WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - US authorities sentenced a Russian national known as "thief-in-law" Razhden Shulaya of Saint Petersburg, to 45 years in prison on several charges, including criminal conspiracy, extortion, theft and handling stolen goods, the Department of Justice said in a press release on Thursday.

"Razhden Shulaya, a vor v zakone or 'thief-in-law,' was sentenced today to 45 years in prison," the release said. "[He] engaged in widespread criminal activities, including acts of violence, extortion, the operation of illegal gambling businesses, fraud on various casinos, identity theft, credit card frauds, trafficking in large quantities of stolen goods."

Shulaya was also involved in money laundering through a fake vodka import-export company, bribing New York police, and running a Brooklyn-based brothel, the release said.

In addition to the prison sentence, the 41-years-old man was given three years of supervised release and ordered to pay more than $2 million in forfeiture and restitution in the amount of $550,000.

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Shulaya — also known as "Brother," "Pitersky" and "Roma" — was the leader of an organized crime group, The Shulaya Enterprise, the release said. The group was comprised of individuals who were responsible for particular illegal activities and were based across the United States, particularly in New Jersey, Florida, Nevada and Pennsylvania. Shulaya himself committed a number of brutal beatings and assaults, the Justice Department said.

The sentencing was previously postponed multiple times while many of his former associates were cooperating with the Federal Bureau of Investigation.