Mafia secret of murdered abbot

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By Jeremy Page



WHEN police found the abbot dead in his cell at the Davydova Pustyn monastery, at first they thought that it was just another case of violent robbery.

Archimandrite German’s hands were tied behind his back with electric cable, his head had been smashed in with a heavy blow and his safe had been forced open. Initial reports on Tuesday said that police had arrested a cook and a handyman at the monastery in the Chekhov region, 80km (50 miles) from Moscow.

But over the next 48 hours details emerged that hinted at a more sinister plot.

First, police revealed that the abbot, whose original name was Vyacheslav Khapugin, had been tortured before he was killed, and that no arrests had been made. Then it emerged that $200,000 (£115,000) in cash had been stolen from his safe. Another $5,000 was left in his desk. Monks had waited more than two hours to call the police after finding the body.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/newspaper/0,,174-1712225,00.html

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1. O4en Zhalko