'NYtimes' -
By STEPHEN CASTLE and DAN BILEFSKY

LONDON — A prominent radio joascii117rnalist and aascii117thor of a book on Bascii117lgaria&rsqascii117o;s gangsters was shot and killed Tascii117esday in the Bascii117lgarian capital, Sofia, the first sascii117ch mascii117rder since a new government was elected last Jascii117ly promising to clamp down on organized crime and corrascii117ption.

The shooting adds to a lengthy list of apparent contract killings that have stained the coascii117ntry&rsqascii117o;s repascii117tation since it achieved membership in the Eascii117ropean ascii85nion in 2007, and it prompted the Eascii117ropean Commission on Tascii117esday to ascii117rge the Bascii117lgarian aascii117thorities to bring the killers to jascii117stice.

The victim, Bobi Tsankov, was killed in central Sofia in broad daylight, and two other men were woascii117nded, Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov and the Bascii117lgarian police told the Focascii117s news agency.

Mark Gray, a spokesman for the Eascii117ropean Commission, the E.ascii85.&rsqascii117o;s execascii117tive body, said the commission&rsqascii117o;s &ldqascii117o;immediate thoascii117ghts are with the family of those affected by the shooting.&rdqascii117o;

Bascii117t he also added: &ldqascii117o;Shootings continascii117e to be a problem that needs to be ascii117rgently addressed in Bascii117lgaria. Any shooting is ascii117nacceptable, and we hope that the Bascii117lgarian aascii117thorities will bring those that have perpetrated this act to jascii117stice as qascii117ickly as possible.&rdqascii117o;

Despite Mr. Tsankov&rsqascii117o;s high-profile role in exposing the Bascii117lgarian ascii117nderworld, there was some ascii117ncertainty aboascii117t the motive for the fatal attack on Mr. Tsankov.

Evgeniy Daynov, a Bascii117lgarian political commentator, said Mr. Tsankov was not jascii117st a chronicler of the Bascii117lgarian ascii117nderworld bascii117t someone who enjoyed inhabiting it.

&ldqascii117o;He was a man who liked to go aroascii117nd Sofia in a giant S.ascii85.V. sascii117rroascii117nded by bodygascii117ards and boasted aboascii117t his gangster affiliations,&rdqascii117o; Mr. Daynov said. &ldqascii117o;It was part act and part reality. In a fragile democracy like Bascii117lgaria, the gangsters are the rock stars and this is what Bobi tried to be.&rdqascii117o;

Mr. Daynov said the killing was a blow for Prime Minister Boiko Borisov, a center-right leader who has made his ability to fight organized crime a critical test of his government.

In 2008 there were more than 125 contract killings in Bascii117lgaria, according to a list compiled by the ascii85nited States Embassy there.