The “Litvinenko Affair” has started to make me to feel a bit like Michael Corleone. “Every time I try to get out, they pull me back in!”

The Brits have lived up to their threats and expelled four Russian diplomats. They also plan on suspending negotiations with the Russians over visas, making it more difficult for Russian government officials and citizens to get entry into Britain. David Miliband of the British Foreign Ministry told reporters that “This is a situation the government has not sought and does not welcome. But we have no choice but to address it. We have chosen to expel four diplomats, four particular diplomats, in order to send a clear and proportionate signal to the Russian government about the seriousness of this case.” Well if you want the Russians to take the extradition of Andrei Lugovoi seriously, turning the issue into a full blown diplomatic crisis is probably not the best way. Now the Russian government has pride to stand on.

The Russian Constitution forbids extradition of Russian citizens to other countries for prosecution. But international agreements, Miliband claims, state that Lugovoi could be extradited if he travels outside of Russia.

I wonder how the Russians will answer the British. It wouldn’t surprise me if they suggest a swap of criminals. Lugovoi for Berezovsky or Zakaev. This is what the Russians really want. After all, the trying Berezovsky in absentia just isn’t the same as having him sit in that birdcage in the court room ala Khodorkovsky.

Speaking of Berezovsky, his trial has been suspended after his court appointed lawyer, Aleksander Dudkin, asked for some time to review the case files.

Dudkin discussed his special appointment in an interview with Izvestiia last week. When asked how he came to represent Berezovsky, Dudkin said that it was basically dumb bureaucratic luck. “A telephone message from the court and the manager looked to see who was free and I was.” Dudkin also found it strange that the court appointed a lawyer for an economic crime. When asked how he would defend such a controversial figure as Berezovsky, Dudkin replied that “the case is not personal. Berezovsky or not, there is an obligation to defend him, and it is my duty to do so.” The best answer is line every media outlet is reporting is the following:

Izvestiia: Are you even interested in this case?

Dudkin: Between you and me, I don’t give a damn. I’ve seen more than enough trials in Soviet times. What will the Berezovsky case give me?

Izvestiia: You will become famous. . .

Dudkin: Pff, and what will this do for me? I’m a nobody.

Berezovsky’s legal troubles do not end in Russia. A Brazilian court has asked Interpol to arrest him for his alleged role in a money laundering scheme involving the Corinthians football club. Berezovsky responded that he didn’t know anything about the Brazilian arrest request, saying, “I am not involved in money laundering, nor have I been involved in any dealings connected to Carlos Tevez. I am an Arsenal fan.” He also claimed that the Brazilian charge was “an extension of the Kremlin’s politicized campaign” against him. Yeah that’s it. BAB’s no criminal. It is far more plausible that Putin’s long tentacles are putting the squeeze on the Brazilians. Since Putin is so omnipotent, you think I can ask Putin to put the squeeze on Kevin McHale so he’ll trade Kevin Garnett to the Lakers?

The Brazilian indictment might just be the beginning of BAB’s international legal woes. Kommersant reports that a “well-informed Moscow source” told Interfax that “The Brazilian court’s warrant for Berezovsky is just the first step. A number of other countries which have claims against the businessman may soon take similar steps.” No countries were specified, but the source claimed that “two or three European states” were among several countries “in active cooperation with Russia on organized crime and money laundering.” If true, I would imagine that Switzerland has a good case considering all the money laundering front companies BAB set up there in the 1990s.

Makes you wonder how Britain will respond if more countries follow the Brazilian example.

Another twist was added to the “Litvinenko Affair” on Sunday. The Sunday Telegraph features an article about Norberto Andrade, the waiter who served Litvinenko, Vyacheslav Sokolenko, Andrei Lugovoi, and Dmitri Kovtun at the Pine Bar at the Millennium Hotel in London the night of Litvinenko’s infamous poisoning. Andrade claims that while he didn’t actually see the poison delivered, he believes that he was deliberately distracted so that polonium could be sprayed into a teapot of green tea.

“When I was delivering gin and tonic to the table, I was obstructed. I couldn’t see what was happening, but it seemed very deliberate to create a distraction. It made it difficult to put the drink down.

“It was the only moment when the situation seemed unfriendly and something went on at that point. I think the polonium was sprayed into the teapot. There was contamination found on the picture above where Mr Litvinenko had been sitting and all over the table, chair and floor, so it must have been a spray.”

As a veteran waiter myself, I have an idea of what Andrade is talking about. There you are with a bunch of drinks your patrons ordered and when you dutifully bring said order, the customers make it difficult to serve it. Um like, hello, there is a person standing here and this tray is kinda heavy. My question is was Andrade’s experience really a distraction or merely indifference? Andrade is assuming that the four men actually acknowledged his existence when he was serving the table. Given the lavishness of the Pine Bar, it wouldn’t surprise me if customers regularly ignored the presence of the “help”.

But be that as it may, Andrade was there and I wasn’t, and he could have indeed been distracted. (Having customers look at me stupid, if they ever did at all, was one reason, among many, why I got out of that biz.) Plus the fact that Andrade is now convinced that something was amiss that night is perfectly normal. With knowing that he served Litvinenko’s last cup of tea, along with the constant loop of the incident in his mind, I’m sure a lot of what would normally be considered ordinary that night, now seems unusual, deliberate, and well planned.

In addition to being distracted, Andrade also claims that when he poured out the radioactive brew he noticed that “the contents of the teapot had turned a “funny colour”.

“When I poured the remains of the teapot into the sink, the tea looked more yellow than usual and was thicker - it looked gooey,” he recalled to the Telegraph. “I scooped it out of the sink and threw it into the bin. I was so lucky I didn’t put my fingers into my mouth, or scratch my eye as I could have got this poison inside me.”

Later investigators found the picture hanging above where Litvinenko was sitting was contaminated, suggesting that the assassin’s method of delivery was probably a spray.

Since the murder was made public, Andrade claims that he’s suffered from nightmares and fears for the safety of his wife and two grandchildren. I doubt the disclosure of his story to the Telegraph will do anything to alleviate those fears. Some advice. Watch you back, brother. Watch your back.

The article doesn’t indicate the role Andrade’s testimony is playing in the investigation. But according to Alexander Goldfarb, a friend and spokesman for the Litvinenko family, the revelation is “extremely significant” evidence, adding that,”Up until now [British authorities] asked all of us not to say anything publicly which might be constituted as evidence at the trial. Possibly, they have decided that they’re not going to get Mr. Lugovoi and have him stand trial.”

As far as I know, Andrade is the first witness to go public with testimony. While his words are hardly grounds for strong evidence, perhaps they symbolize more to come in the coming weeks? Time will tell. At least it will give the story a bit more life in the bowels of our ever digesting news cycle.