Joseph Tashjian is a career criminal and a murderer, who himself was murdered just after his acquittal.
History[]
Tashjian ran a tax evasion operation involving imported goods, recruiting desperate family man Isaac Shore to join him. Isaac’s family jewelry business benefited secretly from Tashjian’s profits from smuggled and counterfeit products. Isaac’s brother Ezra found out the truth, and despite Isaac wanting out, Tashjian threatening the entire Shore family if he stopped or told the police. Ezra wanted to reasonably speak with Tashjian and implored him to cut Isaac out of the scam. Tashjian had none of it and killed Ezra violently with a cane.
Isaac kept quiet to protect his wife and his son Caleb, even after three black-American boys were arrested on suspicion of a hate crime murder, as they pummeled Ezra when he was already dead and burned his remains. They were cleared and absolved of murder charges, but Isaac panicked and said he killed Ezra so Tashjian wouldn’t target the rest of the family. Tashjian was found out and arrested, after which Isaac’s collusion was found from his and Tashjian’s records. Isaac was threatened with all his earnings repossessed if he didn’t testify, so he took the deal and told the trial jury how he saw Tashjian kill Ezra. Tashjian’s lawyer convinced the jury Isaac can’t be trusted, and Tashjian was acquitted on grounds of reasonable doubt. The Jewish community was furious by the injustice.
Isaac waited for Tashjian outside the courtroom and shot him dead, just before he was arrested. (L&O: “The Fertile Fields”)