LOS ANGELES (CNS) - A jury has convicted a La Canada Flintridge man of conspiring with his employee to hire a hit man to kill two men -- one who opposed him in litigation and the other who represented one of his companies in a bankruptcy.
Arthur Raffy Aslanian, 54, was found guilty Friday of one count of conspiracy and use of interstate commerce facilities in the commission of murder-for-hire and one count of use of interstate commerce facilities in the commission of murder-for-hire, the U.S. Attorney's Office announced.
The federal jury also found Aslanian guilty of one count of conspiracy to commit arson, one count of attempted arson, and one count of arson of a building used in interstate commerce.
According to evidence presented at a five-day trial, Aslanian conspired with Sesar Rivera, 41, of North Hollywood -- Aslanian's employee -- to hire a professional killer to murder two people, identified in court documents as "M.Y." and "S.E."
Rivera was arrested Sept. 7, 2022 and later agreed to cooperate with authorities. He pleaded guilty on March 27 to one count of conspiracy and one count of use of interstate commerce facilities in the commission of murder-for- hire, and faces up to 10 years in federal prison for each count at his Sept. 25 sentencing hearing.
Aslanian was arrested shortly after a Sept. 15, 2022 meeting in which Rivera showed him a staged murder photograph of S.E., authorities said.
M.Y. was a lawyer who represented Aslanian in a bankruptcy proceeding in which Aslanian prevailed but allegedly refused to pay more than $261,000 in legal fees and expenses to M.Y.'s law firm. In April 2022, M.Y. sent a demand letter to Aslanian requesting to mediate the dispute and stating he was prepared to sue Aslanian if the mediation failed, according to prosecutors.
S.E. was a litigant who defeated Aslanian in court after Aslanian tried to take possession of the Brentwood home in which S.E.'s parents lived, authorities said.
According to the U.S. Attorney's Office:
-- In April 2022, Rivera, while employed by Aslanian, met with an individual, who according to trial testimony was a gang member and convicted felon. Rivera told the individual that a real estate businessman named "Arthur" wanted to pay him to kill M.Y. and S.E.;
-- In July 2022, Rivera again met with the individual and said "Arthur" wanted the killing done as soon as possible. Rivera showed the individual information about M.Y. The individual secretly recorded a portion of this July 2022 in-person meeting on his phone and provided a copy of the recording to law enforcement;
-- Rivera also promised the individual that Aslanian would pay $20,000 for the murder once Rivera had photographic proof the murder had been committed;
-- On Aug. 10, 2022, Rivera again met with the individual and told him to focus on murdering S.E. before killing M.Y.;
-- On Aug. 19, 2022, Rivera used the Facebook Messenger application to send the individual a multimedia message with a screenshot of S.E.'s Facebook profile, including S.E.'s picture and business name, to assist the individual in locating and murdering S.E.
Law enforcement officials contacted and warned M.Y. and S.E. of the murder plots.
In a separate incident, Aslanian, through Rivera, paid an individual a few hundred dollars for successfully setting fire to a vacant unit at a rental property in North Hollywood own by Aslanian so the remaining tenants would be forced to leave the property, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
U.S. District Judge Jesus Bernal scheduled an Oct. 2 sentencing hearing, at which time Aslanian will face a statutory maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison for each murder-for-hire-related count and up to 20 years in federal prison for each arson-related count, and a mandatory minimum of five years in federal prison for each arson count.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kevin Butler of the Violent and Organized Crime Section, Kevin Reidy of the Major Frauds Section and Eli Alcaraz of the Riverside Branch Office are prosecuting the case.