sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2002/03/20/MN192427.DTL
A remote-controlled submarine spotted the human body 220 feet below the surface of the Tuolomne County lake underneath the Parrotts Ferry Bridge, said Nick Rossi, spokesman for the FBI's Sacramento office. Investigators have been searching the water since Saturday. On Sunday, authorities found two male bodies 300 feet below the water's surface. And on Monday, divers pulled another male body out of the lake. Authorities believe the four bodies found since Sunday are connected to a body discovered floating on the lake in October. The man, identified as Meyer Muscatel, was found with his hands tied behind his back and a hood covering his head. Muscatel was a 58-year-old Sherman Oaks (Los Angeles County) contractor who disappeared in October. His family said he was scheduled to meet with some business associates before he vanished. The bodies found this week were recovered by a remotely operated submersible vehicle and brought to the surface by divers. Agents, sheriff's deputies and divers from Sacramento and Tuolumne and Calaveras counties are assisting with the search. ORGANIZED CRIME LINK Agents learned that one or more bodies had been dumped in the lake by an organized crime ring, Rossi said. John Pasquariello, a spokesman for the Los Angeles Police Department, said detectives had been working with Los Angeles FBI agents and were led to New Melones Lake after "making certain discoveries" during an investigation into the Russian mob. AUTOPSIES SCHEDULED Agents and police are divulging few details about their probe. So far, the identities of the bodies have not been released, nor have their preliminary causes of death. Matthew McLaughlin, a spokesman for the FBI's Los Angeles field office, said agents were being secretive about the investigation to protect other potential victims. He would not even confirm that his office was heading up the investigation. Divers originally searched Don Pedro Reservoir, east of Modesto. When they didn't find anything, they moved to New Melones, a 12,500-acre reservoir that supplies irrigation water to the San Joaquin Valley. Chronicle staff writer Jaxon VanDerbeken contributed to this report from Los Angeles.
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