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Reputed Armenian Mob Boss Pleads Guilty To Racketeering Charges

NEW YORK (AP) — A man authorities say headed a vast network of Armenian gangsters has pleaded guilty in New York to racketeering charges.

Armen Kazarian entered the plea in federal court in Manhattan on Friday. Kazarian was accused of being the boss of a network of criminals who used phantom health care clinics and other means to try to cheat Medicare out of $163 million. U.S. authorities said when they announced the charges that it was the largest fraud by one criminal enterprise in the program's history.

The 47-year-old Glendale resident could face up to 20 years in prison when he is sentenced on Oct. 6.

(© Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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