United States officials have accused 33 people of criminal activity, including stealing 4,500 kilograms of chocolate and a “murder for hire" plot. Murder for hire is when someone offers to pay an individual to kill another person. Federal law enforcement officials in New York City announced the charges last week. All those charged have ties to a Russian-organized crime group that operated throughout the United States, said Joon Kim. He is the acting U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York. William Sweeney Jr. is with the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation. He said that the 33 people charged in the case tried to make as much money as possible, all allegedly organized and run by a man who promised to protect them. “But that protection didn’t include escaping justice,” Sweeney added. Kim said the 33 defendants are accused of what he called a “dizzying” number of crimes. He said the Russian criminal group is known as Shulaya Enterprises. The charges include stealing a shipment of 4,500 kilograms of chocolate. That is equal to over 80,000 candy bars.