Murder victim identified as member of violent gang

A man who was murdered by two gunmen outside his house on Monday evening in the southeastern Athens suburb of Ilioupoli was a member of a criminal gang and the latest casualty of a turf war, police said Tuesday.

According to an investigation that began in 2015, the the 38-year-old was part of a protection racket that extracted money from at least 71 businesses around Attica. Apart from protection and extortion, the gang also carried out physical attacks for a fee, maintained a network of crooked police officers and was involved in betting on rigged soccer matches.

The victim, Konstantinos A., reportedly had an active role in all of the gang’s illegal activities and went by the nicknames “Black” and “Gypsy,” and was known to police and club owners.

He was shot nine times after he got out of his car in the parking garage of his apartment building.