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Son-In-Law's Trial Begins In Murder-For-Hire Plot

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By ELAINE SILVESTRINI | The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 3, 2008

Updated: 11/03/2008 05:08 pm

TAMPA - A jury was selected today in the case of a man accused of hiring people to repeatedly attack and try to kill his in-laws after they stopped giving him money.

Alex Shevgert is on trial in U.S. District Court after three others involved in the plot pleaded guilty, two of whom agreed to cooperate with the prosecution.

Authorities say Shevgert hired men to attack Grigori and Galina Komissarchuk in their homes in New York and Sarasota. After the first two attacks, one of which involved a hammer, the fearful couple asked to move in with Shevgert and their daughter, according to court documents.

Opening statements are scheduled to be delivered on Tuesday.

Shevgert let the couple move in to the Sarasota house they had partially financed, and then proceeded to hound them to lend him more money so he could start another business. Shevgert had already failed at several business ventures financed by his in-laws, so they refused to give him any more money.

Shevgert hounded them so relentlessly, they moved back to their Brooklyn, N.Y., home. Shevgert then solicited a second attack on the couple, according to court documents.

The assailant, Edmon Vardanyan, 24, of Tampa, pleaded guilty Friday to federal charges that he conspired to travel across state lines with the intent to kill or injure.

Also pleading guilty to federal charges was Sergey Zub, 41, of Brooklyn, who admitted in court that he drove Vardanyan.

A third defendant, Larik Cholak, pleaded guilty last Monday, admitting he helped Shevgert find the attacker.

Cholak and Zub agreed to cooperate with the prosecution. Vardanyan did not.

The Komissarchuks provided financial help to their son-in-law, giving him money to purchase businesses and restaurants. All the businesses failed, according to Cholak's plea agreement. Shevgert moved his family to the Komissarchuks' Sarasota home without their permission, creating friction between the families.

The Komissarchuks then gave Shevgert $100,000 to buy his own house with their daughter, and Shevgert used a portion of the money to buy a new home. He then asked for more money to start another business, according to Cholak's plea agreement.

The Komissarchuks refused to give him more money, and he began to solicit people to help him attack his in-laws, the plea agreement states. Cholak, who didn't know the background, agreed to help find someone and approached Vardanyan about attacking the couple.

Vardanyan asked to be paid $2,000. After he was given the money, Vardanyan made several attempts to attack the couple in New York and Sarasota, according to court papers.

According to federal complaints, in September 2006, Grigori Komissarchuk was beaten unconscious while returning to his car in the parking lot of a Home Depot in Brooklyn.

The complaints state that Komissarchuk required surgery for internal injuries, had facial fractures and was in the hospital for two weeks.

On Dec. 6, 2006, the Komissarchuks were returning to their Sarasota home from dinner with the Shevgerts when an assailant with a hammer ducked under their closing garage door.

He attacked Galina Komissarchuk, and as her husband attempted to shield her, the attacker beat them both, the complaint states.

Grigori Komissarchuk suffered a skull fracture, cuts on his head and bruises on his arms. Galina Komissarchuk suffered two cuts on her head and bruises on her arms and face.

It was after this attack that the couple asked to move in to Shevgert's home, court documents state.

Reporter Elaine Silvestrini can be reached at (813) 259-7837.

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