Florin Krasniqi
Encyclopedia
Florin Krasniqi is a Kosovar
-American businessman, political activist and member of VETËVENDOSJE!
, sneaking into the country across the border from Mexico in the trunk of a white Cadillac on Christmas Eve, 1988, aged 24. He started out as a roofer and is former owner of Triangle General Contractors, a roofing company in Brooklyn, New York.
In 1998-99, he raised $30 million from the Albanian community in the United States for the Kosovo Liberation Army
(KLA) and smuggled hundreds of high-powered American sniper rifles to Kosovo for guerrillas, which were distributed by his extended family clan in the region. One of his cousins, Adrian Krasniqi, was one of the founding members of the KLA, an engineering student in Pristina
in 1996 when he purportedly lost faith in Kosovo's government and joined a cell of the then-underground KLA. He headed up the rebels' weapons-smuggling operation and was the first guerrilla to die in a KLA uniform. Another cousin, Xhevdet Krasniqi, was also involved in the weapons-smuggling.
with his Polish
-born wife, Danuta ("Danusha"). She had emigrated from Poland and, in 1990, met Florin Krasniqi at a time when she hardly spoke any English. She hoped to run into him again by calling the cab company where he worked whenever she needed a ride. After several months of trying, a cab showed up with Krasniqi behind the wheel. They married in 1997 and have three children.
Kosovar
Kosovar/Kosovan may refer to:* Something of, from, or related to Kosovo, a landlocked region in the Balkans, the majority of which is governed by the partially-recognised Republic of Kosovo....
-American businessman, political activist and member of VETËVENDOSJE!
VETËVENDOSJE!
Vetëvendosje is a radical nationalistic political movement in Kosovo which opposes foreign involvement in internal affairs in the country and campaigns for the sovereignty exercised by the people and government of the Republic of Kosovo instead, as part of the right of self-determination.The...
Background
Krasniqi was a mathematics high-school teacher in Vranoc, Kosovo, when he fled to the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, sneaking into the country across the border from Mexico in the trunk of a white Cadillac on Christmas Eve, 1988, aged 24. He started out as a roofer and is former owner of Triangle General Contractors, a roofing company in Brooklyn, New York.
In 1998-99, he raised $30 million from the Albanian community in the United States for the Kosovo Liberation Army
Kosovo Liberation Army
The Kosovo Liberation Army or KLA was a Kosovar Albanian paramilitary organization which sought the separation of Kosovo from Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in the 1990s....
(KLA) and smuggled hundreds of high-powered American sniper rifles to Kosovo for guerrillas, which were distributed by his extended family clan in the region. One of his cousins, Adrian Krasniqi, was one of the founding members of the KLA, an engineering student in Pristina
Pristina
Pristina, also spelled Prishtina and Priština is the capital and largest city of Kosovo. It is the administrative centre of the homonymous municipality and district....
in 1996 when he purportedly lost faith in Kosovo's government and joined a cell of the then-underground KLA. He headed up the rebels' weapons-smuggling operation and was the first guerrilla to die in a KLA uniform. Another cousin, Xhevdet Krasniqi, was also involved in the weapons-smuggling.
Personal life
Florin Krasniqi travels frequently to Kosovo, where he was reportedly building a multi-million dollar hydroelectric power plant. He is the owner of the Kosova Steel Group company.Family
Florin Krasniqi resides in BrooklynBrooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
with his Polish
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
-born wife, Danuta ("Danusha"). She had emigrated from Poland and, in 1990, met Florin Krasniqi at a time when she hardly spoke any English. She hoped to run into him again by calling the cab company where he worked whenever she needed a ride. After several months of trying, a cab showed up with Krasniqi behind the wheel. They married in 1997 and have three children.
Publications
Several books have been written regarding Krasniqi's overt exploits, such as:- Be Not Afraid, for You Have Sons in America: How a Brooklyn Roofer Helped Lure the U.S. into the Kosovo War was written by Stacy Sullivan and was published in 2004 (ISBN 0-312-28558-2).
- The Brooklyn Connection: How to Build Your Own Guerrilla Army was written by Stacy Sullivan and was made into a film by PBSPublic Broadcasting ServiceThe Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
, directed by DutchNetherlandsThe Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
director Klaartje QuirijnsKlaartje QuirijnsKlaartje Quirijns is a Dutch film and television director and producer. In The Netherlands she worked as a documentary director and producer for the leading public stations ....
, who accompanied Krasniqi one day as he went shopping at an Army/Navy surplus store He has also been featured on 60 Minutes60 Minutes60 Minutes is an American television news magazine, which has run on CBS since 1968. The program was created by producer Don Hewitt who set it apart by using a unique style of reporter-centered investigation....
and in at least one article in The New York TimesThe New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
.
Quotes
- "Anything you need to run a small guerrilla army, you can buy here in America. You have all the guns you need here to fight a war. M-16s. That's what the U.S. soldiers carry in Iraq. All the rifles which U.S. soldiers use in every war, you can buy them in a gun store or a gun show." -- Florin Krasniqi
- "After Sept. 11, he realized 'If I could do this, who else could do this?'" -- director Klaartje QuirijnsKlaartje QuirijnsKlaartje Quirijns is a Dutch film and television director and producer. In The Netherlands she worked as a documentary director and producer for the leading public stations ....
, explaining why KLAKosovo Liberation ArmyThe Kosovo Liberation Army or KLA was a Kosovar Albanian paramilitary organization which sought the separation of Kosovo from Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in the 1990s....
gun runner Florin Krasniqi decided to let the filmmaker tell his story of how he (mostly) legally bought tons of guns in the United States and shipped abroad. Many of the guns were obtained from such outlets as the Barrett Firearms Company and Schwarzman Surplus