Five alleged members and affiliates of two San Fernando Valley gangs were arrested Tuesday, most of them in connection with a murder-for-hire plot that resulted in a mob boss's partner being shot in front of their children.
Four of the five people arrested were implicated in an intra-gang dispute involving "Armenian Organized Crime, a Russian Mafia and Mexican Mafia-affiliated transnational criminal organization," the U.S. Department of Justice said in a news release.
For three years, two local leaders of the group — they're called "avtoritet," which means "authority" in Russian — have been involved in a conflict, with 41-year-old Ara Artuni of Porter Ranch placing hits on 47-year-old Robert Amiryan of Hollywood, the DOJ said.
Both avtoritets are now in custody and separately charged wi