LA developer with shady past charged in murder-for-hire plot

Some measures taken to avoid paying off a debt can be more costly than the debt itself.

A Los Angeles-area developer could soon find this out after being charged with allegedly trying to hire a hitman to kill two men he owed millions.

Arthur Raffy Aslanian, 53, of La Cañada Flintridge, was indicted along with an employee on two counts of conspiracy to commit murder for hire, the Los Angeles Times reported.

A federal grand jury also charged Sesar Rivera, 40, of North Hollywood, Aslanian’s employee and alleged co-conspirator, who allegedly tried to find a hitman for his boss.

Both men were arrested earlier this month on a federal criminal complaint alleging the murder-for-hire plot, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Both targets were unharmed.

Aslanian was jailed without bond after his arrest on Sept. 5. His arraignment is scheduled for Oct. 6. Rivera appeared in court on Sept. 19, and is free after posting a $20,000 bond. His arraignment is set for Oct. 25.

If convicted of all charges, each defendant faces up to 20 years in federal prison.

“Mr. Aslanian denies all the allegations against him and maintains his innocence,” Melanie Killedjian, Aslanian’s attorney, told the Times.

According to the indictment and the Times’ report, Rivera met with an unidentified gang member last April and said a real estate businessman named “Arthur” wanted to pay him $20,000 to kill a man identified in court papers as S.E. The gang member allegedly reported it to the police.

Aslanian owed S.E. nearly $3 million over a dispute involving a Brentwood property that led to years of litigation, according to a judge’s ruling in the case. S.E. had defeated Aslanian in court after Aslanian tried to take possession of the Brentwood home in which S.E.’s parents lived, court documents state.

Aslanian also wanted a hit on a man identified by prosecutors as M.Y., and identified by the Times as attorney Mike Young.

Young represented Aslanian in a bankruptcy proceeding in which Aslanian had prevailed but then refused to pay approximately $220,000 in legal fees and expenses, according to court documents. Young’s law firm prepared to sue Aslanian if a requested mediation failed.

Rivera, who agreed to cooperate with police, presented Aslanian with a fake photo of a bloodied victim assuring him that S.E. had been bumped off, according to the Times.

The real estate developer studied the photo to make sure it was the proof he wanted. “That’s him, man, that’s him,” he said. Rivera asked Aslanian what to do with the photo.

“F— shred it,” Aslanian responded, according to an account of the meeting provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Aslanian, described as a “slumlord” by tenants at his properties, according to the Times, has a checkered history at his various properties that dates back decades.

He was charged with a misdemeanor in 1998 for allegedly failing to pay more than $100,000 to workers for repairs at a homeless shelter in Koreatown. His company was found guilty of a labor code violation in the case, court records show.

He was charged again in 2007 after another one of his companies was found to have violated city rules requiring building permits. The company was placed on probation for a year, according to court documents from that case.

On top of the criminal cases, Aslanian and his companies have been named as defendants in lawsuits more than two dozen times, court records show.

Nonetheless, Aslanian continued to grow his real estate portfolio. He owns three adjacent plots on Hartsook Street in North Hollywood through a company, Andalucia Project, according to property records. He also owns other properties throughout the San Fernando Valley, including a modern apartment building a few blocks away, records reviewed by the Tims show.

— Dana Bartholomew

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