Human trafficking fugitive wants charges dropped

DETROIT (AP) -- A man once listed as a top fugitive by the U.S. government and awaiting trial in Detroit says he never knew he was wanted. Veniamin Gonikman recently requested federal authorities drop charges that he lured eastern European women to the U.S. and forced them to become strippers in Detroit, the Detroit Free Press reported recently. Gonikman said he's been denied the right to a speedy trial because of the delay between his 2006 indictment and January arrest. He was kicked out of Ukraine and arrested in New York. Gonikman, 53, said he lived in Ukraine for nearly five years with his daughter and owned a small business. His attorney, Walter Piszczatowski, wrote that his client's "whereabouts were no mystery." Authorities said he's a naturalized U.S. citizen who was living in Ukraine with a fake Russian passport. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Chutkow wrote in court documents filed last week that it's hard to comprehend how Gonikman can't remember whether he was involved in a conspiracy that led to the arrests and convictions of several family members. Gonikman's son, Aleksandr Maksimenko of Livonia, and other associates are in prison. Published: Wed, Jul 6, 2011