Life sentence to head of the 'Sýkorovci' gang

The kingpin of the Bratislava 'Sýkorovci' gang Robert Lališ, nicknamed Kybel (Bucket), received a life sentence from the Specialised Criminal Court in Banská Bystrica on Wednesday. A life sentence was also given to Jozef Rohač, nicknamed Potkan (Rat), who is currently held in custody in Hungary, and Ivan Cuper, nicknamed Vinco (Vince). The verdict is not yet valid. The defendants faced charges of six murders committed in the late 1990's and the crime of founding, supporting and organising a crime group. Another gang member identified by court only as Martin B. 'Russian' pleaded guilty to all charges and received 23 years in jail. Witnesses in the process confirmed that Lališ was at the top of the criminal hierarchy. According to testimonies, the gang's main income stemmed from extortion and murders and all profits flowed to Lališ, who ruled the gang with an iron fist. All of his orders had to be obeyed to the letter, no defiance was condoned, said the witnesses. No one could trust anyone.