Quotes from Robert I. Friedman

Many of today's foremost Russian mobsters have Ph.D.'s in mathematics, engineering, or physics, helping them to acquire an expertise in advanced encryption and computer technology.

Journalists pursuing investigative stories on corruption and organized crime have found themselves at great risk," stated a 1997 report from the New York–based Committee to Protect Journalists, "especially in Russia and Ukraine, where beatings have become routine.

We Italians will kill you," a John Gotti associate once warned a potential snitch over a government wire. "But the Russians are crazy—they'll kill your whole family.