Queens Businessman Slain In Front Of Son Over Unpaid Loan: Feds

OZONE PARK, QUEENS -- Three men are accused of murdering an Ozone Park business owner in front of his son, who they allegedly targeted after he didn't repay the money they loaned him.

Ppassim "Big Sam" Elder, the group's 38-year-old ringleader from Staten Island, and two other Brooklyn men were indicted on Thursday for the murder of Hani Kasem after months of threatening him and his son to get back the money, federal prosecutors said.

Elder allegedly sent the two men - Dwayne Ling, 55, and Frederick McCoy, 52 - to murder the owner of Garden Valley Distributors on Oct. 23, 2017 in front of his son, who couldn't afford to repay a loan Elder had given him to support the family-run business months ago, according to the charges.

"As alleged in the court filings, defendant Ppassim Elder exploited a business owner's need for a loan and sent his enforcers to try to collect it, ultimately leading to a senseless and tragic murder," said Richard Donoghue, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York. "No son should ever watch his father be killed."

The alleged threats started in March 2017 when Elder demanded the loan be repaid in full, which the son could not afford after spending all the money on merchandize for Garden Valley, the charges state.

Elder allegedly retaliated with a slew of intimidation stunts, which included paying a fourth defendant - Mahdi Abdel-Rahim, 24, of Brooklyn - to throw a rock through a window of the family's home.

"When criminals loan money to business owners, they know they're never going to get repaid - It's why they loan out the money," said William Sweeney, assistant director-in-charge of the FBI's New York office. "Once they have the victim on the hook, they use threats, intimidation and violence to harass their victims."

The harassment went on for months until Ling, McCoy and a third coconspirator marched into Garden Valley wearing blazers and told Kasem and his son that "Big Sam" - Elder's nickname - had sent them to collect the loan money, prosecutors said.

The three then allegedly pulled out a gun, pistol-whipped the son and shot Kasem in the face.

Elder, Ling, McCoy and Abdel-Rahim were arrested at various locations in early March. All four men were charged with extortionate collection of credit conspiracy and extortionate collection of credit. Elder, Ling and McCoy were charged with brandishing a firearm to further those crimes and with the father's murder.

If convicted, the three face up to life in prison, while Abdel-Rahim faces up to 20 years behind bars.

Lead photo via Shutterstock.