Deadly Business | FULL EPISODE | The FBI Files

foreign [Music] was terrorized by one of its own those who turned to the police for him found themselves threatened or killed despite the risk two men refused to back down their testimony could help end the killer if the FBI got closer to uncover one man's deadly business thank you [Applause] [Music] [Music] many immigrants escaped the poverty of India to start new lives in the United States most streams have a better life for their families one twisted the American dream into a nightmare when people started turning up dead in New York's Indian Community law enforcement struggled to link fraud and murder to one powerful man I'm Jim calstrom former head of the FBI's New York office when the promise of the American dream was shattered by murder and Corruption the FBI provided hope to those people who had seen their lives and families torn apart [Music] July 9 1995. foreign commuted to a gas station in the Bronx to work The Late Shift less than a year earlier he had arrived in New York from a poor town in India hoping to make a better life for himself and his family [Music] that night he disappeared in October the missing Man's brother Manmohan Singh traveled to the U.S to find him he hadn't heard from his brother in months [Music] it wasn't like him not to write or call [Music] he began his search in Queens at the address of one of his brother's friends his name was satinderjit Singh its family was from the same Village as the missing attendance although this friend had the same last name he was not related like many members of the Sikh religion the tintajet took the surname Singh which means said a missing person's report had been filed but police had found no trace of his friend [Music] advised the new arrival to be careful who he talked to [Music] difficult searching for the brother would be dangerous [Music] man Mahan visited the gas station in the Bronx where his brother had worked he spoke to an attendant but the man was afraid to respond the supervisor made it clear that no one should be asking questions the employee was instructed to keep but man Mahan was persistent and convinced the attendant to meet him at a diner a few days later I can only be here for a few minutes I know you're looking for him the attendant said the missing brother had been accused of stealing from the gas station whether or not the allegations were true they had made the station's owner angry the attendant believed man mahan's brother had been kidnapped and probably killed by March of 1997 a year and a half after his brother's abduction man Mahan took a job at a gas station in New York [Music] he worked nights so he could spend his days secretly gathering information [Music] he believed he knew who was responsible and was ready to go to the police yeah I need some oil [Music] then on the night of March 16 1997. he was silenced Brooklyn North homicide detectives received a call from a customer who found the body foreign they photographed the crime scene to record its condition then gathered evidence they collected two shell casings from a nine millimeter Ruger [Music] detectives found the register had been robbed but were surprised that the thief had left some cash behind [Music] foreign police also found no fingerprints detective Tony brazada concluded that robbery was not the prime motive We examined a scene and it looked like it was a typical gas station robbery at the beginning but then examining the scene thoroughly it seemed that it was more like an assassination or a taught this person was a Target could be shot very close range to behind the head and he was on his knees [Music] detectives visited the Sikh temple where the funeral was being held they knew this immigrant Community was wary of Outsiders but hoped to find friends of the victim willing to talk forward be told detectives that he knew the slain man detectives explained that without cooperation the killer would likely go free although he knew he was jeopardizing his own safety he promised to meet with detectives and help them in any way he could okay the following days satindajit Singh came to the police station as promised yes sir he brought with him another witness sarjeet who was also willing to talk they told detectives they believed a wealthy and Powerful Indian man named dinza had ordered the murder of their friend as well as the Abduction of their friend's brother denzu was a corrupt and ruthless businessman who was well known in the Sikh community like many others he had come to the U.S from India in the mid-1980s with only a few dollars in his pocket but his story was different than most he had amassed an Empire of more than 50 gas stations in and around New York City and uh which was common the witnesses knew several of dinza's employees and explained to detective Teddy Braun that the millionaire would stop at nothing to protect his business this whole thing was fear he used a fear tactic that he had his community petrified him I mean to the point where he could walk in and do something in front of hundreds of people and that no one's gonna say nothing police also learned that dinza was no stranger to Crime his record included convictions for felony assault kidnapping robbery gas pump fraud and weapons possession [Music] he'd served time but always managed to get back on the street to