Snitch-Slapped II

[March 5th, 2003] Ilya Adamidov, once suspected by the FBI of being a kingpin for the Russian mafia in Portland, was indicted and arrested in Chicago last week on charges of bribing a government official.

The news may prompt a sense of déjà vu: Ilya, who managed Union Jacks strip club at 938 E Burnside St., was indicted in January 2001 on the same charges, stemming from a federal green-card bribery sting. Adamidov and his friends allegedly recruited more than 30 immigrants and met them in Chicago to buy green cards from an immigration official posing as corrupt.

In the most recent indictment, there are two key differences.

First, Adamidov's ex-wife is not charged. A former software company executive, Leticia Nunez will reportedly testify against Adamidov to avoid prosecution. Previously, the government's main witness was undercover informant Misko Jovanovic, who lied to the feds about some aspects of the operation and fled to Canada with $55,000 of stolen government funds (see "Snitch-Slapped," WW, Jan. 22, 2003).

The second big difference is that the indictment was filed in Chicago, where federal prosecutors apparently don't mind trying cases that involve tainted evidence. In Oregon, after Jovanovic's credibility became an issue, the U.S. Attorney's office offered Adamidov a plea bargain involving no prison time. The locals were overruled by their Chicago-based counterparts, leading to last week's re-indictment in Illinois.