Narrator: it took a russian immigrant just seven years to
Rise from a janitor to one of the most successful stockbrokers
In the united states.
Then he disappeared.
A dog hair, a piece of plastic, and a speck of orange paint were
All that remained in a crime motivated by jealousy and greed.
In the s and 's, people living in the former
Soviet union faced a life of hardship and despair.
Some, like -year-old michael prozumenshikov, wanted
More.
He was leaving a life of deprivation, of long lines for
Food, of crowded buses.
Michael actually grew up in an apartment with seven other
Families living in the same unit.
Narrator: with little to lose, michael and his family
Emigrated to the united states.
At first, michael took a job as a janitor.
He worked hard, perfected his english, and waited for the
Right opportunity.
He grasped at the american dream in all of its incarnations.
He wanted to have material wealth.
He wanted to have recognition for being successful at a
Career.
This is a guy who was really driven, who had goals, and he
Really set out, aggressively, to accomplish them.
Narrator: eventually, michael earned a license as a
Stockbroker, passed a test for securities dealers, and got an
Entry-level position in a minneapolis firm.
When he started out, he asked his fellow russian immigrants
For business, and they responded generously.
Within seven years, michael was earning well over $ million
Annually.
And he liked to make sure everyone knew it.
[ Russian accent ] and, tell you the truth, a lot of people
Didn't like him because he was making such approach.
Like, "oh, I am big-sh*t whatever.
I drive a mercedes."
Big deal.
I drive mercedes, too, but who cares?
Narrator: on january , , michael told his wife he'd
Be working late.
But he never came home.
I said, "michael didn't come home last night."
And my wife turned to me right away, and she said, "I bet he's
Dead."
Narrator: police found michael's car in the parking lot
Of lake minnetonka, just a few blocks from his office.
A police officer actually saw the mercedes park there around
Midnight that evening, also, which was unusual.
It's an isolated beach.
Very cold january evening, and here's this mercedes setting
There at the beach.
Narrator: michael's briefcase was on the front seat.
There was no blood in the car or any sign of v*olence.
Investigators found what appeared to be blood on the
Frozen surface of the lake a few hundred yards away.
But tests on the stain were inconclusive.
Two days passed.
Then a workman at a city compost pile saw a flock of crows
Hovering around some discarded christmas trees.
And I looked in there, and it was quite obvious it was a bent
Section of a human leg all the way up to the hip.
And I just thought, "wow, this guy must have been a pretty big
Guy."
Narrator: investigators also found a human torso.
The head and the hands were missing, so it looked like
Someone was trying to get rid of anything that could be
Identified, as far as identifying the body.
Narrator: but they did find the end of a fingertip.
When police ran the fingerprint, they discovered it matched the
Fingerprint of michael prozumenshikov's
Brokerage license.
Law enforcement theorized that michael may have been targeted
Because he was a russian immigrant, so they urged
Caution.
Then the fbi called me and said, "please do <span tts:fontstyle="italic">not</span>come to the
Funeral."
And I said, "well, why?" "Well, the word is that you were
A friend of his.
Whoever did this could sh**t you at the funeral, so don't come to
The funeral."
And I thought, "wow."
Narrator: investigators took this unusual step because they
Had no idea why michael was m*rder*d.
But they did know he had plenty of enemies.
Narrator: in the search for michael prozumenshikov's k*ller,
Investigators didn't have to look far for suspects.
Although michael made a lot of money for himself as a
Stockbroker, not all of his clients liked the way he did it.
Zina shirl says she gave michael $, but told him to invest
Only in stocks that she chose.
I came to him, and I said, "this is the deal.
You do not touch it.
This is whatever I -- you do what I tell you what to do."
He said, "yes."
Narrator: almost immediately, zina realized michael was buying
And selling stocks in her account without her permission.
I had a bill from the company that I owed them almost like
$, Or $, for commission, buying, and selling.
So I went to his company, and I said, "mike, look, this is
Wrong."
Narrator: in the brokerage business, that's called
"Churning the account" -- buying and selling stocks in a
Customer's portfolio for the sole purpose of generating
Commissions.
Other clients allege that michael promised returns of %
A year in order to get their business, a practice that's
Illegal in many states.
Michael -- he crossed a lot of bridges.
He -- I mean...
A lot of illegal things was done.
Narrator: investigators also learned that michael didn't
Always pick good stocks.
For example, he bought shares in texas air for many of his
Clients at $ per share.
In a matter of weeks, it fell to $.
I would say most of the people we had talked to that had
Lost money were really not that upset that michael had
Disappeared or that he had been m*rder*d.
We even had several people that said they wish they could have
Done it.
Narrator: on the night michael was reported missing,
His wife said he called her around :.
He said he was with a client and was working late.
She also said michael asked her for his supervisor's home
Telephone number.
