2 Convicted In Queens Murder-For-Hire Of Business Rival: Prosecutors

QUEENS, NY — Two New Yorkers have been convicted of murder for hire in the 2019 killing of Xin "Chris" Gu outside a karaoke bar in Queens, prosecutors announced Wednesday.

A federal jury in Brooklyn returned a guilty verdict against 55-year-old Qing Ming Yu, also known as "Allen," from Oyster Bay, and 35-year-old Zhe Zhang, also known as "Zack," from Flushing, on both counts of an indictment charging them with murder-for-hire and murder-for-hire conspiracy in connection with Gu's death.

Each will face a mandatory term of life in prison, officials said.

Allen Yu was the president of Amaco, a multi-million dollar construction company that renovated apartments in New York City. In 2015, Xin Gu joined Amaco as a project manager.

Although Amaco’s business nearly quadrupled after he joined the company, Xin Gu became concerned about the company’s financial viability and resigned in 2018 to start his own property development company called KG Management, according to officials.

After Gu left, several clients and other employees cut ties with Qing Ming Yu's business. Multiple companies took their high-value projects to Gu's new company, officials said.

"Enraged at Xin Gu’s perceived disloyalty, Qing Ming Yu hired co-conspirator You You and Zhe Zhang to kill Xin Gu in exchange for payment," prosecutors wrote in a news release. "Zhang in turn hired another co-conspirator, Antony Abreu, to assist in carrying out the murder."

On the evening of February 11, 2019, into the following morning, Xin Gu’s new company hosted a celebration of the Lunar New Year at Lake Pavilion restaurant in Flushing, officials said. After that dinner, Xin Gu and a smaller group went to the Grand Slam KTV karaoke bar on Fowler Avenue.

"The hit team learned of the party, and with You You acting as a lookout and Zhe Zhang serving as the getaway driver, Abreu allegedly shot the victim multiple times as he waited for an Uber, killing him," officials said. "Over the next three months, Qing Ming Yu paid $150,000 to You You for the murder."

You You pleaded guilty to murder-for-hire conspiracy in June 2023 and is awaiting sentencing. Abreu is awaiting trial.

"[Gu] worked long hours to start his own company only to be murdered execution-style by these treacherous defendants who thought nothing of snuffing out a human life as part of their own business plan," United States Attorney Breon Peace said in the news release. "Thanks to the jury, and the outstanding work of the prosecutors, NYPD detectives and FBI special agents, justice has been served and the defendants will be deservedly punished for this vicious killing."