Boris Nayfeld
Encyclopedia
Boris Nayfeld, alias Biba, was a Belarus
ian mob boss
and heroin trafficker, who operated out of Brighton Beach
, New York City
.
in the late 1970s as a Soviet Jewish refugee under the Jackson-Vanik Amendment
. He became a small-time criminal and was arrested in Nassau County
for grand larceny
, pleaded guilty to petty larceny and was placed on probation. He later became a bodyguard and chauffer to Brighton Beach
mob boss Evsei Agron
. According to the NYPD, Nayfeld remains the prime suspect in the 1983 murder of Moldova
n writer turned gangster Yuri Brokhin.
After Agron's murder in 1985, Nayfeld became an enforcer for Ukrainian
mob boss Marat Balagula
who ruled the neighborhood rackets before being convicted of gasoline bootlegging in 1991. In the aftermath, Nayfeld took over the remnants of Balagula's organization and began to branch out on his own.
-Polish gangster Ricardo Fanchini, Nayfeld ran a successful heroin-smuggling operation which transported China White from Thailand
to the United States. After being smuggled into Singapore
, the drug was hidden in television picture tubes and shipped to Poland
via a Belgium
-based import-export company. From there, couriers flew it via plane to Brighton Beach. Upon arrival the heroin was sold partly to the Five Families
and partly to Latino street gangs. Things were going good for Nayfeld and he spent his time in either a luxury apartment in Antwerp with his mistress and his family home on Staten Island
opposite a nature reserve.
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
ian mob boss
Russian Mafia
The Russian Mafia is a name applied to organized crime syndicates in Russia and Ukraine. The mafia in various countries take the name of the country, as for example the Ukrainian mafia....
and heroin trafficker, who operated out of Brighton Beach
Brighton Beach
Brighton Beach is an oceanside neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. As of 2000, it has a population of 75,692 with a total of 31,228 households.-Location:...
, New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
Arrival to America and rise to power
Boris Nayfeld arrived in the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in the late 1970s as a Soviet Jewish refugee under the Jackson-Vanik Amendment
Jackson-Vanik amendment
The Jackson–Vanik amendment is a 1974 provision in United States federal law, intended to affect U.S. trade relations with countries with non-market economies that restrict freedom of emigration and other human rights...
. He became a small-time criminal and was arrested in Nassau County
Nassau County, New York
Nassau County is a suburban county on Long Island, east of New York City in the U.S. state of New York, within the New York Metropolitan Area. As of the 2010 census, the population was 1,339,532...
for grand larceny
Grand Larceny
Grand Larceny is a 1987 thriller film directed by Jeannot Szwarc and starring Marilu Henner, Ian McShane, Omar Sharif and Louis Jourdan.-Plot summary:...
, pleaded guilty to petty larceny and was placed on probation. He later became a bodyguard and chauffer to Brighton Beach
Brighton Beach
Brighton Beach is an oceanside neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. As of 2000, it has a population of 75,692 with a total of 31,228 households.-Location:...
mob boss Evsei Agron
Evsei Agron
Evsei Agron was a thief in law and boss of New York City's Russian Mafia during the 1970s and '80s.Born in Leningrad, Agron immigrated to the United States under the Jackson-Vanik Amendment in 1975. He swiftly gained control of criminal operations among the Soviet Jews living in Brighton Beach...
. According to the NYPD, Nayfeld remains the prime suspect in the 1983 murder of Moldova
Moldova
Moldova , officially the Republic of Moldova is a landlocked state in Eastern Europe, located between Romania to the West and Ukraine to the North, East and South. It declared itself an independent state with the same boundaries as the preceding Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1991, as part...
n writer turned gangster Yuri Brokhin.
After Agron's murder in 1985, Nayfeld became an enforcer for Ukrainian
Ukrainians
Ukrainians are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine, which is the sixth-largest nation in Europe. The Constitution of Ukraine applies the term 'Ukrainians' to all its citizens...
mob boss Marat Balagula
Marat Balagula
Marat Balagula is a Russian - Ukrainian Jewish immigrant, former mob boss, and associate of the Lucchese crime family. He has often been referred to as "the Russian Tony Soprano."-Early life:...
who ruled the neighborhood rackets before being convicted of gasoline bootlegging in 1991. In the aftermath, Nayfeld took over the remnants of Balagula's organization and began to branch out on his own.
Heroin ring
Together with ItaloItalian people
The Italian people are an ethnic group that share a common Italian culture, ancestry and speak the Italian language as a mother tongue. Within Italy, Italians are defined by citizenship, regardless of ancestry or country of residence , and are distinguished from people...
-Polish gangster Ricardo Fanchini, Nayfeld ran a successful heroin-smuggling operation which transported China White from Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
to the United States. After being smuggled into Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
, the drug was hidden in television picture tubes and shipped to Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
via a Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
-based import-export company. From there, couriers flew it via plane to Brighton Beach. Upon arrival the heroin was sold partly to the Five Families
Five Families
The Five Families are the five original Italian-American Mafia crime families which have dominated organized crime in America since 1931. The Five Families in New York remain as the powerhouse of the Italian Mafia in the United States.-History:...
and partly to Latino street gangs. Things were going good for Nayfeld and he spent his time in either a luxury apartment in Antwerp with his mistress and his family home on Staten Island
Staten Island
Staten Island is a borough of New York City, New York, United States, located in the southwest part of the city. Staten Island is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull, and from the rest of New York by New York Bay...
opposite a nature reserve.