Sami Atias, 26, was shot to death in Encino, Los Angeles, on August 31, 2003. Coroner records describe the killing as an execution-style shooting. Investigators later tied the slaying to organized crime and to a dispute over a shipment of Ecstasy that Atias allegedly stole from members of the Abergil crime family.

Prosecutions that followed linked Moshe Malul and others to the murder. Malul pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy charges that included conspiracy to commit murder and conspiracy to import Ecstasy and was sentenced to 15 years; he admitted hiring members of the Vineland Boyz street gang to carry out the killing. Itzhak Abergil also acknowledged that Atias was killed for interfering with a drug deal as part of a broader Ecstasy importation conspiracy described in a federal indictment.

Anyone who knew Atias, saw him in Encino around late August 2003, or has information about the case is asked to come forward.