Adam Kidan

Adam Kidan is a former business associate of convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff, who partnered with Abramoff in the purchase of SunCruz Casinos. Kidan pleaded guilty to conspiracy and fraud in connection with these business dealings. He had also reportedly feuded with Konstantinos Boulis, the founder of SunCruz, who was murdered in a gangland-style hit in 2001.

Background

Kidan attended John Dewey High School. He went on to George Washington University, and received a Juris Doctor from Brooklyn Law School, but did not enter the practice of law. As a member of the College Republicans, he met and became friends with Abramoff. [Citation
last1=Schmidt
first1=Susan
last2=Grimaldi
first2=James V.
title=3 Charged in Killing Of Fla. Businessman
newspaper=The Washington Post
year=2005
date=September 28, 2005
url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/27/AR2005092700980_pf.html] He campaigned for George H.W. Bush, and later went into the bagel business, partnering with crime family member Michael Cavallo. Kidan also founded a Dial-A-Mattress franchise in Washington, DC in the 1990s. Kidan's mother was murdered in a 1993 "mob robbery gone awry", and shortly thereafter Kidan's law license was revoked amid allegations from his stepfather that he had stolen reward money offered for information about the murder.

Guilty plea in SunCruz case

On December 15, 2005 Kidan entered a guilty plea in a Miami federal court to one count of conspiracy and one of wire fraud, each of which carries a possible sentence of five years in prison. [Citation
title=Ex-Abramoff associate pleads guilty to fraud
publisher=Associated Press
year=2005
date=December 22, 2005
url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10484892/] U.S. District Judge Paul Huck accepted the plea. On March 29, 2006, Abramoff and Kidan were each sentenced to five years and 10 months in prison and ordered to pay restitution of more than $21 million, for their involvement in the SunCruz casino deal.

Involvement with Boulis

During their business dealings, Boulis had claimed Kidan had links to organized crime. [Citation
last=Grimaldi
first=James V.
title=Abramoff Indicted in Casino Boat Purchase
newspaper=The Washington Post
year=2005
date=August 12, 2005
url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/11/AR2005081101108.html] The relationship between Kidan and Boulis grew so contentious that they had a fistfight at a business meeting in December 2000, with both parties allegedly making threats. Boulis was shot to death two months later in February 2001, in what police called "a gang style hit". In the meantime, Kidan brought John Gotti Anthony Moscatiello down to Florida to help with security; Moscatiello in turn brought Anthony Ferrari and James Fiorillo into the venture. Those three were charged with Boulis' murder. A suit brought by Boulis' estate alleges that Kidan made three payments of $10,000 to Moscatiello immediately prior to the murder.

In May 2006, Kidan told authorities that Moscatiello and Ferrari confided in Kidan that another Gotti associate, John Gurino, killed Boulis. Gurino himself was killed in October 2003, and he wasn't part of the investigation before Kidan gave authorities the name. [Citation
last1=Burstein
first1=Jon
last2=Gardiner
first2=Sean
title=Businessman Kidan claims killer of SunCruz Casino founder is dead
newspaper=South Florida Sun-Sentinel
year=2006
date=June 9, 2006
url=http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/southflorida/sfl-ckidan09jun09,0,338370.story?coll=sfla-home-headlines]

References