run his Mafia style operation in the Sikh Community denza was known as the Indian Godfather the witnesses said din's Empire was a family affair with Ninja's brother a member of the Inner Circle and an enforcer for the organization had seen for himself just how ruthless the brother could be three outside of Queen's restaurant the informant witness dinza's brother arguing for the disagreement ended with ginza's brother shooting him in close range sarjeet rushed to the victim's side ginza's brother was Spirited out of the country to India is never captured the witness is now told the detectives that they'd heard the brother would soon be returning to America they were risking their lives talking to police but they couldn't let the violence continue yes sir both promised to report when din's brother arrived he's going to be coming back to the United States because then this company was getting so big that ninja needed another hand and Denzel was the type of person where he'd rather have family Hands-On than Outsiders when it came to his money true to their work in May of 1997. the witnesses told police that denza's brother was back in New York police set up outside the warehouse of denza's headquarters in Brooklyn waiting for his brother to arrive and front is clear both Witnesses were present to assist police with identifying the murder suspect foreign armed with an arrest warrant police surrounded the building and cordoned off all entrances including the back doors of the warehouse [Music] from the surveillance fans attended it confirmed that it was denza's brother heading for the front door we have a Target entering the building moments later officers reported that shots were fired inside the building they held their posts waiting for orders ready we're going in let's go officers forcibly entered the front three men raced out the back door into the hands of police the men were dins's brother his cousin and his nephew all three were arrested quickly securing a search warrant police confiscated firearms seven pistols a shotgun and a silenced machine gun as they loaded the Contraband into a police car denza himself arrived at the scene protested decision claiming that the building and guns were his property like I've been working but the guns were illegal police arrested him on weapons possession charges [Music] they took him to the 112th Precinct where dinza was booked and fingerprinted police pressured him to cooperate they had two witnesses who would testify against him and his brother for murder insisting he was innocent he refused to talk [Music] facility awaiting a bail hearing [Music] but incarceration did not prevent the murder suspect from running his Empire speaking in Punjabi so guards couldn't understand him he coerced employees and acquaintances to find out who dared to testify against him and his brother besides witness statements police had little other evidence denzu would be out on bail shortly if he discovered the identity of the witnesses they might not testify then the murder and weapons charges against the brothers would have to be dropped in May 1997 New York City police arrested two East Indian brothers who had been terrorizing their immigrant Community for years foreign except for the statements of two witnesses investigators had little evidence against them but they believed that denza was the ringleader and that he had ordered two murders into kidnapping denza had posted bail on May 4 1997 just days after his arrest but his brother remained held on a murder charge in New York City's Rikers Island prison through informants denza had learned the identity of the two witnesses against him if they continued to cooperate with the police he his brother and his multi-million dollar gas station Empire would be in jeopardy one of the witnesses at tinderjit Singh was close with several employees of the suspected murderer he knew a great deal about how denza ran his 60 million dollar gas station chain intimidation I mean it just controls you the information sold there as well he said the denser rigged pumps skimmed profits and ordered people abducted if they talked what did you know about uh detectives believe the information was compelling enough to seek an indictment [Music] in early June of 1997 investigators met with the assistant U.S attorney to explore denza's illegal activities [Music] NYPD detective Teddy Braun explained how denza's pump rigging scheme worked Denzel owned like 53 gas stations and uh he had this unique skimming system and what it did was it regulated the amount of gas that was pumped into a consumer's vehicle so if you would have went in an extra ten dollars worth of gas he'd be able to set up that machine where it can give you eighty percent ninety percent whatever percent that he wanted to give you and the rest would be saved assistant U.S attorney Ben Camp learned that Not only was denza's Empire corrupt it was extensive the NYPD informed us that dinsa had among other things an organization built around pump fraud basically ripping off customers at his gasoline stations throughout the New York and New Jersey area by which he generated millions of dollars in income that he protected that pump fraud activity through a pattern of violent crime including murder [Music] on June 18th just as the federal investigation was beginning witness attention was