Tokhtakhounov, whose age was given by Comey as 53 or 62, is a "major figure in international Eurasian organized crime," Comey said. Born in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, and now a Russian citizen, he is known as Taivanchik, or Little Taiwanese, for his Central Asian ethnic background. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, he has been implicated in arms trading and Russian art smuggling, and in the Russian news media he was accused of complicity in a plot to extort $10 million from the head of a Russian sports foundation. He appears to have moved to France in 1989, according to news media reports, and is reported to have Israeli citizenship also. Comey said Tokhtakhounov had three residences in Italy: Forte dei Marmi, Rome and Milan. The complaint against Tokhtakhounov's traces his contact with figure skating to 2000, when he proposed to Gailhaguet the creation of a professional hockey team in Paris that would provide revenue for the French Skating Federation. ( Gailhaguet and Anissina are not referred to by name in an accompanying FBI agent's affidavit, but by their descriptions their identities are obvious.) In return, Gailhaguet told the FBI on Feb. 23 as the Olympics were taking place, Tokhtakhounov asked for Gailhaguet's help in renewing his French visa, which was about to expire. But when Gailhaguet sought guidance from a French government official, he was told that "Tokhtakhounov's money is bad," the affidavit said. The federal complaint offers many details of the alleged conspiracy, including excerpts from a transcript of the Italian wiretaps. later suspended Le Gougne and Gailhaguet for three years. The federal complaint did not describe the possibility of a wider conspiracy or any contact between Tokhtakhounov, or his unnamed co-conspirators, with Le Gougne. "We have alleged no connection between this man with any officials other than with Russian federation officials," James B. Comey, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, said at a news conference. He said that Tokhtakhounov "reached out to a co-conspirator, somebody connected to the Russian Skating Federation, who did the legwork for him."

Which countries did Tokhtakhounov extort money from which countries?

Josie started planning her new garden in the winter. She chose flowers and vegetables that could grow in her area. She looked through the seed magazines. She ordered the tastiest kind of each vegetable and the prettiest kind of each flower. She talked to a friend about her plans. It seemed like the snow would never melt. But Josie didn't have to wait for spring to get started. Six weeks before the last frost, Josie planted seeds indoors. The tiny seedlings pushed up through the soil and began to grow. Finally spring arrived. Each day, Josie moved the seedlings outside for a few hours so they could get used to the cooler temperatures. Josie worked in her garden, digging the soil. She added a special growing mix from the garden store to make the soil better. When everything was ready, she removed the seedlings from their trays and planted them in her garden. The warm sun and rich soil helped her vegetables and flowers grow.

What helped Josie's plants to grow?

The Agencies Confer When they learned a second plane had struck the World Trade Center, nearly everyone in the White House told us, they immediately knew it was not an accident. The Secret Service initiated a number of security enhancements around the White House complex. The officials who issued these orders did not know that there were additional hijacked aircraft, or that one such aircraft was en route to Washington. These measures were precautionary steps taken because of the strikes in New York. The FAA and White House Teleconferences. The FAA, the White House, and the Defense Department each initiated a multiagency teleconference before 9:30. Because none of these teleconferences-at least before 10:00- included the right officials from both the FAA and Defense Department, none succeeded in meaningfully coordinating the military and FAA response to the hijackings. At about 9:20, security personnel at FAA headquarters set up a hijacking teleconference with several agencies, including the Defense Department. The NMCC officer who participated told us that the call was monitored only periodically because the information was sporadic, it was of little value, and there were other important tasks. The FAA manager of the teleconference also remembered that the military participated only briefly before the Pentagon was hit. Both individuals agreed that the teleconference played no role in coordinating a response to the attacks of 9/11. Acting Deputy Administrator Belger was frustrated to learn later in the morning that the military had not been on the call. At the White House, the video teleconference was conducted from the Situation Room by Richard Clarke, a special assistant to the president long involved in counterterrorism. Logs indicate that it began at 9:25 and included the CIA; the FBI; the departments of State, Justice, and Defense; the FAA; and the White House shelter. The FAA and CIA joined at 9:40. The first topic addressed in the White House video teleconference-at about 9:40-was the physical security of the President, the White House, and federal agencies. Immediately thereafter it was reported that a plane had hit the Pentagon. We found no evidence that video teleconference participants had any prior information that American 77 had been hijacked and was heading directly toward Washington.
Who confirmed that the teleconference was not important to the coordination of a response to the attack?