By Ivan Pereira
Natella Natanova, 39, was arrested around 3:30 p.m. Tuesday at the corner of 108th Street and 65th Avenue and charged with intimidating and tampering with a witness in the case of Forest Hills dentist Dr. Daniel Malakov, who was gunned down in a playground, according to police.Natanova, who is Borukhova's older sister, allegedly told Gavril Malakov Monday that he would be killed if he did not keep quiet during the criminal case against her sister and Mikhail Mallayev, Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said.”You know if you talk, you will be the next to go,” the DA quoted her as saying.Prosecutors contend Borukhova hired Mallayev, her distant uncle, to shoot Daniel Malakov Oct. 28 outside the Annadale Playground in retaliation for his gaining custody of their 5-year-old daughter Michelle.Natanova was expected to be held overnight at the 112th Precinct in Forest Hills and was scheduled to be arraigned in Queens Criminal Court Wednesday morning, according to a spokeswoman for the Queens district attorney's office. If convicted, she could face up to four years in prison.Natanova's family and attorney could not be reached for comment before press time.Daniel Malakov was killed while dropping off Michelle at the playground at 64th Road and Yellowstone Boulevard to meet Borukhova. Michelle was later put into the care of a foster home by the city's Administration of Child Services after a Queens Family Court judge deemed Borukhova unfit to care for the child.During a Family Court hearing after the shooting, state Sen. Diane Savino (D-Staten Island) testified that Natanova and another sister came to her office 10 days before the shooting and asked for help in Michelle's custody case.Savino said she was shocked when Natanova's sister asked questions that the senator described as suspicious.”What if something happens? What if he [Malakov] can't take care of her?” Savino recalled. “What if she [Michelle] disappears?”Malakov's family, who are Bukarian Jewish immigrants from Uzbekistan, have openly accused Borukhova and her family of the murder.In November, police tracked fingerprints on a makeshift silencer left behind by the shooter to Mallayev's fingerprints, which were on file from an 1994 arrest in Manhattan. He was apprehended in his suburban Atlanta home, indicted on murder and weapons possession charges by a Queens grand jury in December, and extradited to New York a month later.In February, police arrested Borukhova on charges of first-degree murder and conspiracy in Malakov's murder. Prosecutors said 91 phone calls were made between Borukhova and Mallayev in the weeks leading up to the shooting, but only two were made after.Prosecutors also said Mallayev deposited nearly $20,000 into a Brooklyn bank one week after the shooting.Both pleaded not guilty and were remanded without bail. If convicted, Borukhova and her uncle could face up to life in prison without parole.Mallayev was expected to return to court Wednesday.Reach reporter Ivan Pereira by e-mail at ipereira@timesledger.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 146.