shocked to death in Queens it was the day before denza's brother suspected of murder was scheduled to attend a hearing at the crime scene a neighbor told police he had witnessed the crime he'd been outside at the top of his stoop when the shooting took place since his apartment lacked air conditioning he was watching a Mets game on his front porch [Music] distracted by what appeared to be a traffic foreign [Music] described the shooter as a tall African-American male but he never saw his face slain man's cousin was sitting beside his relative in the car he was killed the cousin told police it had all happened so fast it was too shaken to remember any details forensic technicians photographed the scene they collected shelves that had been fired from a nine millimeter handgun no other physical evidence was found nothing to prove that denza was responsible investigators believe that dinza would continue to use any means necessary to protect his millions needed some way to stop him [Music] NYPD detectives turned to assistant U.S attorney Ben Campbell for guidance he would refocus the investigation to take advantage of the federal RICO statute the racketeering influence in corrupt organizations act a law used to prosecute organized crime this looked like had all the Hallmarks of a racketeering prosecution it had an organization with leadership it had racketeering activity which generated income and it had a pattern of criminal activity which spanned several years almost a decade this would widen the scope of the investigation considerably assistant U.S attorney called on the FBI for help a special agent in charge Kevin Donovan from the FBI's New York field office worked the case the FBI was planning on conducting a traditional organized crime investigation that would focus on development of cooperating Witnesses use of cooperating Witnesses review of records and search warrants to focus on the multiple acts of violence and the multiple acts of fraud in order to develop new Witnesses agents would have to ensure the safety of those who came forward as long as denza Singh was able to intimidate Witnesses through violence threats of violence and homicides our investigation would be very limited we needed to make sure that no other individuals who would cooperate with us would be hurt by dins and sing news of the most recent killing spread quickly through the Sikh community the other witness sarjeet and his family prepared to leave town investigators pleaded with him to allow the FBI to place him under protective custody but he insisted on taking his wife and two small children away from New York despite investigators best efforts denza had intimidated another Witness in the FBI seemed powerless to protect them in the summer of 1997 the FBI was on the trail of a violent businessman named dinsley investigators believed he had already killed two men kidnapped a third and scared another out of New York they needed an informed close to denza to get enough evidence to arrest him I will get back but special agent in charge Kevin Donovan found that dinza was well protected the major hurdle that the FBI in the New York City Police Department had to overcome was an inability to develop cooperating Witnesses and informants early on due to language difficulties and due to the fact that most of the individuals who worked at City Gas Corporation were not willing to come forward because of denza sings threats of violence and his acts of violence that were well known throughout the community vinza now threatened the life of another member of the Sikh community vol 1 Singh was close friends with the witness who had fled the city with his family the man was terrified denza had come after him to find the one remaining Witness he remained holed up in his apartment with his wife and daughter for three days before he finally called police [Music] he reached the Queen's homicide unit which was investigating the murder of satinderjit Singh a witness against denza um told police that he had attended the slain man's funeral there he was approached by one of dinza's men the ass bull went where the other witness was hiding Denzel wanted to discuss the witness's testimony face to face while one refused to tell him anything but now he feared for his own life police told him that they would discuss the possibility of providing him and his family with protective custody yeah two detectives would be right over since the funeral he had been ignoring the demands of the construction company here [Music] [Applause] please hello when the company called he agreed to run an urgent errand [Music] he left his frightened family promising he'd return as soon as he could [Music] foreign [Music] [Applause] [Music] it would be difficult to avoid him for very long just minutes after pulling out the man noticed a sedan that seemed to be following him [Music] [Music] balwant didn't want to take any chances so he returned home Ginza sped away the ball wants apartment they received a page it was a coded message from their supervisor asking them to call in immediately lacking a cell phone they stopped to make the urgent call while the detective was on the phone he noticed an Indian man watching him closely decided to investigate the detectives asked the driver for his license and registration it was denza am I stepping answer when detectives asked to