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The business partner of an Edmonton-based eye surgeon plotted to have Russian mafia drown him in the ocean during a family vacation, allege U.S. prosecutors.
Dr. Joseph King, who operates King Lasik in Edmonton, wasn't in his downtown Edmonton office today, one day after Dr. Michael Mockovak was charged with two counts of attempting to hire killers to murder King and another former partner, Brad Klock.
Mockovak is being held on $3 million bail and is scheduled to be arraigned in a Seattle courtroom Wednesday.
According to court documents obtained by the Sun, King was allegedly targeted over concerns that he was leaving Clearly Lasik, the company co-founded by the two men, and Mockovak had offered to pay Russian hitmen $25,000 to make his death look like an accident.
Investigators allege Mockovak, 51, of Camas, WA, told the informant that killing King, a Newcastle, WA, resident who is married to the sister of his parter's ex-wife, "had it coming," and that having him murdered was "absolutely the right thing to do."
Read about King at the Clearly Lasik website by clicking here
He believed he or the business would be the beneficiary of a $5-million life insurance plan, of which he promised to pay the informant $100,000.
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The accused: Dr. Michael Mockovak outside court in Seattle. (MyNorthwest.com/photo) |
King, who investigators say recently returned from the trip to Australia where his death was being plotted, and his family are staying in an Seattle-area hotel, fearful to go home because Mockovak knew intimate details about the family including alarm codes to his home.
A statement released by King says he's shocked over the allegations and still concerned about his family's safety.
"My family and I were shocked and horrified to learn that a business associate was allegedly planning and ordering my murder," he said.
"It is incomprehensible how someone could deliberately plan to take someone's life and completely devastate a family.
"We feel very blessed to be alive."
Court documents say Mockovak had begun questioning a Russian immigrant, Daniel Kultan, who worked in the office about his underworld connections in the spring of 2008 before first suggesting early in 2009 that he'd like to have Klock, who was suing for wrongful dismissal, eliminated.
By August, Kultin told investigators he believed Mockovak had shifted his focus to King and they had the informant suggest he had connections that could do the job.
Mockovak allegedly told Kultin that King was scheduled to go on a family vacation to Australia from Nov. 7-14 and suggested killers could get him alone while he ran along the ocean, noting drowning him in the ocean sounded "not bad."
Court documents say Mockovak provided a picture of King and his family to Kultin taken from an office, as well as $10,000 in $100 bills and a hand-written note on a yellow "Post-It" containing King's flight information to Sydney during a Nov. 7 meeting.
Investigators allege Mockovak promised to launder the remaining $15,000 he owed by making it look like an Internet purchase, joking he was "gonna be the first person to charge a murder on a credit card."
Police arrested Mockovak five days later on Nov. 12 outside his gym where he was going for a workout, said FBI spokeswoman Robbie Burroughs.
He was released Saturday on $1 million bail before being re-arrested and charged Monday.
His Seattle-based lawyer, Colette Tvedt, didn't return calls today.
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Statement of Joseph King, MD, FRCSC
“My family and I were shocked and horrified to learn that a business associate was allegedly planning and ordering my murder.
“We are deeply grateful to law enforcement agencies who have protected our family. It is incomprehensible how someone could deliberately plan to take someone's life and completely devastate a family. We feel very blessed to be alive. To protect our young children, we ask that our family's privacy is respected.
“My patients can be assured that I and our staff are continuing to provide care for them, and I am grateful for the support of the community at this time."