BOSTON (AP) – Two men who burst into a Chinatown social club and executed five men playing cards were convicted of murder Wednesday, thanks to a sixth victim who survived a shot to head to testify against them 14 years later.

Nam The Tham, 46, and Siny Van Tran, 48, were each found guilty of five counts of first-degree murder, which carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Both were sentenced shortly after the verdict was read.

The men were implicated by Pak Wing Lee, who survived the 1991 shooting after the bullet shattered his skull but didn’t penetrate his brain. He became the prosecution’s star witness in what is still one of the city’s most gruesome crimes.

“Mr. Lee’s courage was extraordinary,” said Suffolk District Attorney Daniel Conley.

The jury deliberated about 11 hours before returning the verdicts.

Tran’s attorney, Robert George, asked Judge Stephen Neel to impose just one of the mandatory sentences of life without parole, saying, “He only has one life to live.” But Neel said the crimes merited the full penalties available.

“These were particularly heinous crimes,” Neel said. “These were the systematic executions of five human beings and the attempted execution of a sixth.”

Anita Cheung, the daughter of murder victim Man Cheung, read a victim impact statement on behalf of her mother, identified only as Mrs. Man Cheung. In the statement, Mrs. Cheung spoke of the difficulty supporting her three daughters, two of whom were toddlers and one of whom was an infant when her husband was killed. Prosecutor John Powers III said Man Cheung, 55, had stopped by the club on Jan. 12, 1991, because he couldn’t get to sleep that night.

“Having my husband taken away from me was the worst thing that has happened to me,” Mrs. Cheung’s statement read.

“I feel that I have been through a lot and I am happy that the suspects are caught,” the statement read. “However, I feel that this isn’t enough to compensate for my loss of husband and for the years and years of hardship that I went through.”

Anita Cheung declined comment outside the courtroom.

Tran, known as “Toothless Wah,” and Tham, known as “Johnny Cheung,” were arrested in China in 1999 on unrelated charges. They were extradited to the United States in 2001 after lengthy negotiations. A third suspect, Hung Tien Pham, 45, is still being pursued, Conley said. He said the conviction proved prosecutors wouldn’t give up on unsolved crimes.

“This homicide occurred about a five-minute walk from here, and 5,000 miles from here the defendants were captured,” Conley said. “We’re not going to forget about these cases, or the victims of their crimes.”

Tran and Tham showed little emotion as the verdicts were read. George later put his arm around Tran and the two spoke casually. George had argued Tran was among those coming and going from the club that night, but wasn’t among the shooters.

George, who said he would appeal, said his client was disappointed but “pleased with the fact he received what he thought was a fair trial.”

“He dealt with it like he’s dealt with everything else, like a man,” he said.

Tham’s attorney, John Palmer, had questioned Lee’s credibility. Palmer did not immediately return a call Wednesday.

Lee testified he was one of eight people playing cards when three men he knew from the neighborhood burst in with guns and ordered them to kneel on the floor with their hands behind their heads.

Tham walked over to one of the men, who begged him not to fire.

“Then I heard (Tham) fire the gun – bang sound,” Lee testified.

Lee said he heard four other men being shot, then felt the muzzle of a gun on the back of his head before it was fired.

The five men killed, all Chinese nationals, were: Man Cheung; Cuong Kand Luu, 26; David Quang Lam, 32; Chung Wah Son, 58; and Van Tran, 31.

Prosecutors did not detail a motive at the trial. Police said the killings appeared to be part of a dispute between rival gangs vying for control of Chinatown’s gambling rackets.

AP-ES-10-05-05 1809EDT

Copy the Story Link