search his car he agreed foreign they found some gas receipts in the trunk detectives also found electronic gauges for gas pumps Ginza possessed nothing that was illegal since there was no outstanding warrant for his arrest detectives let him go the detectives were called away on an emergency they never made it to the informants home that day the next morning the man's frightened wife called police her husband had taken refuge in a friend's gas station he waited anxiously for them to arrive and was relieved to see them pull up [Music] his wife and daughter were picked up moments later okay that evening the family was taken to an undisclosed Hotel outside of New York the family would hide there under police protection until denza could be arrested 's inform ball want that they had run into denza near his neighborhood they asked if he could verify the man's identity from a photo identified him instantly [Music] investigators had one more witness in their deadly businessman but they still lacked sufficient evidence to make an arrest in July of 1997 FBI agents and NYPD detectives believed gas station Mogul dinza was The Man Behind the murders of two Indian immigrants and The Disappearance of a third [Music] investigators had little evidence to prove their Theory and denza's intimidation of Silence most Witnesses immunity were tired of living in fear at the end of July Brooklyn North homicide detective Teddy Braun interviewed a source close to Denver during the interview with the confidential informant my partner Tony Posada came across a name Marvin who was linked as denza sings Strong Arm the man's full name was Marvin Dodson he was a 35 year old African-American male detectives discovered that he had an arrest record for illegal firearms they showed a photo lineup to the cousin of the slain witness who was in the car when the shooting occurred you recognize any of these men [Music] he immediately identified Dodson as the gunman detective Anthony brazada now began searching for Marvin Dodson okay my partner and myself put together a list of various locations like about six or eight locations where we hung out uh his residents his relatives on July 4th 1997 police cornered Dodson in a queen's neighborhood they arrested him and took him to the station stop Dodson agreed to testify against denza in return for a lighter sentence on Sunday morning July 6 1997 Dodson and his attorney met with Queen's homicide detectives the assistant U.S attorney and the FBI Dodson confessed that he had been hired by denza for the murder Dodson said the plan to kill one of the witnesses began on May 18 1997. and released on eBay Dodson would be the trigger man hired to kill the witness scheduled to testify against denza and his brother first they picked up the murder weapon a nine millimeter Ruger the same caliber of shell casings were later collected at the crime scene [Music] Dodson told investigators that denza then ordered him to hire a driver for the hit Queen tell us a story Ninja's next move was to conduct surveillance of the witnesses [Applause] assistant U.S attorney Ben Campbell recalls that dinza provided Datsun with all the information he'd needed to get to satindajit Singh he gave Mr Dodson the address where satin Richardson live the license plate number to his vehicle and instructed Mr Dodson to watch the tinderjit Singh and kill him at the first opportunity on June 18 1997 Dodson received a phone call from Denzel his boss told him that the witness needed to be dead before nightfall Vince's brother's hearing was the following day would send a message to everyone who considered testifying foreign Dodson said that he and his driver Walter Jazz Samuels met Ginza at one of his gas stations denza provided them with a white van they watched satindajit's house until he came out he was with his cousin [Music] plan was to cause a disturbance so that satindajit would pull over and allow the van to pass when he did the van blocked him from moving Dodson shot the unarmed man eight times at close range the hitman's description of the events of that day corroborated a neighbor's statement to police Dodson also told investigators that after the killing he had returned the white van to denza's Garage on Roosevelt Avenue he gave the gun back to denza and paid him in the driver twenty thousand dollars for the hit [Music] the man who Dotson claimed had driven the van they arrested him without incident New York City Police Department police learned that Samuels had a record of previous arrests with Samuels in custody investigators turned their attention to dinza the U.S attorney's Office believed agents and detectives now had enough evidence to indict denza on federal racketeering charges special agent in charge Kevin Donovan recalls that agents dispersed across the city to find it FBI agents in New York City Police Department detectives initiated surveillances at several City Gas Corporation gas stations in which denza Singh was known to frequent at 5 pm on July 7 1997. FBI agents and NYPD detectives followed denza to his Foster Avenue guests when he arrived they arrested him for murder kidnapping pump fraud and obstruction of justice in Aid of a corrupt organization the entire case hinged on the testimony of Ginger's Hitler and Marvin Dodson but because Dodson was a murderer the U.S attorney still needed to substantiate