The president of a Manhattan-based construction company and a California man were convicted of murder-for-hire and murder-for-hire conspiracy in connection with the 2019 killing of a man at a Flushing karaoke bar.
A federal jury in Brooklyn returned a guilty verdict on Oct. 11 on both counts of an indictment charging Qing Ming “Allen” Yu, 55, of Oyster Bay, and Zhe “Zac” Zhang, 35, of Arcadia, Calif., in the killing of 31-year-old Xin “Chris” Gu, who worked at Yu’s company outside the Grand Slam KTV bar of Fowler Avenue.
As proven at trial, Allen Yu was the president of Amaco, a multi-million dollar construction company that renovated apartments in New York City. In 2015, Xin Gu joined Amaco as a project manager. Although Amaco’s business nearly quadrupled after he joined the company, Xin Gu became concerned about the company’s financial viability and resigned in 2018 to start his own property development company called KG Management. After Xin Gu’s departure, several clients and employees also cut ties with Qing Ming Yu’s business. Multiple companies took their lucrative projects from Amaco to KG Management, including one project valued at $1,000,000.
Enraged at Xin Gu’s perceived disloyalty, Qing Ming Yu hired co-conspirator You You and Zhe Zhang to kill Xin Gu in exchange for payment, prosecutors said. Zhang in turn hired another co-conspirator, Antony Abreu, to assist in carrying out the murder.
On the evening of Feb. 11, 2019, into the following morning, Xin Gu’s new company hosted a celebration of the Lunar New Year at Lake Pavilion restaurant in Flushing. After that dinner, Xin Gu and a smaller group went to a karaoke bar, Grand Slam KTV on Fowler Avenue. The hit team learned of the party and with You You acting as a lookout and Zhe Zhang serving as the getaway driver, Abreu allegedly shot the victim multiple times as he waited for an Uber, killing him, according to prosecutors. Over the next three months, Qing Ming Yu paid $150,000 to You You for the murder.
You You pleaded guilty to murder-for-hire conspiracy in June 2023 and is awaiting sentencing. Abreu is awaiting trial.
“The victim worked long hours to start his own company only to be murdered execution-style by these treacherous defendants who thought nothing of snuffing out a human life as part of their own business plan,” U.S. Attorney Breon Peace said. “Thanks to the jury, and the outstanding work of the prosecutors, NYPD detectives and FBI special agents, justice has been served and the defendants will be deservedly punished for this vicious killing.”
The guilty verdict followed a two-week jury trial before U.S. District Judge Carol Bagley Amon. When sentenced Yu and Zhang each face a mandatory term of life in prison.
