A La Cañada Flintridge real estate player is set to spend the next 20 years behind bars for sinister plots that included hiring a hitman to whack his legal foes and igniting an apartment blaze to send low-income renters packing, federal prosecutors confirmed. Arthur Raffy Aslanian, 55, was handed down the heavy sentence Monday after a jury previously found him guilty on multiple counts, including the use of interstate commerce facilities in a murder-for-hire scheme and arson, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Judge Jesus G. Bernal, presiding over the case in Riverside, didn't only slap Aslanian with time in the clink, he also ordered the convicted man to cough up $15,371 in restitution and laid on a $200,000 fine, the weight of the law barreling down on Aslanian who tried to take out his former lawyer and a past litigation adversary, court documents detailed. But Aslanian’s diabolical dealings didn't end there, he also conspired to torch property, spiraling down a treacherous path of crime.
"This defendant thought he could get away with murder by financing a murder plot against two of his rivals," Martin Estrada, United States Attorney, said, hailing the sentence as a stark warning to anyone contemplating settling scores outside the bounds of the law. In a sinister twist of greed-fueled malice, Aslanian pooled his machinations with Sesar Rivera, 41, to draft a hired killer into his vendettas against the men known only as M.Y. and S.E. in court filings.
As evidenced in the trial, Rivera approached a gang member and convicted felon about the hits in April 2022, pushing for quick action against the targets, once even passing along a screenshot of S.E.'s Facebook profile to aid the would-be assassin in locating the victim, a move that untangled their plot as law enforcement stepped in just in time to clip the wings of their scheme. According to details obtained by prosecutors, Rivera ultimately flipped, aiding detectives and leading to a sting operation that caught Aslanian red-handed as Rivera presented him with a faked murder photo of S.E.
Not limiting his crimes to potential murders, Aslanian also paid for an arson attack on his North Hollywood rental property, a deed done in an effort to forcibly evict low-income residents. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, combined with the Los Angeles Police Department's investigative prowess, brought Aslanian's misdeeds to light, with Special Agent in Charge Christopher Bombardiere of ATF’s Los Angeles Field Division noting their role in preventing the loss of innocent lives. Rivera's date with Destiny is marked for July 8, where he could face up to 10 years on each count for his part in the plots.
Officials handling the case included Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kevin J. Butler, Kevin B. Reidy, and Eli A. Alcaraz, with Public Information Officer Ciaran McEvoy of the U.S. Attorney's Office providing official statements to the press on the clampdown on Aslanian’s criminal activities.
