Vardan Kushnir, Russia’s spam king. He sent out over 25 million emails a day, finally ending in an open battle with Russia’s Deputy Minister of Communications in which the Deputy Minister had to concede defeat.

He spent his days fine tuning his spam system; his nights boozing, snorting coke and attending orgies. While decadently shooting money up his nose and down his hose, he refused to pay his employees, handing them Scientology pamphlets to ‘calm themselves’ when they complained. Meanwhile, he would openly flaunt expensive silk scarves, and brag to his underlings of his previous night’s adventures with a mother-daughter sex team.

Then, last July, his mother came home to Kushnir’s apartment to find him in a pool of blood, bludgeoned to death. Russia’s papers were unsympathetic: “THE SPAMMER HAD IT COMING.” The crime remains unsolved; the police are not forthcoming about their investigations.

The Sleazy Life and Nasty Death of Russia’s Spam King [Wired]

Want more consumer news? Visit our parent organization, Consumer Reports, for the latest on scams, recalls, and other consumer issues.