« Dangerous Jocks on the Loose? Put Gilbert Arenas, Jayson Williams, and Plaxico Burress in the Same Room and ... | Main | Atlantic Avenue: The New Boulevard of Death »
January 10, 2010
A Bigger Gun Problem for NBA Commish Stern? Alleged Plot To Kill Moscow Journalist
Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn
Something this wacky — and deadly serious — could only transpire in Moscow.
Perhaps it's time for the National Basketball Association to rethink its vetting process.
What will NBA Commissioner David Stern and the NBA Board Governors (not to mention Mayor Bloomberg and Gov. Paterson) think of the following, which, if true, pales in comparison with Washington Wizards star Gilbert Arenas' offenses...
Yet-to-be approved Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov has an 18.5% stake in RuSal, the world's largest aluminimum company. RuSal is allegedly involved in either an extremly frightening intimidation plot or a straight out plot to kill Moscow-based, independent Austrailian journalist John Helmer.
The story is in the The Weekend Austrailian and has been picked up in the US, first, by Star Ledger sports reporter and columnist Dave D'Alessandro.
David Stern should do some answering...
Here's D'Alessandro's story, which includes the entirety of The Weekend Australian's piece.
The Star-Ledger, Weekend Reading Assignment: A Russian Tale
They tried to kill John Helmer this week.
If you don’t know who John Helmer is, you should take the time to find out: He’s the journalist residing in Moscow who has been a pebble in Mikhail Prokhorov’s shoe since oligarchs have been collecting their billions under the protection of a corrupt, Fascist state.
In other words, he’s the kind of journalist who turns up dead once a month or so inside Putin’s Russia.
Anyway, Helmer – a fascinating and talented fellow, if not a fair bit over the top in his pursuit of truths – claims that the RuSal aluminum giant wants him dead, that the company's moronic hit men tried to act upon it at his home on Dec. 28, and that he has very convincing proof of a connection.
And yes, if that corporate name rings a bell, Prokhorov still owns 18.5 percent of RuSal.
Here’s the link and the jump page, but the entire text is pasted below.
You’ll only find this story in the Aussie papers, because it’s being held off the web to protect against English libel threats. The only thing RuSal has more than money is lawyers, as its spokesman states plainly after the jump page:
Tip-off saves Australian journalist from Moscow plot
THE WEEKEND AUSTRALIAN
Jan. 9, 2010THREE armed men have been arrested outside the home of an Australian freelance journalist in Moscow just a week after the federal government warned him it had confidential information he was in danger.
The journalist, John Helmer, said he might have been targeted because of his aggressive reporting on powerful Russian businessmen, including 42-year-old billionaire Oleg Deripaska.
The [Australian] Department of Foreign Affairs has refused to tell Helmer what information led it to fear for his safety, and appears not to have provided any such information to Russian police investigating the case.
A spokesman said last night the department “cannot provide any further details on the source of this threat information (because) it is long-standing policy of the Australian government not to comment on intelligence matters.”
Helmer said Russian police who interrogated the three arrested men told him the men said they worked for a private security company that had been acting on behalf of Rusal, the Deripaska-controlled giant, which has major interests in the Australian aluminium and bauxite industry through holdings in Queensland.
Helmer said the three men were found to be carrying a dossier on him that included photos of him and his wife, and a sketch of the layout of his apartment building.
It also had the name Rusal typed in the top corner of its first page.
Click here to keep reading.
NoLandGrab: Bet Sandy Annabi's glad that they don't deal with obstacles in Yonkers the same way they deal with them in Moscow.
Posted by eric at January 10, 2010 7:41 PM