| |
| Rodislav Bulgarin | |
| Biographical Information | |
| Aliases | Ray Bulgarin |
| Gender | Male |
| Born | September 8, 1958 Khabarovsk, Russia |
| Died | August 4, 2008 Brighton Beach, New York, United States (Aged 49) |
| Affiliation | Bulgarin crime syndicate |
| Title(s) | Boss |
Rodislav "Ray" Bulgarin was a Russian crime lord who was the Boss of the Bulgarin crime syndicate, an crime syndicate that operated from Italy around the Adriatic Sea, taking part in human trafficking. In 1989, his organization moved to the United States, working closely with the Faustin crime syndicate, until their collapse in 2008. That year, Bulgarin became involved in the Diamond Smuggling racket, which resulted in his murder.
Biography[]
Bulgarin was born in Khabarovsk, a Russian city not that far from the capital of Moscow. Bulgarin became involved in prostitution as a young man and created his own gang, who oversaw the slave trade from Eastern Europe to Italy. Bulgarin became rich enough to afford an Italian mansion at Foggia, where he based his organization, which became the Bulgarin crime syndicate in 1985. Bulgarin also moved to the United States in 1985, but in 1989, he was deported after overseeing the arrival of thousands of Albanian slaves, and made an attempt to move back in 2008 after years of being believed to be dead. He later became the boss of Nikolaj "Niko" Bellic, another Slavic criminal who also worked in the Adriatic slave trade, in the 2000s. Bulgarin mistakenly believed that Bellic owed him money, so Bellic fled to America, and Bulgarin put him on his hit list, and in 2008, made his way to the country secretly, along with his sister and right-hand man Timur. His apartment was decorated with rock memorabilia, although his sister hated life in the USA, and he fought with her constantly.
Bulgarin nearly had his chance to kill Bellic in what became known as the Red Hook Warehouse Ambush, where Bellic was lured into an ambush by Dimitri Rascalov, who was supposed to pay him the money that he earned by killing Mikhail Faustin. Bellic killed all of Bulgarin's assassins, but Bulgarin and Rascalov escaped the scene and the NYPD. Afterwards, the two became close allies, and did business frequently. Bulgarin also allied with the Ancelotti crime family, while he was opposed to the McReary crime family and the Hillside Posse.
During his stay in the United States, he faced opposition from Marki Ashvilli, who was a rival businessman, and he ambushed his private investigators in a parking garage, killing them all, using Luis "Captain Downtown Louie" Lopez as a hitman. Lopez did many jobs for Bulgarin, such as killing Ashvilli in order for Bulgarin to take over the business. Bulgarin also became involved in the smuggling of diamonds in New York City, after killing "The Cook" and taking his jewels. He stole The Cook's diamonds after ambushing a deal between Nikolaj "Niko" Bellic and Patrick "Packie" McReary, who were exchanging their hostage (Gracie Ancelotti) for the diamonds. He also betrayed Lopez after Lopez failed to find the diamonds that he had stashed at an apartment.
Ray Bulgarin's organization crumbled following the death of Dimitri Rascalov on November 3, 2008, at the hands of Bellic, as he lost his primary business partner. Soon, Lopez attacked his hideout at Astroland in Coney Island, attempting to destroy his heroin and kill him.
Death[]
Bulgarin was chased from Astroland to his private Ghawar jet at the JFK International Airport, after Lopez destroyed his heroin shipment, and Lopez entered the plane, shooting it out with Bulgarin's bodyguards. He was executed by Lopez, who jumped out of the jet on a parachute as it exploded due to Bulgarin holding a live grenade, and Bulgarin's organization became weaker after his murder.