his story with other evidence or witness testimony [Music] they hope that testimony would come from Walter Jazz Samuels the man who dots and fingered as his accomplice in the murder of satinjajit Singh Samuels now told investigators he was not in the van at the time of the shooting claimed he was at a nearby restaurant his story checked out investigators believed Samuels knew who drove Dotson on the day of the killing but he wasn't talking and neither was Dodson investigators needed something else to corroborate dodson's story foreign they secured a search warrant for denza's Roosevelt Avenue gas station the place where Dodson had returned the white van after the murder you got anything they searched the entire premises but found little other than stolen license plates they believed they were probably used on getaway cars during the commission of crimes but once again they had no proof they found nothing that could corroborate dodson's story or connect denza to the murder foreign as the FBI and police continue to pursue evidence denza was behind bars once again ending a July 14th bail hearing investigators hope denza's incarceration would encourage witnesses to come forward it did not as before denza continued to rule with an iron hand unfortunately as a result of denza Singh's ability to make telephone calls from jail he was able to continue to run his cooperation and his business and to focus on threatening additional individuals who might have come forward to cooperate with the FBI in the New York City Police Department [Music] for the second time in three months authorities held the suspected murderer Behind Bars they hoped it would be his final arrest but the millionaire hired a high-priced defense team and the prosecution's entire case still hinged on the testimony of a confessed killer in July of 1997 a man named dinza had been arrested on federal racketeering charges that included murder and kidnapping to protect his corrupt business Empire it was his second arrest in three months he had before denza directed his business and even threatened potential Witnesses from a prison telephone but this time investigators were listening assistant U.S attorney Ben Campbell was not going to let dinza slip through his hands again they had to keep him behind bars first his conversation was in Punjabi which is a very unique dialect and it took us some time before we could find a Punjabi translator to translate those telephone calls secondly he was not very overt in his conversation so he's somewhat cryptic in his conversation with his colleagues the translations opened a rare view into just how tightly denza held the range to his Empire denza attracted customers to his rigged pumps by advertising the lowest gas prices in New York but his pumps provided less than a gallon for the price he was issuing routine instructions to the members of his office telling them to change the price of gasoline at its various stations to continue to order supplies for his company in addition he also gave them instructions about things to communicate to their attorneys and steps to be taken in order to try and get him out on bail as Campbell raced to find evidence to keep denza from making bail police processed the suspect's car they found business cards that linked denza to his Hitman Marvin Dodson and dodson's operative Walter Jazz Samuels police also recovered a list of names and addresses that appeared to be a hit list the list included the home address of sarjeet Singh a federal witness who had fled the city with his family names lists balwant Singh who was under protective custody had also made the list seven more men with Punjabi names appeared as well it was just what investigators needed to keep denza from making bail while they did not know whether these men were dead or alive they knew who might agents asked Walter Samuels about the list hoping it would prompt his memory he finally opened up and he said that denza had planned to kill those nine men two of them balwantz and sarjeet were Federal Witnesses the other seven were balwan's family members they were all still alive once again agents would need to corroborate the story confined in the room next door Marvin Dodson and his lawyer waited to be questioned Dodson confirmed Samuel's story and added something else he said that on July 3rd just days before jinza's most recent arrest denza had purchased two used police cruisers as part of the assassination plan [Music] Dotson had copies of the titles which his lawyer now offered to the agent is proof Mr dents's plan was for Mr Dotson and Mr Samuels to pose as law enforcement officers and to stop Mr to stop ball once sing on the street along with members of his family and kidnap them and bring them to Mr dinsa at an undisclosed location feeling the pressure and hoping to cut a deal Samuels now told investigators the name of the man who drove the white van during the murder his name was Evans Alonso Powell because Powell had no arrest record Dodson wanted to protect him he had threatened Samuels not to give him up on July 19 1997 police arrested Powell on a Brooklyn Street he agreed to cooperate Powell admitted that he had driven the van for the murder and queens investigators finally had their corroborating Witness Powell also talked about another crime tell us more about where denza had ordered the