Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
NYPD Didn't Take Missing Persons Report on Man Believed Dead
By
John Del Signore
Published Feb 24, 2011
Modified Feb 24, 2011
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
John Del Signore
Published Feb 24, 2011
Modified Feb 24, 2011
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Two people went to the NYPD to try to report a missing person, but they say officers refused to take an interest in the case, and now it's believed the person in question has gone from "missing" to "murdered." Dmitriy Yakovlev is possibly a serial killer on trial for stealing the identities of New York jewelry importer Viktor Alekseyev, Russian translator Irina Malezhik, and Greenpoint mechanic Michael Klein. Alekseyev's dismembered body was found in garbage bags (alongside a vampire mask!) in the woods in New Jersey in 2006, but Malezhik and Klein and still missing. Yesterday, an associate of Yakovlev testified that he tried to warn cops about Yakovlev, but they weren't interested.
Testifying under immunity from prosecution, Alexander Hamilton acknowledged that he committed tax fraud with Yakovlev when the two purchased Klein's ramshackle Greenpoint house. "He (Yakovlev) said with my computer knowledge it would be easy to steal money from Klein," Hamilton testified, according to the Daily News. "He tried to convince me that in this country you can do anything and not get punished."
Hamilton said he went to police after Yakovlev showed him credit cards with Klein's name, but he says the cops told him to do his own police work, and come back only if he got Yakovlev's voice on tape. "They said they couldn't start an investigation on my word alone," Hamilton testified. Klein was living like a hoarder in his squalid home, and it may be that cops assumed he simply wandered off, and would resurface in time. Now investigators believe Yakovlev murdered Klein, and so does Klein's sister, who also tried to report him missing. Outside court yesterday, she told the News, "I don't think my brother is on the planet anymore. I want to understand what happened. It's part of putting it to rest."
To report a missing person, the NYPD suggests calling 911 or, in non-emergency cases, to visit your local police precinct with a photograph of the person. The NYPD maintains a website showing missing persons in all five boroughs; currently the site shows just six people missing in all of Brooklyn. Klein is still not among them.
Tagged
brooklyn
Dmitriy Yakovlev
Michael Klein
missing man
missing person
nypd
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
F and G lines grind to a halt as signal issues slows Friday night rush
The MTA's ongoing signal problems came amid a national flight stoppage.
By
David Giambusso
Published Nov 13, 2026 at 7:38 p.m. ET
NYC and NJ travelers may face long delays as air travel resumes nationwide
The Federal Aviation Administration lifted a ground stop for all U.S. airports Friday evening.
By
Charles Lane
News
NYC and NJ travelers may face long delays as air travel resumes nationwide
The Federal Aviation Administration lifted a ground stop for all U.S. airports Friday evening.
By
Charles Lane
Mamdani declines to back fellow New Yorker Schumer as Senate majority leader
By
Brigid Bergin
Mayor Mamdani appoints ex-DSA chair as new NYC nightlife director
By
Elizabeth Kim
First Code Blue of the winter season arrives in New York City
By
Charles Lane
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .