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Tomo Kovac

Tomo Kovac was a Croatian-German crime boss who served as head of the Kovac clan, the powerful "betting mafia" of Berlin, during the 2010s.

Biography[]

Tomo Kovac was born in SR Croatia, Yugoslavia, and he emigrated to Germany and became a loan shark, eventually becoming boss of the feared Kovac clan of Berlin. Kovac was the head of Berlin's "betting mafia", which made millions of dollars through illegal sports betting in casinos and arcades across the world, as well as through debt collection. In 2018, Tarik-Amir clan underboss Kareem Tarik-Amir approached Kovac with an offer of combining their operations to make both of them even more money, and to help Kareem make more money than his brother Hakim Tarik-Amir, which would allow him to become his clan's new boss. Kareem had sportsmen, referees, and functionaries willing to fix matches, but Kovac was uninterested, and advised Hakim to be grateful for his second-in-command position and to be loyal to his brother. Kareem responded by publicly challenging Tomo to a bet, but Kovac instead humiliated Kareem and challenged him for a 10,000 bet instead. When Kareem said that he did not have the money, and Kovac humiliated him, Kareem offered his birth ring, but Kovac was uninterested. Kareem then said that, if Germany lost, he would flip Kovac his middle finger, and, if Germany won, he would flip Kovac both middle fingers; Kovac took him up on this satirical offer, with both of their clans as witnesses, causing Kareem to panic. However, Kareem agreed to the bargain, and, when Turkey won the game due to Raphael Bou'Penga's coincidental failure to make a penalty shot, Kovac agreed to partner with Kareem. However, the discovery of the footballer Orkan Erdem's murder led to a falling out between the Kovac and Tarik-Amir clans, and the death of a six-year-old girl in a drive-by-shooting during the ensuing gang war resulted in a police crackdown. While Kovac and many of his lieutenants were arrested and questioned about Erdem's murder, Kareem Tarik-Amir bought out most of Kovac's betting shops, effectively shutting down his clan and forcing Kovac to flee Berlin.

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