THE "GANG OF FOUR" ARRESTED FOR SERIAL MURDERS OF

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BUDAPEST 000616 SENSITIVE SIPDIS EUR/CE FOR JAMIE MOORE. PLEASE PASS TO NSC JEFF HOVENIER E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PGOV LO HU SUBJECT: THE "GANG OF FOUR" ARRESTED FOR SERIAL MURDERS OF ROMA ¶1. (SBU) Summary. One year, 120 police officers and 100 million HUF ($500,000 USD) reward later, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) arrested four men suspected of carrying out the unprecedented serial murders that have terrorized the Roma community. In a private brief to the Embassy's LEGATT, NBI officials stated that guidance from two FBI profilers helped to focus the investigation and led to the breakthrough that resulted in the arrests. Police have gathered extensive evidence from 16 locations including munitions and DNA samples that they believe tie the suspects to the crimes. All four men denied their involvement in the crimes. End summary. -------------- The Suspects -------------- ¶2. (SBU) In the early morning hours of August 21, the NBI arrested four night club employees in Debrecen (eastern Hungary). The "Gang of Four," as Debrecen residents are calling them, are known to be affiliated with radical racist groups. Two of the four are brothers. According to National Police Chief Jozsef Bencze, the younger brother, a self proclaimed Nazi, was charged with setting fire to a Torah Scroll in the Debrecen Synagogue in 1995. Another, the alleged arms expert, was discharged from the army last year after serving two mission with Hungarian KFOR contingent in Kosovo. -------------- The Evidence -------------- ¶3. (SBU) The extensive investigation included checking 4.5 million cell phone calls; it was one or more of these calls that eventually led the police to the suspects. Bencze confidently announced that authorities have seized key evidence from 16 locations including arms, ammunition, computers, cell phones, three black SUVs, and maps with circles around their next planned attack, at village Nograd County (50 kilometers from the last murder). Additionally, police obtained DNA samples from the suspects that match crime scene evidence. -------------- Role of the FBI -------------- ¶4. (SBU) Police acknowledged the assistance that two FBI profilers provided to investigators. The FBI helped police focus on the given facts, drew up a potential profile of the killers, recommended questioning techniques, donated crime scene kits, provided evidence collection training, and recommended the investigators concentrate on records from the cell phone towers serving each of the crime scenes. The discovery of the same numbers at the different cell towers provided the crucial lead that resulted in the arrests. -------------- The Motive -------------- ¶5. (SBU) Police sources told Legatt the suspects were trying to increase racial tensions hoping the Roma Community would respond to the crimes with increased violence of their own. Bencze stated that a racist motive appears probable in these unprecedented serial murders. The "Gang of Four" allegedly carried out nine attacks on Roma families in their small village homes during the past 13 months, killing six and seriously injuring five. The victims include a father and his 5-year old son who were shot in the back while escaping their burning house set a fire by a Molotov cocktail. On August 13, the most recent attack, a 45-year old mother was shot dead in her bed while her 13-year old daughter survived several gunshot wounds. The attackers have thrown eleven Molotov cocktails and fired 63 shotgun and rifle rounds at 11 homes. Police confirmed to Legatt that the victims appear to have been random targets selected by location and ease of escape. ¶6. (SBU) Comment. Although the Hungarian authorities are confident that they captured the assailants, the public remains skeptical. Roma volunteers continue to patrol Roma-majority villages while talk show polls show that 15 percent of respondents believe the police caught the right people, seven percent do not, and 78 percent are still unsure. This public lack of confidence may stem from BUDAPEST 00000616 002 OF 002 previously claims to successfully arresting perpetrators in other cases that subsequently proved untrue. That said, the FBI's assistance in this case appears to be a key element in arresting the four individuals, and letters of appreciation for the FBI's assistance from the GOH are forthcoming. End comment. LEVINE