News from August 2002

They should have talked to Pavel Bure.

Perhaps then French ice dancer Marina Anissina and pairs partners Elena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze would have reacted differently to reports linking them to alleged organized crime boss Alimzan Tokhtakhounov.

Bure, in contrast to the skaters, is an old hand at answering questions about the Russian mafia, having explained his associations with reputed Russian mobsters since he entered the NHL in 1991. The Rangers winger threatens no lawsuits and feigns no shock.

His most notable discussion of the mob came in a PBS "Frontline" report focusing on the Russian mafia's links to Russian-born NHL players. In that interview, and others, he adopted a posture of frustrated helplessness to claims he says have no merit.

"There's a lot of confusion about who is what, particularly after the collapse of communism," Bure's Ontario-based agent Mike Gillis told the Daily News on Saturday, "and there's nothing we can do about it. I've talked to Pav about it and told him to deal with it and hope the stories stop."

Bure, who is in Moscow and did not return calls to his cell phone on Saturday, has acknowledged relationships with individuals whom international law enforcement officials identify as members of Russia's organized crime syndicates. Among the most notable is Anzor Kikalishvili, an alleged Russian mobster whom Bure calls a friend.

Kikalishvili ran a sports marketing company in Russia called The 21st Century Association that law enforcement officials claimed was a front for illegal activities. Though Bure was pictured next to Kikalishvili on a Russian billboard for the company, he claimed to have no business relationship with it.

"There's no projects at all, that's most important," Bure told "Frontline" in 1999. "And yes, (Kikalishvili) is my friend, and I really like him as a man."

Gillis says that connecting past ties between Russian hockey players and those now reputed to be mobsters fails to take into account the ever-changing face of the former Soviet Union.

"A number of people, subsequent to the fall of communism in Russia, have been called mobsters," Gillis says. "Whether they were KGB or IOC before, they are now painted with the brush of being members of the Russian mafia.

"KGB people routinely traveled with Russian teams in the `80s and they're now accused of being mafia guys. And the players are unfortunately being painted with that same brush.

"My answer - and I've talked to Pavel about it - is that one day they're KGB, the next day they're mafia, the next day they're Communist Party. Pavel says, `What am I supposed to do? All I can say is that I've never done anything like that.' "

Bure's name came up in loose connection with this latest figure-skating scandal because the Russian Rocket was one of the guests (along with Anissina) at a 1999 gala in Paris at which Tokhtakhounov was anointed a knight in the Order of St. Constantine for "self-sacrifice, chivalry and philanthropy" toward Russians.

Says Gillis: "I have never heard of (Tokhtakhounov). There's some point where errors in the newspaper and photos taken at an awards dinner two years ago have to be chalked up to unfortunate circumstances."

Tokhtakhounov has been described as being close to several athletes. He recently contributed money to the Russian national tennis, soccer and track and field teams. A 1999 photograph on Ukranian player Andrei Medvedev's Web site pictures him with Medvedev and Russian stars Safin and Yevgeny Kafelnikov, although it was taken down last week.

"A lot of people want to take photographs with these guys," Gillis says of stars like his client.

Bure certainly is not alone among Russian-born NHLers linked to figures involved in organized crime in Russia.

Former Devils defenseman Slava Fetisov, perhaps the most revered player in Russian history and now the head of the country's ice hockey federation, has been connected with Vyacheslav Ivankov, reputed head of the Russian mob in North America. Fetisov has denied having any business relationship with Ivankov.

While Bure, Fetisov and many other Russian players are practiced in the art of dealing with shocking allegations involving the mob, Annisina clearly is not.

"I categorically denounce all the slanderous, unjust and disgraceful allegations that were made against me," she said after the arrest of Tokhtakhounov. "Gwendal (Peizerat, her partner) and myself never needed anybody to help us win our gold medal in Salt Lake City."

A decade of press reports and a recently purged Internet photo paint a different picture.

In newspapers from Moscow to London to New York, Tokhtakhounov has been portrayed as a major crime kingpin and a mover and shaker in the Russian sports world. The 53-year-old has been accused of selling illegal arms in the Middle East and has hobnobbed with tennis players Andrei Medvedev, Marat Safin and Yevgeny Kafelnikov; NHL All-Star and former Florida Panther Pavel Bure; Russian national soccer team goalkeeper Ruslan Nigmatullin; and French ice dancer Marina Anissina, the Russia-born Olympic gold medalist named in the criminal report as a beneficiary of Tokhtakhounov's attempted fix.

When he was arrested last week in Italy, Tokhtakhounov was driving a Mercedes 5000 given to him by Medvedev of Ukraine. Italian police said authorities have a document signed by Medvedev confirming he gave Tokhtakhounov the car out of gratitude for help with his career. Medvedev's official website featured a 1999 photograph of Tokhtakhounov with his arms around Medvedev, Safin and Kafelnikov. The photo was removed sometime last Thursday.

Tokhtakhounov is a fixture at the French Open and other major tennis tournaments around France. One of his close friends is Shamil Tarpishchev, head of the Russian Tennis Federation and former private coach for president Boris Yeltsin.

''He [Tokhtakhounov] is a good friend of mine, but I'd rather talk about tennis right now,'' Kafelnikov said last week in Toronto. ``I'm sure this arrest is some kind of mistake.''

