Shame really
Sounds like good business if you can get it
US law enforcement agencies on Wednesday unsealed charges against a large-scale Russian criminal syndicate, laying charges against 33 individuals with some pretty startling sidelines. It's hardly surprising that a bunch of mobsters and racketeers would trade in firearms and narcotics. Hacking casino slot machines with smuggled …
This is about as useful as saying that "anyone named o'shea is probably irish" .....
And your point is?
You can have a "georgian" or an "Italian" name and have been born and raised in New York !
Generally when the DoJ mentions a "Russian crime syndicate" they generally mean that the group is led by or has strong ties with Russian based crime organisations... and not a statement about the nationality or ethnic background of the members.
Shulaya is also a Georgian. West Georgia - Zugdidi and thereabouts.
So definitely a Georgian gang which has been blamed to be Russian because anything bad and criminal has to be Russian and the reds are under our bed.
I would not be surprised if they claimed Russian persecution. Either around the Ossetia wars or when Saakashvili got his arse kicked all the way to Ukraine for sacrificing his country trade, army and a chunk of territory to provide Bush with an example of why the Reds are so scary that the Polish should install AEGIS missiles to fend them off.
Maybe they are from Abkhazia....
Even more likely that they are Georgian as this would have allowed them to presented themselves as members of a persecuted minority on their US visa applications. Zugdidi (where you are likely to find someone called Shulaya) s right next to Abkhazia border by the way.
IMHO - clear case where they are Russian only for today's FBI press release purposes in tone with "reds under our beds". I can bet a case of beer that they did not apply for US immigration as "Russians".
Paging Donald Trump. Paging Donald J Trump.
On a completely unrelated note, this is The Donald's favourite rose.