vlad.tribnet.com / Issue #167 / Crime watch / Reading article...

Vladivostok’s contract killing spree continued when a local businessman was gunned down outside the Prestige Pool Bar on May 1.

Alleged Vladivostok mob boss Igor Karpov was shot and killed as he and his wife entered the bar, which he owned.

There have been a total of eight alleged contract killings in the city this year, according to police, and the 35-year-old businessman was the fourth alleged Vladivostok mobster to be slain since the start of January.

Sergei Larionov was stabbed in prison on Feb. 25 and police found the body of Yuri Potapov on April 22. In addition, gunmen shot down Vrezh Babakekhyan in his automobile outside the Royal Park Casino Feb. 17.

Karpov was hit by two bullets from a Dragunov sniper rifle. The gunman was on a rooftop across the street, according to the daily Vladivostok newspaper.

Karpov lay bleeding in his wife’s arms before he was taken to a nearby hospital where he died, witnesses told the paper.

Though the Frunzensky district police station was only a short distance away and police responded immediately, no suspects have been identified in the case.

In addition to the popular pool hall, Karpov owned a number of food stores and a beauty parlor in downtown Vladivostok.

He also was rumored to be part of the entourage of alleged mob lord Sergei Baulo, who died under uncertain circumstances in 1995, the Vladivostok reported.

Sources familiar with the case say Karpov lived in fear of an attack by his enemies: He frequently received threats and changed his address often.