Laser Eye Surgeon Michael Mockovak Offers Informant $25,000 to Kill Business Partner

Dr. Mockovak allegedly wanted Russian Mafiosos to "take care" of Clearly Lasik co-owner.

In the spring of 2008, Daniel Kultin, a Russian emigre and IT guy for Clearly Lasik in Renton, got a weird request from his boss. Dr. Michael Mockovak, an eye surgeon and part owner of eight Clearly Lasik locations, wanted to know if Kultin had any Russian mafia contacts. The reason: Mockovak wanted to "resolve his issues" with a former employee currently suing Mockovak.

Kultin laughed of Mockovak's question. But a year and a half later, what started off as a joke has now turned very serious, according to King County prosecutors.

According to Kultin, Mockovak's beef was with Brad Klock. The former professional hockey player and president of Clearly Lasik sued Mockovak for wrongful termination after he was fired in 2007.

Kultin told investigators that Mockovak would get angry anytime the doctor had a court date or had to pay an attorney's bill. Once, Mockovak cornered Kultin in the break room to tell him Klock would be traveling to Germany and that it would be the perfect time and place to have him "eliminated."

Clearly Lasik

Mockovak was planning on killing Joseph King while the doctor was on a family vacation in Australia.

Kultin began meeting with a Seattle FBI agent. The agent told him to use a trip to Los Angeles as a pretense to talking to Mockovak about those Mafia connections he was interested in. That's when things got even weirder.

When Kultin met Mockovak at his office the doctor asked to talk outside. There, in the parking lot, Mockovak told him that it wasn't just Klock who was rubbing him the wrong way; Mockovak was also having problems with his business partner, Dr. Joseph King.

King and Mockovak had married a pair of sisters. But after Mockovak's divorce their relationship had been strained. Now they were talking about splitting the business.

Mockovak told Kultin that there was a $5 million dollar life insurance policy out on King. If King became a "stumbling block," they could not only eliminate him, they'd also get rich in the bargain since Mockovak was the sole beneficiary.

From there, Kultin, advised by the FBI, told Mockovak that a boyhood friend had connections with a Russian Crime group who, for $25,000 could arrange to have King murdered in what would look like a carjacking "gone bad."

At a November 6th meeting at Maggiano's in Bellevue, Mockovak told Kultin he wanted the assassination to take place while King was on a family vacation in Australia. He said King usually jogged about five miles every day. In Australia he'd probably run on the beach, said Mockovak, and an ocean drowning sounded like a "not bad" way to get rid of him.

Investigators arrested Mockovak at his home on November 12th. He's now been charged with two counts of solicitation to commit murder in the first degree.

King and his family recently returned from their trip to Australia. Investigators say they're now living in an area hotel where they're, understandably, still fearing for their safety.