Dias Kadyrbayev and Azamat Tazhayakov, from Boratstan but Straight Outta Cambridge

Dias Kadyrbayev and Azamat Tazhayakov, 19, were charged Wednesday with conspiracy to obstruct justice by conspiring to destroy, conceal and cover up tangible objects belonging to [Djoker] Tsarnaev, namely a laptop computer and backpack containing fireworks. ...

Kadyrbayev, a citizen of Kazakhstan who entered the United States on a student visa, faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine if convicted.

UMass Dartmouth says Kadyrbayev is no longer a student there. His profile on the VK Russian social network site says he is a member of the class of 2015 at the School of Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. However, Sara McDonnell, assistant media relations manager at MIT, said, "There is no registered MIT student of that name." ....

Kadyrbayev first met Tsarnaev in the fall of 2011 at UMass and became better friends with him the following spring, he told investigators. ...

Kadyrbayev's VK "world view" is Islam, his "personal priority" is listed as "improving the world" and next to "Important in others" he has listed "kindness and honesty." He has listed his views on smoking and alcohol as "very negative." ....

Kadyrbayev indicates his music preferences are Gucci Mane, Ralph Cieli and Juicy J.

...Azamat Tazhayakov is a Kazakhstan national, a pretty good soccer player and a 19-year-old accused of helping the suspected Boston Marathon bomber get away with the crime.

In Kazakhstan, Tazhayakov grew up in Atyrau and graduated from Miras International School in Astana, according to his Facebook page. At the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth, he played in the indoor soccer league and made the all-star team, league records show.

The school said Wednesday he has been suspended pending the outcome of the case.

West Kazakhstan Today [is that like the USA Today of West Kazakhstan?] reported April 26 that Tazhayakov's father, Ismagoulov Amir Tazhayakhovich, a deputy on the city council of the family's hometown Atyrau, planned to fly to Boston to see his son, who had been arrested on immigration charges.

The father is a "well-known businessman" who chairs the board of directors of Abylaikhan Group JSC, a residential home builder, the newspaper reported. ...

Robel Phillipos

Robel Phillipos, charged with lying to authorities investigating the Boston Marathon bombings, was the first friend to recognize Dzhokar Tsarnaev's photo on TV news and alert the two other university students accused of aiding the suspect, according to the FBI affidavit released Wednesday.

Phillipos, Tsarnaev and Dias Kadyrbayev and Azamat Tazhayakov attended the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth. Phillipos, 19, of Cambridge, was studying marketing, but the university said Wednesday he is not currently enrolled.

With Tsarnaev, he was a 2011 graduate of the prestigious [?] Cambridge Rindge and Latin School, the city schools' superintendent's office said.

Phillipos, a U.S. citizen, lives with his mother, who is from Ethiopia and works with refugees, WHDH-TV reported. Their Cambridge apartment is next to the gas station where the Tsarnaev brothers carjacked a vehicle before getting into the shootouta with police in which 26-year-old Tamerlan Tsarnaev was killed.

"Robel is a nice boy, very nice kid," said neighbor Tecleverhan Mengistu, who has known the family for 15 years.