News

Bulgarian crime boss pleads guilty to ATM theft scheme

July 4, 2011

According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Dimitar Dimitrov, the leader of a Bulgarian organized crime ring in Las Vegas, has pleaded guilty to stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from bank ATMs.

Dimitrov, 59, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to traffic in and produce counterfeit access devices in a deal negotiated by defense attorney John Momot and Eric Johnson, chief of the Nevada U.S. Attorney's Organized Crime Strike Force. Prosecutors are retaining the right to prosecute Dimitrov for any act of violence investigators find. 

The felony charge draws a maximum five-year prison term and $250,000 fine. His sentencing was set for Oct. 27.

The ATM scheme involved stealing bank account and personal identification numbers by installing a small hidden camera above the keypad of an ATM.

Nine of Dimitrov's associates were charged with him last year. Four of the nine remain at large in Bulgaria. Because most of Dimitrov's arrested co-defendants have pleaded guilty, prosecutors will recommend some prison time be cut from their sentences.