Remsen Arsenal Linked to Hate Crimes?

By on January 21, 2008 11:06 am in Brooklyn Heights, crime

The owner of a cache of weapons and pipebombs on Remsen Street has been identified as Ivaylo Ivanov, an ex-con with a long criminal past, the NY Post reports. He's also raised the NYPD's interest as a suspect in the synagogue hate spree last year.  Ivanov shared the apartment at 58 Remsen with Dr. Michael C. Clatts, a noted AIDS researcher. No word on if Clatts, who is currently in Vietnam, knew of Ivaylo's stash of weapons:

NY Post: Arsenal in Brooklyn:When cops searched his fourth-floor apartment, they found six pipe bombs, sniper rifles, a handgun, shotguns, a crossbow with arrows, silencers, bomb-making equipment and other weapons – prompting an immediate evacuation of the building and others on the historic, tree-lined block.

Ivanov was charged with criminal possession of a weapon and falsely reporting an incident.

He was questioned by the joint FBI-NYPD terrorism task force.

"That would be standard for this type of situation," said NYPD Assistant Chief Michael Collins.

…Local residents said he would spin colorful tales about his past, including that he is of Russian and Bulgarian descent, a former army sniper who served in Bosnia.

He has been on the NYPD's radar at least since September, when he became a suspect in a slew of hate crimes in the area that included swastikas painted on synagogues and cars.

After his arrest, he told cops he was working for Israel's Mossad spy agency, the sources said.

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  • Jo Ann

    Because the dog didn’t make any pipe bombs, was domesticated and totally dependent on human beings. We can never be safe from the crazy among our breed. Life can be short, you might do your best to enjoy it. I suggest getting a dog – they love unconditionally, and are always happy to see you when you get home, no matter how stupid and obnoxious you are.

  • Matthew

    Hopefully now that Michael is back from Vietnam, he will redeem Ruka from the pound. Michael is also Ruka’s owner, and I’ve seen Michael many times walking Ruka.

  • anon

    As far as this guys neighbors not even knowing what was up, thats whats wrong with neighborhoods like this, they have become so un community-esque, people not knowing people that have lived next to them for years. its the same in Cobble hill .. blocks that used to be one family brownstones now house multiple apartments, the population is quadrupled, and no one cares about who’s next door.
    MZ-this neigborhood (at least as reflected on this board) there was very little concern expressed over the spraypainting, now it seems only a shrug of relief, i just dont think alot of people realized what was possibly just averted. I was thinking after the swatztikas were painted “I wonder if anyone up there is actually paying more attention to their neighbors now for suspicious behaviour”? apparently not..
    BTW, dogs are happy to see you when you get home because they have been left alone all day in whats often a single room, and usually have to go to the bathroom, oh and you feed them….you are right at them being totally dependant,but unconditional?.. not so much

  • Jenny

    Yes this is a story about not truely know your neighbors and the dangers that they can put us all in. This could have been a potenielly fatal ending. However, it wasn’t. and The fact that a dog came into the dialogue, does not negate from the issue at hand. As was pointed out, an innocent animals life is or could be a stake here as well. If there is anything in our power to help Ruka, then why should that not be looked into as well? Why is that not important? All information is of value, no?
    Matthew, do you know Michael? as you mentioned you’ve seen him many times walking Ruka? Annette, I too know Sammy and could inquire with him about Penny.
    I know I would sleep a little better knowing that an innocent animals life didn’t not have to also be destroyed because of some nut job.

  • Bob Barker

    Ruka should be put to sleep. The nyc area is overpopulated by dogs, so what’s one less? Besides, it would be a small measure of justice against a man who wanted to bomb synagogues.

  • Annette

    Completely ignoring the IDIOTIC and inflamatory comment preceeding this one, please let me know what I can do to help. Please email me directly at net827@yahoo.com. I also know Matthew. I can help with food and/or boarding expenses, at the least…

  • Matthew

    I don’t know Michael, but I’ve spoken with him very briefly a few times at Hillside. He’s rather quiet and usually off to himself at the dog park.

    I don’t know if Michael has redeemed Ruka from the pound, but Ruka appears to be Michael’s dog as much as Ivo’s so I assume that bringing Ruka home was high on Michael’s priority list when he came home yesterday, judging from the way they both love that dog. But I don’t have any way of knowing.

  • Matthew

    Folks: I just received a report that Ruka is out of the pound and was just seen walking with Michael on the Promenade this morning.

  • avg joe

    Its amazing to hear everyone talking about how they knew it was this guy and how weird he was. The NYPD was in the brooklyn heights area for seven straight days asking for the community to help, distributing fliers, trying to talk to the community and was made to feel as if they were bothering the neighborhood. Now that the boogie man was caught in their own back yard, only two people say thank you to the NYPD and the rest worry about the well being of the dog. Maybe the next time a law enforcement officer asks for your help, you just might be helping yourself or your loved ones. Thank the officers you see for risking their lives on a daily basis. They deal with the darkest of situations so that you dont have to! They are not all perfect as you can see in the recent news, but no one is perfect.

  • Publius

    Avg Joe:

    Your points are well taken. However, if wierdness were a criteria to inform to the police, the cops would be innundated, because half this city could be considered wierd.

    I don’t see why we can’t discuss both the case and the innocent dog at the same time. It’s like walking and chewing gum, most people can handle it.

    BTW, I saw the dog (Ruka) today on the Promenade and he’s doing fine.

  • jenny

    Thank you Matthew and Publius for the updates on Ruka. I haven’t checked the dialogue for a couple of days, but was inquirying with Sammy at Pets Emporium for firther updates. Glad to know he is safe, and back at home. Good to know there are people out there, whose hearts are big enough to embrace both the humans and the animals of this world.

  • spm

    Now that we know the dog is safe, this roommate Michael is home and Ivo is in custody, and will almost definitely do jail time, does anyone know if he acted alone? I haven’t been able to find anymore information on him.

    And as for not making the NYPD feel welcome, I don’t think that’s the case. When they were out on the corner with the flyers and showing themselves, I saw numerous people speaking with them and thanking them. I certainly appreciate what they’ve done. Interestingly enough, I ran into them every night for that week in front of 58 Remsen as I was walking my dog. As an article mentioned that Ivo had been a suspect since September, my feeling is that they were keeping an eye on the guy for months.

  • Annette

    Thanks for all the Ruka updates. For the record, yes, many of us, myself included, may have thought Ivo was strange, but that doesn’t mean I thought he was up to no good. When I said very early on I just knew it was this guy, what I meant was that the descriptions in the newspaper pointed directly at him. I knew where he lived, I knew he shared a 1 BR apartment, I knew (of) the roommate (having seen them both walking Ruka), and all those things pointed to me knowing who he was. Did I think he was strange? Yeah, a bit; did I suspect criminal activity? Nope, sorry, just never got that vibe.

    And just because I (and others) were concerned over Ruka in no way intimates that we are NOT grateful to the NYPD. Whoever made THAt leap is reading way more into everything.

    So – that being said, it seems as though all is as it should be now: Ivo in custody and Ruka out of the pound. Honestly, that’s all we wanted, I think.

    Thanks to NYPD and all the bloggers.

    -Annette

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