In phone calls to his wife that night, he spoke russian,
Which she considered unusual.
Michael did not like to speak russian in front of american
Clients.
He considered it rude.
He would only speak russian in front of some other russian.
She just assumed that whoever he was with was some other russian.
Narrator: later, michael called his boss at home with an
Unusual request.
He was asking for money -- $, that he said he needed
To raise for a client that night.
This, of course, put everyone on their guard because, to get a
Call from a broker at night seeking $, is highly
Unusual.
Narrator: michael said his client was leaving town early
The next day and needed the money immediately.
Naturally, michael's boss said no.
He just said, "it's not that we're unwilling to come up with
The $,, but we certainly aren't gonna be able to come up
With it tonight."
Narrator: and michael's boss said that he made a strange
Reference to a boat.
What he said was, "didn't you tell me that your father gave
You $, to buy a boat -- to help you buy a boat?"
Well, his supervisor hadn't told him anything like that.
And his supervisor later concluded, and later told the
Police, that he suspected that michael was trying to send an
Alarm of some kind by reminding him of a conversation that had
Never happened.
Narrator: the medical examiner believes that michael
Was k*lled later that night.
It's difficult to be precise, but because he wasn't completely
Frozen, I didn't think he'd been out there longer.
Narrator: police found michael's torso, his legs, and a
Piece of his finger.
On the tarp with the torso, investigators found a single
Black hair.
It was very fine and had kind of a crimped appearance to it
That was not indicative of a human hair.
Narrator: microscopic examination revealed it was a
Dog hair.
The medulla, or central core of animal hairs, can help identify
The breed.
In this case, analysts determined the hair was from a
Bernese mountain dog, which is tricolored and usually very
Large.
The only other evidence at the scene was on the gate that led
To the garbage dump.
It looked as if a car had hit it to force it open.
There was some brownish paint transfers on the gate at the
Compost site from the gate being pushed open by a car.
Narrator: and there was a small plastic fragment that
Looked like a piece of the car's bumper.
A witness told police that he saw michael's black
Mercedes-benz in the lake parking lot next to a small,
Brown vehicle similar in color to the piece of bumper found at
The compost site.
He also stated that the car possibly could have been a
Mazda .
It looked consistent with a mazda .
Narrator: this narrowed the list of suspects considerably.
They were looking for someone driving a brown mazda, who had a
Bernese mountain dog, and was one of michael's clients.
Narrator: while investigating the m*rder of stockbroker
Michael prozumenshikov, investigators learned he had
Many disgruntled customers.
He had also been soliciting investors to build a resort in
Reno, nevada, to be managed by a company called "omni financial."
Quite a bit of money that investors put into this scheme.
And it ended up that actually the address for omni financial
Was in the middle of the desert.
It was an old, deserted, shabby motel, vacant -- is really what
The address was where this resort was supposed to be.
Narrator: the investment was a scam, and this created even
More unhappy customers.
Authorities believe that money was probably the motive
For michael prozumenshikov's m*rder.
Narrator: news of michael prozumenshikov's m*rder
Generated a number of potential leads, including one from
Employees of a local car wash.
They said they had an odd encounter with a customer the
Morning after michael's body was found.
A customer requested we get some hunting blood out of his
Trunk, which got us thinking a little bit -- little, you know,
Little strange.
Narrator: they said it was a brown mazda, and they gave
Police the license number -- pnn .
The car was registered to zachary persitz, a -year-old
Russian émigré who worked as a dam inspector for the state of
Minnesota.
He was a friend of michael's.
When he first met michael, he was more established than
Michael was, and then michael got into the brokerage
Business, and michael's earnings eclipsed those of zachary.
They didn't know each other in the old country.
Their wives were friends.
Narrator: persitz was married, had two children, and
Was well known and respected within the russian immigrant
Community.
Very nice, very musical...
Very intelligent.
I remember zachary's a good artist.
This guy was the greatest guy in the world.
He wouldn't hurt a flea.
If you interviewed them, they'd say he was a great neighbor,
Kept to himself, never bothered anybody.
Narrator: but persitz and michael were more than just
Friends.
Michael was persitz's financial advisor.
Their relationship was rocky at best.
Investigators discovered that persitz gave michael $, to
Invest, but there were more losses than profits.
At some point, persitz discovered his stock portfolio
Was worth less than $,.
For the most part, they weren't investments that were
Suitable for a guy that invested every nickel he had with
Michael.
Narrator: when questioned by police, persitz denied any
Involvement in michael's m*rder, and he willingly took a
Lie-detector test arranged by his lawyer.
My investigator and cocounsel had developed a suspicion that
He hadn't done this, and so I called a polygrapher...
And had zachary tell them that he hadn't done it.
And he passed.
Narrator: and forensic testing could not determine the
Origin of the blood in persitz's trunk.
