Ludwig Fainberg

Ludwig "Tarzan" Fainberg ( _he. לודוויג "טרזן" פיינברג; Odessa, 1958) is a Ukrainian-born Israeli who remains heavily involved with organized crime in the former Soviet Union. He remains infamous for his involvement in a scheme to purchase a Soviet-era submarine on behalf of the Cali drug cartel.

Early Life

Born as Leonid Fainberg in Odessa, Ukraine, his family moved to Chernivtsi when he was three years old. They remained there until 1972 when the family moved to Israel. Fainberg joined the Israeli Defense Force and tried unsuccessfully to reach officer's rank.

East Germany

In 1980 Fainberg moved to East Berlin where he joined some of his Russian friends who formed part of a crew of gangsters, mainly dealing with credit card fraud and extortion.

While working for the gang Fainberg received an assignment to shake down a local banker. He and two others went to the bank, took the man outside and threatened to kill him if he did not pay up. The banker stated he did not have the money but he would by closing time. The three gangsters waited outside and eventually Fainberg got bored and went for a walk. Just then four cars arrived and some rival Russian mobsters stepped out and gave the other two men a severe beating. Barely escaping this, Fainberg decided it was time to move again.

America, America

Fainberg moved to the growing Russian-Jewish community in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn. He became engaged to and got married to a woman whose grandfather, brother-in-law and ex-husband were all gangsters. She forbid him to engage in crime himself, and for some time the two of them lived off money from her ex-husband, who was serving a prison sentence for extortion. But Fainberg grew bored of this lifestyle and went back to crime, starting work for local Russian mobster Grisha Roizes.

Roizes had a fearsome reputation, having served three years inside the Siberian GULAGs for punching a man in the stomach so hard his insides fell out through a recent surgical scar. He owned a chain of furniture stores in New York that were used as a front for drug trafficking operations by his own gang as well as the Gambino and Genovese crime families. It was through working for Roizes that Fainberg got acquainted with Colombo crime family mobster Frank Santora.

outh Florida crime boss

In 1990 Fainberg moved to South Florida. There he set up his own strip club, Porky's. The club became a popular hangout spot for all sorts of organized crime figures. He became extremely well connected in the local underworld, becoming the 'go-to guy' if someone wanted drugs or weapons. He established connections with Colombian drug cartels and using his contacts in the Russian military and intelligence managed to acquire for his new friends several military helicopters.

During this period Fainberg was known for his aggressive behavior towards women. In one incident he chased a stripper out of his club and repeatedly beat her head against his Mercedes. In another, he beat a dancer in the parking lot outside his club and made her eat gravel.

Eventually plans were underway to acquire a submarine for use in drug trafficking. Fainberg visited a Russian naval base and the deal seemed all set to go for 15 million dollars until the FBI, with use of undercover agents and informants moved in on his operations. Fainberg was arrested on RICO charges in 1999 but agreed to testify against his Colombian contacts in exchange for less prison time. At the end of his sentence he was deported to Israel.

Move to Canada and back to Israel again

Fainberg moved to Canada in the early 2000s, where he lived in an apartment by the Ottawa river with his new Canadian wife and daughter from his previous marriage. In January 2003, author Victor Malarek met him as part of his research for his book "The Natashas" and discovered he was heavily involved in sex trafficking in women from Russia and Ukraine. A few days later authorities arrested him and declaring him a threat to national security had him deported back to Israel.

ee also

*Israeli mafia

References

* Stephen Handelman and Ken Alibek, "Biohazard: The Chilling True Story of the Largest Covert Biological Weapons Program in the World-Told from Inside by the Man Who Ran It"(2000). ISBN 0385334966
* Stephen Hendelman, "Comrade Criminal: Russia `s New Mafiya "(Paperback) Publishers: Yale University Press, 1997. ISBN 0300063865
* Paul Klebnikov, "Godfather of the Kremlin: Boris Berezovsky and the Looting of Russia" (2000); ISBN 0151006210
* Robert I. Friedman, "Red Mafia: How the Russian Mob Has Invaded America" ISBN 0316294748
* James Or. Finckenauer, "Russian Mafia in America: Immigration, Cultures, and Crime"
* Victor Malarek , "The Natashas: Inside the New Global Sex Trade" (2005). ISBN 1559707798
* Marshall I. Goldman, "The Piratization of Russia" (paperback)(2004). ISBN 0415315298