In Krasnoyarsk, 57-year-old Konstantin Naibauer, known in criminal circles as Kostya Kansky, was sentenced. The “authority”, who received the title of thief in law a quarter of a century ago, was accused of occupying the highest position in the criminal hierarchy. Based on the verdict of the jury, who found the thief guilty and not deserving of leniency, he was assigned 8 years in a strict regime colony out of 15 possible under his article. Earlier, the jury unanimously voted for the innocence of the man, but the prosecutor’s office achieved the annulment of this decision and a review of the case.
The trial of thief in law Konstantin Naibauer ended today in Krasnoyarsk. According to law enforcement officers, the future “authority” received his first conviction in 1981 as a teenager. The Abansky District Court of the Krasnoyarsk Territory found him guilty of theft (Article 144 of the Criminal Code of the RSFSR) and sentenced him to three years in prison with a two-year suspension of punishment. The next time, in 1982, the court was no longer so favorable, appointing Konstantin Naibauer three and a half years in prison for hijacking (Article 212.1 of the Criminal Code of the RFSFSR).
The man served two-thirds of his term in a juvenile correctional labor colony and a third in a corrective labor colony. There, according to the security forces, he became imbued with a criminal ideology.
In the 1990s, Konstantin Neibauer moved to Moscow, where he allegedly met with the leaders of the underworld of the capital and the Moscow region. From that moment, operatives believe, his influence in the underworld began to grow steadily. In 1997, Konstantin Naibauer was crowned by famous thieves in law Vladimir Barkalov (Blondin), Oleg Mikhaelyan (Olezhka Ashkhabadsky), David Panchvidze (Pancho), Teimuraz Faroyan (Teko) and others.
In 2002, the “authority” returned to Siberia and, according to the security forces, began to solve the problems of the criminal environment of the Krasnoyarsk Territory and Tuva. In particular, he appointed proxies to the lower levels of the criminal hierarchy, acted as an arbitrator in disputes between opposing factions, was responsible for replenishing the thieves’ fund, observing the traditions adopted in the criminal environment in the entrusted territories and promoting them.
The voice of the “authority” was listened to, a rare gathering of thieves even outside the country took place without his participation, the case file notes.
The thief in law survived two assassination attempts: in 2005 and 2011. In the interval between them, in 2008, Kostya Kansky was again behind bars. He was sentenced to one year and nine months for possession of drugs (Article 228 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). Approximately 30 grams of hashish were confiscated from the thief when he arrived in Altai for a thieves’ gathering.
In October 2019, a criminal case was opened against the thief in law for occupying the highest position in the criminal hierarchy (Article 210.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, the sanction is from 8 to 15 years in prison). When the police and the National Guard came for him, they did not find him at home.
Operatives found the “authority” about 200 meters from his cottage in the forest, where he was hiding in a hole under a fallen tree. “My gut let me down this time, it was necessary to bring down earlier,” law enforcement officers retold his words.
With the sanction of the court, Konstantin Neibauer was taken into custody.
One of the evidence in the case was the conclusion of the teacher of the Academy of Management of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia. The specialist was presented with photographs of the accused with a naked torso and tattoos of eight-pointed stars stuffed on his forearms. The expert explained that in a criminal environment, only thieves in law can make such tattoos. The “authority” himself refused to testify, he did not admit his guilt in the alleged crime. Having familiarized himself with the materials of the investigation, he petitioned for a trial by jury.
In September 2021, they unanimously acquitted Kostya Kansky. Subsequently, the Fifth Court of Appeal, on the proposal of the prosecutor’s office, overturned this decision, seeing procedural violations, and ordered a new trial.
The case was considered by another jury. The state prosecution was supported by the prosecutor of the Krasnoyarsk Territory Roman Tyutyunik: “Neibauer did not refuse from the criminal status and continues to occupy the indicated highest position in the criminal hierarchy, adhere to the rules and customs adopted in the criminal environment, promote the so-called thieves’ ideas, rallying criminals.”
Lawyer Oleg Pantela stated in court that the investigation did not provide any evidence of his client’s guilt.
He asked that the testimonies of numerous witnesses be treated critically, since they contain many contradictions. “Dear jurors, for my part, I tried to convey to you that today his guilt in occupying the highest position in the criminal hierarchy has not been proven. Retiring to the deliberation room, I ask you to weigh all the evidence. I hope that you will make the right decision and issue an acquittal verdict,” the defender admonished the jury.
This time the jurors unanimously agreed with the prosecutor. In mid-December last year, they found the defendant guilty and not deserving of leniency. “Authority” refused to speak with the last word.
The verdict was handed down in the case today.
Kostya Kansky, having barely crossed the threshold of the meeting room, cursing obscenities, attacked the photojournalists with a cane. The judge appointed the “authority” eight years in a strict regime colony.
Such a punishment was demanded for the accused by the prosecutor’s office. After the announcement of the verdict, Konstantin Neibauer was taken into custody, the press service of the regional court reported. Pantel’s lawyer told Kommersant-Siberia that he would appeal the decision, believing that the prosecutor’s office “made a lot of violations that affected the prejudice of the jury.”
