3 Held in Alleged $21,000 Extortion

Two men were arrested Friday morning as suspects in an extortion ring that allegedly coerced more than $20,000 from a Reseda businessman, a case police say exemplifies the citywide trend of street gang members expanding their criminal activities.

The arrests of Rock Soultanian, 27, of Panorama City, and Armen Shahbazyan, 34, of Reseda, followed Thursday’s arrest of the alleged ringleader Barseg “Smokey” Kapoushian, 23, of Reseda. He was arrested in Van Nuys for extortion and later released on $130,000 bail, police said.

Early this year, a group of five men, including Armenian Power and White Fence gang members and associates, befriended the victim, police said.

According to police, after becoming acquainted, the suspects told the businessman they were interested in buying his foundering nightspot, Showgirls, a bikini club in Reseda. Instead of buying the club, the suspects allegedly took to threatening and demanding money from the owner, police said. At least three months and $21,000 in alleged payoffs later, Albert Bassil called the police.

“He gave up 21 grand before he ever came to us,” said Los Angeles Police Lt. Gary Nanson, commander of the Valley Bureau gang unit. Nanson suggested that a fear of the alleged extortionists, combined with a mistrust of police in general, kept the man from alerting authorities sooner.

“Some people who come from other countries--this guy was from somewhere in the Middle East--are very reluctant to call and a lot of times these crimes do not get reported,” Nanson said.

Kapoushian, who denies ever being in Armenian Power, said the police have it backward.

“I lent Albert Bassil $5,000 to help him with his club and he wouldn’t ever pay me back,” Kapoushian said Friday. “I finally said ‘Can you at least pay me $1,500?’ So he calls yesterday and says he’s got the $1,500 and when I get there, the cops arrest me. For what? I didn’t do anything wrong other than be a nice guy and lend him money.”

Kapoushian insisted it was the Lebanon-born Bassil who conned him by giving him false documents after the money was lent.

“This guy is lying,” Kapoushian said.

Bassil, reached by telephone Friday, refused to comment on the case.

On Friday morning, several residents of the apartments lining the 8700 block of Burnet Avenue awoke to see 10 LAPD officers from the Valley Bureau Special Enforcement Unit, guns drawn, moving in on the yellow two-story complex where Soultanian lives.

“What is this about?,” Soultanian said to arresting officers after he was taken into custody. “I really don’t know what’s going on.” He admitted he was a former member of White Fence, a traditional enemy of Armenian Power. “I really don’t know what’s going on.”

The case could bolster police contentions of a growing trend for street gangs to expand into crimes beyond drive-by shootings, drug sales and robberies and into extortion and other crimes, including credit card fraud and identity theft.

“These extortion cases and other white collar crimes are getting more prevalent,” said Nanson, whose Valley Bureau unit was the only one to experience a decline in overall gang activity.

Officer Linda Lowande, who is heading the investigation, said Armenian Power or “AP” as it is known on the streets, is particularly good at selecting extortion victims.

“AP is smart and they’ve got money and aren’t afraid to flaunt it and are not afraid to threaten, and they are very mobile,” Lowande said.