Friends Rise To Defense Of 2 Suspects

The letters are full of outrage and shock. And bewilderment.

Friends of Gary Chern and Egidiyus Klimas, accused of kidnapping a student on orders from a Russian crime organization, question whether the federal government is prosecuting the two men because they're from the former Soviet Union and they've been financially successful.

"It seems that American people are now seeing a mafiosa in every Russian businessman," wrote deli owner Sofia Freylekhman in a letter of support filed in federal court. "It seems unjust to stereotype every Russian like that."

Another wrote, "Please look beyond the hyperbole of all this Russian mafia nonsense and give him a chance to prove himself."

The letters are stacked in court documents alongside the government's hefty allegations against the two, which include mob ties, possible bribery and the use of intimidation.

Today was the fourth day in which U.S. Magistrate Philip Sweigert listened to testimony and accepted government and defense documents to determine whether he should release Chern, 35, and Klimas, 31, on bail. The two have been in custody since Aug. 8.

Sweigert decided not to release them, saying that there were too many unanswered questions and that he was worried the two men would flee the country.

Though the government's case focuses mostly on Chern, Assistant U.S. Attorney James Lord told the court that both men are at risk of flight and pose a danger to the community. The hearing is to be completed today.

By all standards, it has been an unusually long detention hearing. But then again, this case is anything but usual. Take for example, the allegations:

Chern and Klimas are accused of kidnapping a Russian student outside a restaurant on south Lake Union, calling the victim's father in Russia and demanding payment of a $315,000 business debt as ransom. Chern allegedly told the father that if he didn't settle his debt, his son would be "fish bait." The father gave up his interest in a factory in Russia to pay for his son's safety, Lord said.

The government contends that Chern is connected to a Lithuanian mob called the "Little Doctors," one of the most powerful gangs in the city of Kaunas; that Chern once told an FBI informant he wanted to blow up the car of one of his business associates to show he was the "real power in Seattle"; and that Chern once borrowed $350,000 from a Lithuanian company, operated by members of the Little Doctors.

The federal government also hinted that Chern might have bribed Thomas Nielsen, the former Edmonds Community College president, who recently pleaded guilty in federal court to one charge of conspiring to violate federal bribery, mail-fraud and income-tax laws. However, no charges involving Chern were filed against him.

Klimas, the government charges, is Chern's right-hand man, his bodyguard.

Such talk clashed with letters of support for Chern and Klimas, who are from Lithuania. Their family and friends portray them as honest businessmen.

Chern is the founder of East West Consultants, a commodities-trading company in Edmonds; Klimas is the firm's vice president.