Local man arrested in organized crime case

Alecia Foster

GLENDALE -- A Glendale man with ties to Armenian organized crime was

arrested Tuesday morning on federal charges relating to a kidnapping and

extortion plot against a former Armenian businessman.

Hovsep Keshishian, 35, was one of five residents from throughout Los

Angeles arrested in the case. Keshishian is charged with conspiring to

commit extortion and extortion, according to the federal indictment.

The businessman came to the United States seeking political asylum in

2000 after being imprisoned for speaking out against the Armenian

government in 1993, the indictment stated.

Soon after his arrival, the man was approached by members of an

Armenian crime ring and told he faced trouble unless he helped the group,

the indictment stated. At one point, the group kidnapped a relative of

the businessman living in Moscow in order to get him to pay money, it

stated.

Keshishian had threatened to physically harm and kill the businessman

in attempts to collect money from him, the indictment stated. On March

22, 2001, Keshishian hit the man in the face and threatened to shoot him

in the head if he didn’t pay $20,000 to two others in the alleged crime

ring, it stated.

“We have built a number of cases during the past four or five years

involving immigrants from Armenia, which would not be unexpected due to

the influx of Armenian immigrants into the area,” said Thom Mrozek,

public affairs officer for the U.S. Attorney’s office.

Four others were indicted on charges that include extortion,

conspiring to extort, conspiring to take hostages, foreign communications

with the intent to extort and receiving the proceeds of extortion.

The four included: Ashot Manukyan, 47, of Los Feliz; Hovannes Igarian,

38, of Los Feliz; Sousanna Ounousian, 38, of Van Nuys; and Ounousian’s

husband, Pogos Ketchedjian, 38, of Van Nuys.