Nephew of NYC murder-for-hire suspect hoped killing would be ‘shortcut to success’

The nephew of a Manhattan property developer accused of paying to have his disloyal protégé whacked said he helped his uncle plan the killing because he saw it as his “shortcut to success.”

Taking the stand in Brooklyn Federal Court, government cooperator You You told jurors his uncle, Qui Ming “Allen” Yu, 55, called him into a meeting in Kissena Park in Queens and made an extraordinary ask — he wanted his former employee killed.

Yu is on trial for ordering the Feb. 12, 2019 execution of his former worker, Xin “Chris” Gu — who left his company the previous August and took several high-ticket clients and employees with him.

The jilted businessman tapped his nephew to plan the killing, and asked You to bring his street-savvy weed supplier and friend, Zhe Zhang, along for the ride, You told the jury Thursday.

“I agreed,” You testified. “At the time, I feel it was the right thing to do and I feel it was a shortcut to success and I took it.”

You, 35, who took the stand on Wednesday and Thursday, worked with Gu, 31, at his uncle’s company, and never much cared for the man, he said.

“We were kind of like frenemies,” he added. “We acted like we was cool … He didn’t like me, I didn’t like him.”

Prosecutors say Yu paid his nephew $150,000 to plot the murder, which took place after Gu treated his employees to a Lunar New Year party at a Flushing restaurant. Gu was gunned down while leaving the after-party at a nearby karaoke bar.

Zhang, 35, was lured in with a promise that Yu would hand over his business so he and You could make millions in the apartment renovation trade, the nephew said. That promise never materialized, and You kept the $150,000 for himself — paying $100,000 he owed to another weed connect and spending the rest on himself, he said.

Part of that money went to a fancy BMW, and an exotic pet, a $5,000 finger monkey. He and Zhang each bought one of the tiny simians — “He got the female, I got the male,” You testified.

Prosecutors allege that Zhang served as the getaway driver and recruited the trigger man, Antony Abreu, 35, paying him with a pricey Richard Mille watch. Abreu is slated to go on trial at a later date.

During his testimony, You discussed his criminal past — how he came to the U.S. from China at age 12 with his parents, started experimenting with drugs and selling pot as a teenager, then joining the Mo Ming Pai gang. He used ketamine on a daily basis for about two years starting in 2008, he said.

He also committed robberies with his fellow gang members, including his childhood best friend David “Potato” Yu, who he pulled into the murder scheme without telling his co-conspirators, he testified.

You took the jury through several months of text messages between him and Zhang in the lead-up to the early-a.m. killing. He said he rented an Enterprise van so he wouldn’t use his own car, bought burner phones, then met with Abreu and Zhang the day of the party.

Ultimately, he got skittish, he said, and drove the van up the block and away from Zhang and Abreu, supposedly so he and David Yu could keep an eye out for police. You said he “took a little nap” while he waited.

“David woke me up. That’s when the shooting happened,” You said, recalling how his friend told him, “Mister, mister! They did it, they really did it! We’ve gotta go.”

A month later, You, his uncle and Zhang met at an upstate Buddhist temple to discuss the killing, and how they’d get paid, he said.

Yu’s lawyer, James Kasourous, tried to carve into You’s credibility during his cross-examination — pointing out how he “used” his childhood friend, David Yu, by putting him into dangerous situations like making him rob drug deals he was involved in.

He also grilled You about his relationship with his uncle and whether he felt he lost his job at the property development company because of Gu’s ambitions.

“You had problems with Chris,” Kasourous said “You thought it was him being two-faced.”

You replied, “I  see right through what he was doing. It was just that Allen couldn’t see it.”

You left his uncle’s company after a blow-out in May 2018, though he insisted on the stand he quit and wasn’t fired. He didn’t speak to Yu again until he was in the hospital in September, a month before the alleged murder plot began.

Kasourous asked You about a statement he made to investigators that he resented and hated his uncle after losing his job.

“I wouldn’t say I hate him,” You said. “I was angry.”

You’s testimony was scheduled to continue Friday.