklahoma native and veteran Republican fund-raiser, was ambushed Nov. 3 by a machine-gun-wielding assailant as he emerged from a subway station in downtown Moscow. Tatum had been involved in a long-running power struggle for control of Moscow’s Radisson-Slavjankskaya Hotel. The entrepreneur had a 40% stake in the luxury property through his American Business Centers, which until recently were based in Irvine.

Tatum is the first U.S. businessman to be slain in post-Soviet Russia in what is suspected to be a contract hit orchestrated by the Russian Mafia and corrupt Moscow officials. The nation has experienced an explosion of organized crime since the fall of communism.

“Until the Russian government can solve its organized crime problem for its citizens,” Cox said, “we hope to set a clear example that tougher standards apply when an American is killed.”