Safin politely declined comment about Tokhtakhounov, admitting he knew him, but not wanting to say more.

Tennis cover girl Anna Kournikova, asked by reporters in San Diego last week whether she knew him, replied: ''I have heard of this guy, but I don't think I should be talking about this. I'm sorry. I'm Russian. I have to go back there.'' Pressed, and asked if he was a mobster, she said, ``You could put it that way.''

In 1999, a lavish party was thrown in Paris to celebrate Tokhtakhounov's induction into the knighthood of the international order of St. Constantine, for his ''self-sacrifice, chivalry and philanthropy.'' Among the guests: Bure, Anissina, Russian Olympic Committee vice president Aleksandr Kozlovski; and Russian singer Iosif Kobzon, who has been linked to the Russian mafia.

Bure is traveling in Europe and has been unavailable for comment since Tokhtakhounov's arrest. Anissina admitted Monday she spoke with the suspect ''from time to time'' since meeting him in 1999, but scoffed at the suggestion her acquaintance with him had anything to do with the gold medal she won with her partner, Gwendal Peizerat.

Tokhtakhounov, who spent most of the 1990s in France, is accused of trying to cozy up to French officials and secure a French visa by pressuring Olympic skating judges to award the ice dancing gold medal to the French couple. He allegedly tried to rig a deal whereby the French would win dance in exchange for Russians Elena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze winning pairs.

His lawyer says he will plead not guilty.

''It's a ridiculous affair,'' Anissina said, as Peizerat stood by her in a ''Not Guilty'' T-shirt. ``I've only seen things like this in American movies.''

U.S. attorney James Comey said the case, based on wiretaps, indicates a ``classic quid pro quo. You line up support for the Russian pair, we'll line up support for the French pair and everyone will go away with the gold, and perhaps there will be a little gold for me.''

French judge Marie-Reine LeGougne initially said she was pressured to vote for the Russian pair, whose victory over Canadians Jamie Salé and David Pelletier caused an international uproar. She later recanted her statement. She said last week she has never heard of, met, seen or spoken to Tokhtakhounov.

Didier Gailhaguet, head of the French Skating Federation, said Monday that French authorities had cautioned him against getting to know Tokhtakhounov, who approached him in 2000 about financing a Paris hockey team. Gailhaguet said Tokhtakhounov's secretary called him a few weeks after their meeting asking for his help in obtaining a visa. He contacted authorities and they advised him to sever ties.

Tokhtakhounov, better known in Russia by his nickname, Taivanchik (Little Taiwanese, given to him because of his Asian appearance), was born in Uzbekistan to a pair of doctors.

He moved to Moscow in 1962, and began running in sports and entertainment circles, making a living as a professional card player. He was arrested for petty crimes in the 1970s and 1980s, and branded a ''thief within the law,'' a euphemism for mobster. After the fall of the Soviet Union, he was implicated in serious crimes ranging from arms dealing to drug trafficking and antique smuggling.

He left Russia around 1990, and bounced between Germany, France and Italy. Tokhtakhounov remains a Russian citizen, but also has passports from Uzbekistan, France, Israel and Germany. In 1994, he was questioned by French police after Russian socialite Sergei Majarov was gunned down in Paris.

In 1999, he moved to Italy.

Italian police said Tokhtakhounov was involved in a large money laundering ring through the Cayman Islands. ''He is not the chief of the group, but we believe he's near the top,'' said police spokesman Giovanni Mainolfi.

Russian Olympic Committee spokesman Gennady Shvets doubts the tales of Tokhtakhounov's crimes. ''He has a delusion of grandeur,'' Shvets said. 'He could pick up a phone and tell his friends something like, `I arranged with the judges for two medals for our guys and made sure the Canadians would come in second.' ''

Major mobster or blowhard? Time will tell.

The match will be Fetisov’s second farewell game. The 42-year-old ended his playing career in 1998 with the Detroit Red Wings, after helping the team win the 1997 Stanley Cup, and joined the Devils as an assistant. The two-time Olympic gold medalist was the first Soviet hockey star to play in the NHL, joining the Devils in 1989.

Fetisov’s desire to play his last game at home has been supported by top-level government officials and businessmen in the light of the failure of the Russian team at the World Ice Hockey Championship in May. Many considered the loss in St. Petersburg a national disgrace and urged the government to take steps to revive the former glory of Soviet hockey – which ranked next to missiles and spaceships as a source of pride during the communist era.

The Aug. 25 game – which will pit Russian stars "against the rest of the world" – will be the highlight of a week of activities surrounding the players’ visit to Moscow. Also scheduled are Russian and foreign pop shows and a beauty contest. Visiting players will attend lunches with President Vladimir Putin, Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov and Patriarch Alexii II.

Fetisov said that hockey stars Pavel Bure and Igor Ilarionov have accepted invitations, and he expects positive responses from Jaromir Jagr and Dominick Hasek. "Summer is vacation time, and it’s difficult to contact players," he said. But he added that the expected 17,000-strong crowd at the Olympic complex would witness "a unique game in history."

Revenues from the events will aid former hockey players now suffering economic difficulties and support young hockey players, Fetisov said.