A Corona hitman was found guilty of killing a man outside a Flushing karaoke bar in exchange for a $100,000 wristwatch in 2019.
Antony Abreu, 36, was convicted by a federal jury on Tuesday on both counts on an indictment charging him with murder-for-hire and murder-for-hire conspiracy in connection to the fatal shooting of 31-year-old Xin “Chris” Gu at the Grand Slam KTV on Fowler Avenue on Feb. 12, 2019.
The verdict followed a two-week trial before U.S. District Judge Carol Bagley Amon in Brooklyn federal court. When sentenced, Abreu faces a mandatory term of life in prison. Abreu’s three co-conspirators were previously convicted and are awaiting sentencing.
“With today’s conviction of Abreu, a cold-blooded triggerman who executed a young man in exchange for an expensive wristwatch, this office has held all conspirators responsible for this murder plot driven by greed and revenge,” U.S. Attorney Breon Peace said.
As proven at trial, Abreu was hired to murder Gu as part of a revenge scheme orchestrated by Gu’s former boss, Allen Yu, whose business, Amaco, lost substantial business when Gu left to start his own property development company. Enraged at Gu’s perceived disloyalty, Yu hired co-conspirators You You and Zhe Zhang to kill Gu in exchange for payment. Zhang, in turn, hired Abreu to carry out the murder.
On the evening of Feb. 11, 2019, and into the following pre-dawn hours, Gu’s new company hosted a Lunar New Year celebration at Lake Pavilion restaurant in Flushing. After dinner, Gu and a smaller group went to the Grand Slam KTV. When Gu left the bar and was getting into his Uber, Abreu approached and shot Gu multiple times at close range, killing him.
In exchange for committing the murder, Zhang gave Abreu a luxury Richard Mille wristwatch valued at $100,000.
“The victim was marked for death simply because he was pursuing the American dream by starting his own company,” Peace said. “Chris Gu was celebrating his promising future and the Chinese New Year when his life was violently ended in the street without warning. His killers will spend the rest of their lives in prison.”
In the days following the murder, in an effort to avoid detection, Abreu sold the car he used in the murder to a relative and sold a burner phone used to facilitate the execution. In the months following the murder, Abreu repeatedly bragged about committing the hit to various associates and posted on social media about the wristwatch Zhang had given him. After his arrest, Abreu obtained a contraband cell phone in jail, which he used to attempt to intimidate and retaliate against government witnesses in the case and to make payments to potential defense witnesses.
You You pleaded guilty to murder-for-hire conspiracy in June 2023 and is awaiting sentencing. Allen Yu and Zhang were convicted at trial in October 2023 and face mandatory life sentences when they are sentenced.
“The tireless work of the detectives, agents, and prosecutors in this case helped hold to full account the men responsible for this murder,” NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban said. “This is another example of our agencies’ collaborative commitment to public safety, and further proof that no one is beyond the reach of the law.”
