United Russia lawmaker found dead

The body of a central Russia regional lawmaker has been discovered stuffed into a barrel of cement near Moscow, investigators said on Monday. Mikhail Pakhomov, 36, a legislator in the Lipetsk city parliament with the ruling United Russia party, was reported missing early last week and a murder investigation was opened, RIA Novosti reported. Twelve people have been arrested in connection with his death, investigators also said, adding that Yevgeny Kharitonov, 40, a former Moscow Region housing utilities official, is suspected of ordering Pakhomov’s murder. Kharitonov was arrested earlier on Monday on board a flight from Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport to the south Russia city of Krasnodar as the plane was preparing for take-off. Kharitonov is believed to have ordered Pakhonom’s murder over unpaid debts, investigators said. Pakhomov had been a United Russia member since 2003.