At the time, dna testing wasn't as sophisticated as it is today.
Back then, the dna testing procedures required dna to be
What's called high molecular weight.
We needed dna that hadn't gone through any degradation
Processes at all.
Narrator: but investigators did find some suspicious damage
To perstiz's car.
It had damage to the front right end.
The paint was scraped, and the bumper was broken.
The scratches on the bumper had what appeared to be tiny specks
Of orange paint, which were removed with a small probe.
The samples that we're talking about are perhaps the
Size of a period or a small dot with a pencil.
So we're talking microscopic-sized chips of
Paint.
Narrator: the paint sample was compared to the paint from
The broken gate using a process called a solubility analysis.
Chemical solubility tests are a series of reagents, solvents,
Or reagents that may cause color reactions or cause it to
Dissolve or swell or do something -- a color change.
And if they are similar, that means that the paints could have
Had a common source.
Narrator: the test showed that the paint on perstiz's
Bumper could have come from the gate, but the sample was too
Small to be conclusive.
But the piece of broken bumper found near the gate was of more
Value.
The forensic analysis revealed it could only have come from one
Source.
It was just a perfect match.
They were unevenly cracked, so the odds of the pieces that they
Recovered from the compost site being a perfect, even match to
Zachary's car -- the odds of coming from some other source
Were...
So amazing that they just said, "this had to have come from
Zachary's car."
Narrator: and investigators learned that persitz owned a dog
With long black hair, which proved to be microscopically
Similar to the single dog hair found with michael's body.
Finally investigators sprayed the inside of persitz's car with
Luminol.
It revealed evidence of a g*nsh*t.
It looked like stars.
There were hundreds of spots on the roof of the headliner of the
Car, which would have been consistent with the
High-velocity mist if someone gets sh*t in the head.
Narrator: this indicated that michael was sitting in the
Driver's seat of persitz's car when he was k*lled.
[ g*nsh*t ] investigators found a receipt in
Persitz's office for a pair of handcuffs that could have been
Used in the abduction.
I mean, they had the receipt.
They had the guy that he bought them from.
Narrator: zachary persitz was arrested and charged with
First-degree m*rder.
Even his lawyer acknowledged the strength of the prosecution's
Case.
Trying this case was like being a human punching bag.
Narrator: prosecutors believed that zachary persitz
Was enraged by the way his friend michael prozumenshikov
Handled his money.
He watched his $, dwindle to less than $,.
He came upon hard times.
He was not gonna be able to pay the tuition for private school.
He was not gonna be able to make his mortgage payments.
And that's where the dynamics of zachary persitz began to change.
He was unable to stand the pressure of seeing all of his
Dreams vanish.
Narrator: at the same time, zachary persitz saw that michael
Was living quite well on the commissions generated from all
The stock transactions.
Zachary's wife oftentimes would compare their lifestyle to
Michael's lifestyle, saying things like, "michael has a big
House.
Why don't we have a big house?
Michael has a mercedes.
Why don't we have a mercedes?" And on and on.
Narrator: prosecutors believed persitz wanted revenge.
The evidence suggests persitz set up a meeting with michael
After work.
They met in the parking lot at lake minnetonka.
Once there, persitz threatened michael with a g*n and demanded
His money back with interest.
So michael called his boss at home, asking him for $,.
But his boss refused.
[ Dial tone ]
Persitz handcuffed michael to the steering wheel of his car
And ordered michael to drive to a deserted location...
And then k*lled him.
[ g*nsh*t ] persitz put michael's body in
The trunk and drove to the compost site about miles
Away.
Persitz broke through the gate with the car's bumper, leaving a
Small piece behind.
After dismembering michael's body, persitz wrapped the torso
In a tarp.
Unbeknownst to him, a single black hair from his pet dog was
On the tarp.
The rest of michael's body and the g*n have never been
Recovered.
He thought he could pull off this homicide and not get caught
'Cause he had it all planned out, and he didn't realize how
Tough it is to hide trace evidence, forensic evidence.
It's always gonna be there.
Narrator: zachary persitz pled not guilty by reason of
Insanity.
The jury, however, rejected that and found him guilty of
First-degree m*rder.
He was sentenced to life in prison.
For michael prozumenshikov, the american dream had turned into a
Tragedy.
But the trail of evidence left no doubt who was responsible.
The forensic evidence was the case.
The investigators did an overwhelming and professional
Job.
The old expression is, "if
You think you know how to commit
The perfect crime, there are
Ways to [bleep] it up.
And you're a genius if you can
Figure out of them."
11x02 - Going for Broke
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Documentary that reveals how forensic science is used to solve violent crimes, mysterious accidents, and outbreaks of illness.
Documentary that reveals how forensic science is used to solve violent crimes, mysterious accidents, and outbreaks of illness.