murder of the Indian man who had traveled to America to search for his missing brother Powell was present when Dodson killed the attendant at the Brooklyn gas station on the night of March 16 1997. detective Tony brazada remembers dodson's confession he admitted uh shooting him twice in the head had Neil had him kneeling down and he said he got he got paid by Singh for doing this that thing wanted this person uh killed he didn't give him a reason but he just wanted him killed denza had paid Dodson just four thousand dollars for taking the man's life Dodson stole money to pay power for being the lookout special agent in charge Kevin Donovan continued to gather evidence about denza's pump rigging activities the FBI and the New York City Police Department executed a search warrant at the Foster Avenue City gas gas station the focus of our search was to identify and obtain evidence of the pump rigging scheme as a result of a the excavation of the area around the pump electronic devices were located in a box that was used to control the pump rigging scheme investigators determined that denza manipulated the flow of gasoline to customers cars through devices controlled by remote thank you wired to the pumps and buried underground the systems could be turned on or off at will detective Teddy Braun explains that dinza taught many of his employees when to turn them on and off you were taught I had to work on remote and what would happen would be if a person like for instance if a person came in for a gallon of gas for their lawnmower what happened was the gas attendant would hit a remote in his pocket which was just like a car alarm remote and what that would do it would shut off the skimming system and the system would go right up to perfect so that one gas attendant pumped a gallon worth of gas in a container it was perfect so there would be no question in Late July of 1997 the FBI conducted an exhaustive search of denza's Brooklyn Warehouse headquarters there they found his double books we discovered documents reflecting bribery payments to a corrupt Department of Consumer Affairs inspector in addition we also estimate the total value of Mr dince's pump fraud activities in the neighborhood of 40 million dollars over 10 years by September of 1998 the body of the man abducted from a gas station in the Bronx in 1995 was still missile but agents had a hunch based on New York City Construction records at the time of his disappearance agents suspected that denza had buried the attendant underneath one of his gas stations it was determined that the most likely gas station that was under construction at that time was a gas station located at Farragut and Flatbush Avenue on September 16 1998 investigators arrived at the station with heavy equipment employed ground penetrating radar to help locate the body beneath the Earth they selected two separate sites where they believed the man might be buried construction crew removed slabs of concrete and the FBI the New York City Police Department examined these two sites that were located by the ground penetrating radar investigators never found the man's body though this news was disappointing investigators were having better luck with other leads assistant U.S attorney Ben Campbell subpoenaed din's cell phone records they placed denza at the time and place of satindajit Singh's murder prosecutors were well armed when din's trial began in Brooklyn Federal District Court Court they hoped to convict him on 29 counts including capital murder [Music] Ed Singh who assisted the investigation despite death threats testified against the man accused of killing his friends on March 2nd 1999 after two and a half days of deliberations jury found denza guilty of 21 of the 29 cows they included murder attempted murder and fraud Ginza was acquitted in the kidnapping of the man whose body was never found on October 5th 1999 Ginger received eight life sentences without possibility of parole he escaped the death penalty later that month the same judge sentenced dins's Hitman for their roles in the murders for assisting in the conviction of denza their sentences were considerably lighter Powell received 10 years Samuel's 12. and Datsun 18. but it was the conviction of dinza that was most satisfying to prosecutors prosecution of Mr dinso was a very personally for me a very rewarding experience we were able to step into a community that frequently does not turn to law enforcement for assistance and to render some significant help to them in order to remove an individual who was I mean for lack of a better term a plague on that community like many immigrants before him Ginza arrived a poor man and was embraced by a community of compatriots but he repaid their kindness with swindles and murder for his greed and brutality he will never be free again [Music] [Applause] [Music]

Channel: The FBI Files

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Keywords: FBI, FBI Files, FBI Documentary, Documentary, Crime, Crime Documentary, Crime Patrol, True Crime, True crime daily, Unsolved, Crime Stories, Crime Documentaries Full Episodes, Full Episode, unsolved true crime, fbi files full episodes, we got him, mystery, solved, investigation, police, criminal, prison, jail, Dhinsa, millionaire, mob, nypd, rico

Id: lJ7i9_DXXg0

Length: 49min 53sec (2993 seconds)

Published: Sat Mar 07 2020