Police hunting the cold-blooded killer of a Diamond District jeweler believe the victim was silenced by hoods trying to keep him from spilling the beans about the underbelly of the world’s leading jewelry market.
Eduard Nektalov, 46, was executed Thursday evening in front of hundreds of horrified pedestrians on Sixth Avenue in Midtown, just around the corner from the 47th Street jewelry district. Nektalov was shot once in the back of the head and twice in the back by a black-clad killer who disappeared into the crowd in front of 1212 Sixth Ave. at around 7:20 p.m.
Law-enforcement sources said a surveillance video showed the killer being chased down Sixth Avenue by a Fox News security consultant. But the tape does not provide a clear picture of the suspect’s face, they said.
Nektalov, a native of Uzbekistan, was under federal indictment for allegedly using his business to help Colombian drug dealers launder money.
“It could be a Russian hit,” said one law-enforcement source.
Nektalov’s family and associates are not cooperating with the murder investigation, police sources said.
Given the cold-blooded way Nektalov was killed, authorities believe something in his personal life, not his business life, may have provided the motive for the killing, said police sources.
Nektalov’s widow told The Post she fears for her life.
“I don’t want to be killed,” a sobbing Marina Nektalov said. “Maybe they’re going to kill me, too. I have two kids. We’re devastated.”
Law-enforcement sources speculated that the killing also could be related to the shooting of Nektalov’s cousin Alik Pinkhasov on Dec. 17 in Forest Hills.
Pinkhasov survived, and three people were arrested.
Police said they were examining a dramatic video of Nektalov’s long-haired, olive-skinned killer as he made his escape from the crime scene.
Nektalov’s lawyer, Christopher Chang, dismissed speculation that the slaying was related to the federal money-laundering case. He said the victim never cooperated with the government and expected to be cleared at trial.
“Everything was fine,” Chang said. “He was very optimistic.”
In that case, the Nektalovs were accused of selling gold and diamonds to an undercover agent and another person beginning in 2002.
The sting resulted in the arrest of eight other Diamond District defendants. Prosecutors said some of them agreed to melt down the gold and mold it into screws, belt buckles and other items that could be safely funneled back to Colombia.
Nektalov’s rabbi said that hours before his death, he confessed that he was worried about his safety. Rabbi Itzhab Joshua of the Binat Chaim Synagogue said Nektalov told him he was tormented by thoughts of urban violence.
He said Nektalov visited Bellevue Hospital hours before his death to comfort Dimitri Malaeyev, 21, a member of the Uzbek community who was stabbed near Herald Square on Tuesday.
“The streets are not safe,” Nektalov told him. “Do you see how dangerous this city has become?”
“He felt that everyone was in danger,” Joshua said.
“”John Doherty – a retired cop and security consultant for Fox News Channel who tried to chase down the killer – said he was confident cops were closing in on the killer.
“I don’t want to let the cat out of the bag, but I’m very confident they will make an arrest,” said Doherty, who retired after 21 years.
Doherty said he had just escorted one of Fox’s commentators to his car Thursday when he heard the first shot and ran toward the killer.
“My gun was out, but I couldn’t engage him in a gunfight,” he said. “I was prepared to shoot, but there were too many people on the street. Better judgment told me not to engage him.”
“I wouldn’t say he was a professional hit man,” Doherty said. “But he was motivated to shoot this one guy. He wasn’t just a street thug. It was his plan to shoot the man.”
Additional reporting by Dareh Gregorian, Murray Weiss, Eric Lenkowitz, Jeremy Olshan and Bill Gallagher