Edward Mazur
Marek Papala
Pictures of his funeral in 1998
Posted on 10/26/2006 11:39:30 AM PDT by lizol
U.S. suspect in Poland murder to fight extradition
By Andrew Stern Wed Oct 25, 7:54 PM ET
CHICAGO (Reuters) - A Polish-born Chicago businessman accused by Polish authorities of soliciting the murder of the nation's police chief in 1998 will fight extradition, his lawyer said on Wednesday.
Edward Mazur, 60, was arrested last week and held on charges he offered $40,000 for the murder of Marek Papala, former chief of the Polish National Police. The charges were brought more than a year ago in Poland.
Papala was shot once in the head and killed as he was getting out of a car in front of his home in Warsaw the night of June 25, 1998.
Mazur's attorney, Christopher Gair, said he would argue in U.S. court that the wealthy investor has been wrongly implicated, and that special circumstances called for his release on bond and then a denial of Poland's extradition request.
"They are trying to extradite a U.S. citizen based on the testimony of an accomplice who is a convicted perjurer," Gair told U.S. Magistrate Judge Arlander Keys.
Keys granted Gair's request to hold a November 15 hearing on Mazur's possible bond. An extradition hearing will be held later.
"Extradition is almost automatic -- almost," in a case like this one, Keys told Gair. "I see no special circumstances."
According to the complaint filed by the U.S. Attorney's office in Chicago, which is representing the Polish government in the case, Mazur was accused of offering Artur Zirajewski $40,000 in April 1998 to kill Papala.
Mazur also solicited Andrzej Zielinski to commit the murder, but both men were arrested before Papala's murder, the complaint said.
Zirajewski said he had met with organized crime and narcotics trafficking figures at a Gdansk hotel and later with a man named Mazur, who called Papala an obstacle, according to the complaint.
It said that Mazur also told Zirajewski that Papala was under surveillance and asked Zielinski if he knew of someone who would accept a contract to kill Papala.
Mazur, who was born in Lubzin and has lived in the United States for the past 44 years, holds U.S. and Polish citizenship.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Mitchell Mars said the Polish government opposes granting Mazur his release on bond.
The judge would not allow Mazur, who appeared in court in an orange prison jumpsuit, to meet with his wife and sons who attended the hearing.
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