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| “ | You're dead! Your family in Bulgaria, dead! I never go to prison, never! Do you understand, bitch! Never! Never go to prison! Never! | „ |
| ~ Petrov threatening a witness. |
Anton Petrov (Bulgarian: Антон Петров) is the main antagonist of the Law & Order: Special Victims Unit episode "Ace". He is a Bulgarian gangster who traffics pregnant women to the U.S. and sells their babies to infertile couples.
He was portrayed by Pasha Lynchnikoff, who also portrayed Daniel Rublev, another villain in the Law & Order universe.
Early life[]
Petrov was once an officer in the Specialized Force for Combating Terrorism (SOBT) in his native Bulgaria, which he left for the United States after he was seen executing a journalist. He joined the Bulgarian mob and settled in New York City, where he began a lucrative scam selling babies on the black market to wealthy, infertile couples.
He would kidnap the babies' mothers from Bulgaria and smuggle them into the U.S.; he would then kill them once they had given birth and outlived their usefulness. He was aided in his scam by fellow trafficker Lilli Denkova and Stephen Ellroy, a corrupt doctor who treated the mothers and fraudulently certified the babies' births in return for a cut of the money and Petrov's silence about his separate Medicare fraud.
In "Ace"[]
When Sophia Zarav, one of the pregnant women Petrov had trafficked, is kidnapped and sexually assaulted by serial rapist Donovan Black, Detectives Olivia Benson and Elliot Stabler of the NYPD's Special Victims Unit investigate her assault and learn that she is staying with Denkova, who is posing as her aunt. They question Denkova, who claims that Zarav never showed up at her house, but a call to the Bulgarian embassy proves that she and Zarav are not related.
They eventually arrest Black and save Zarav, who claims that Denkova was holding her prisoner. They arrest Denkova, but are forced to let her go because they do not have enough evidence to charge her with kidnapping. Soon afterward, she disappears, leading the detectives to believe that she has been murdered by the mastermind of the adoption scam.
The detectives find medical records of suspicious bruises that Zarav suffered prior to being kidnapped, and question Ellroy, who says that Denkova had brought her to him and that both Zarav and her unborn baby were fine. Benson and Stabler then find out that Ellroy had signed a death certificate for Denkova's husband - the only record that the man ever existed. SVU Sergeant John Munch learns that Ellroy had signed three death certificates for men who never existed, and Denkova arranged fake funerals as official reasons to bring the "widows" to the U.S. Benson and Stabler talk to a couple whom Petrov, whom they know as "Mr. Brooks", defrauded by promising them a baby he never produced, and deduce that he and Denkova were business together and that he killed her to tie up loose ends.
Benson and Stabler go undercover as an infertile married couple and meet with "Mr. Brooks", who promises to bring them a baby, Zarav having just given birth to a boy. He shows them a picture of the child and tells them to meet him the following day with the money. As promised, he meets with them and gives them the baby in return for a duffel bag full of money, which allows the detectives to arrest him for human trafficking. Meanwhile, SVU Captain Donald Cragen finds Sarav about to be murdered by one of Petrov's thugs and saves her by shooting the man dead.
While Benson and Stabler interrogate Petrov, Assistant District Attorney Jo Marlowe lies that Denkova had informed on him before he killed her. Petrov calls her bluff, however, saying that there are no witnesses against him, and demands to speak to his lawyer. Sure enough, both Sarav and Ellroy refuse to testify against Petrov, fearing for their lives and those of their families if they cross him. Meanwhile, Petrov's lawyer, John Buchanan, starts representing Ellroy, as well, ensuring that Petrov will find out about anything Ellroy says or does. Finally, Marlowe tells them that Zarav is dead, having been killed in a car bombing.
To ensure that Ellroy testifies against Petrov, Marlowe and Judge Sylvia Quinn arrange for a "shadow prosecution" in which Ellroy testifies to Petrov's innocence in open court while telling the truth in the judge's chambers. In the latter session, Ellroy tells Quinn and Marlowe that Denkova forced him to sign the death certificates, and that he knows where Denkova is buried. Benson and Stabler find Denkova, who had been shot six times in the head. However, Buchanan finds out about the shadow prosecution from one of Petrov's minions and exposes it in open court, leaving Quinn no choice but to exclude Denkova's body as evidence against Petrov.
Just as it seems that Petrov is about to get away with his crimes, however, Marlowe reveals that Zarav is alive; Marlowe faked the car bombing to take Petrov's attention away from a witness who could testify about everything he had done. Petrov threatens to kill Zarav and her entire family, but she replies that she is not afraid of him. Petrov is then found guilty of kidnapping, human trafficking, and several murders, and imprisoned for life.
External links[]
- Anton Petrov on the Law & Order Wiki
