2 Brothers Guilty in Death Plot
Two brothers, one of whom is already serving an 85-year federal prison sentence, pleaded guilty Monday in Los Angeles federal court to a murder-for-hire plot.
Garen Zakarian, 37, who is in prison for obstructing interstate commerce by robbery and physical violence, and his brother, Archak, 32, both of Glendale, face up to 10 years in prison for hiring a hit man to kill Artur Simonian in 1999.
Authorities said the brothers feared that Simonian, 37, might undermine their plans to concoct a bogus alibi so that Garen Zakarian could win a new trial in the 1994 robbery and murder of a Glendale travel agent. After being acquitted of homicide in state court, Garen Zakarian was convicted on related charges in federal court.
The alibi witness was to have been Simonian’s estranged wife, Kristine Arutunyan, 31, who was having an affair with Archak Zakarian. Fearing that Simonian could refute Arutunyan’s testimony, the brothers offered up to $15,000 to an undercover FBI informant to have him killed.
The brothers are to be sentenced early next year along with Arutunyan, who previously pleaded guilty to lying to investigators about her relationship with Archak Zakarian.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
