Posted on 06/03/2007 7:08:06 AM PDT by Tinian
To Marian Mazurkiewicz, the life he had in central Missouri was “like heaven.”
Three years from retirement as a researcher and professor at the University of Missouri-Rolla, Mazurkiewicz had a house on 30 acres, where he hunted turkey and deer.
“I had the house I wanted to live in for the rest of my life. I didn’t want to leave.”
But in the late 1990s, Mazurkiewicz was lured to Northeastern Pennsylvania by Cornerstone Technologies LLC, which wanted to develop his ideas for using water jets to reduce materials, including coal, into fine particles. Mazurkiewicz’s technology, combined with the region’s anthracite reserves, had the potential for scientific breakthroughs in producing strong, lightweight materials and new fuels.
“I thought it was a brilliant idea. I thought, ‘I can establish another heaven.’”
But by 2003, Cornerstone had imploded after a split between company founders Peter A. Kanjorski and Bruce Conrad and political controversy over federal contracts the company secured with the help of Kanjorski’s uncle, U.S. Rep. Paul E. Kanjorski. It closed its Plains Township facility, laying off its 20-member workforce.
Mazurkiewicz is still owed $600,000 under his employment contract with Cornerstone, which controls the patent for the reduction process he developed.
(Excerpt) Read more at citizensvoice.com ...
It appears he made a poor decision. Life is like that sometimes.
‘You gotta know when to hold ‘em, know when to fold ‘em...’
Be careful what you wish for.
So Mr. Mazurkiewicz decided that a life spent in academia prepared him to deal with the real world.
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Nice to have an uncle that will get you nice, fat federal contracts.
The article, unfortunately, is pretty heavily excerpted from the print edition. Mazurkiewicz was snookered by Paul Kanjorski, a corrupt politician, who got over $11 million in federal funds for a business run by four of his nephews and his daughter. The print article goes into far more depth about Kanjorski's scheme to enrich his family at the taxpayers expense. I agree that in hindsight Mazurkiewicz made a bad decision, but the time it probably seemed like a great idea. After all, how often does a Congressman's taxpayer funded rip-off usually fail?
This academic sure was a smart fellow.
Invents a useful process and ends up bankrupt.
First employment "contract" I ever heard of that had a "reverse" golden parachute...
Every time.
Some just take longer than others.
Exactly. A person who's happy with what he has becomes dissatisfied when a con waves "weath beyond the dreams of avarice" under his nose.
For some, it's the Nigerian bank scam, while this man thought he'd make a bundle off the American taxpayer.
(I want a farm in Missouri :-).
Read this article, linked to on the FR thread The Family Business.
It's a real eye-opener.
My favorite part was fuel sciences professor Schobert (Penn State) quoted as saying "It was like the Three Stooges meet anthracite."
Schobert gives the impression that the Kanjorskis were not only dumb but crooked too.
The Republicans backed off investigating the corruption when the dems threatened to go after corrupt republicans. Of course the Dems went after crooked republicans anyway.
Kanjorski is a Congressman for life because his district is heavily Democrat and the Republican party there has been non-existent since the Goldwater race.
Perhaps immigration will rescue that area from this Democrat pox and corruption. Also in that District is a politician named Lou Barletta, who not only wins Republican races, but wins Democrat races by write-ins.
It would be nice to see him run against Kanjorski, but with his stand against illegal immigration the Bush people and the RNC would starve him of any support or financing. Just like they did to the conservative who ran against Specter.
Got a friend in Bolivar (SE MO). Land is still affordable and the place is like Mayberry RFD. Lots of CA immigrants moving in, though...
My father is from Shelby County. He sold his property last year because it’s too difficult for him to manage now that he’s got Alzheimer’s. The buyer is planning to use it for hunting leases.
So what’s the moral of this story - that if you become a Politician you are immune to the laws and moral code that govern the general populace and that your position gives you carte blanche to be a criminal and engage in organized crime without actually being indicted or having to do any jail time? What a disgusting display of avarice, corruption and greed are public officials have become. Why are people like this still being elected to office?
I find the most interesting part to be the fact that the crooks still own the patent.
But Bush and the republican establishment probably would do everything they could to make sure he lost again because of his tough stand on illegals.
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