How all of this got started

My partners from the bike school: Kolia, me, Victor and Sergei (Feb, 2002)

In February of 2002, I went for a visit to my grandmother’s hometown of Pinsk, Belarus. I had visited before and amongst other things, was hoping to find some old friends and see how they were getting along. While there I met a lady I liked, started a relationship with her and decided to stay another month. During this next 30 days, it became apparent that the relationship might be serious. So, as a means of financing my stay and supporting the relationship I had the idea to make a little local bicycle business. This is at the time what I did. I was also at the time, working on a Russian language theatrical play (My avocation) with the intention of perhaps presenting it at the local theatre. On April 6th, I left for Warsaw for a week to arrange a small loan from the states and to get a new visa. On my last day in Warsaw, May 15th 2002, about an hour after getting my passport stamped and my train ticket back, a guy drove his car into me and pinned me with it to a bus.

Being a lifetime biker and a former New York City bike messenger, I took offence to what I saw as an attempt on my life and punched the guy in the mouth as a way of expressing my anger over his driving. When he responded oddly to the situation, that is to say that he not only did not apologize but rather responded as if it was me who had attacked him; I took off on my bike towards the police station in the hopes of having this guy removed from my life. The guy followed me to the police station in his car and, unfortunately for me the driver, one Mr. Tomas Zaremba, just happened to be an off duty cop. We were both taken to the police station

Tanya in the corridor of our apartment (Feb 2002)

Well, as he had the ear of his fellow policemen, they listened to him and threw me into a cell for two days. And, to make matters more interesting, he also decided to say that I had arbitrarily attacked him, wrecked his pristine car with my bare hands and shattered several of his teeth. He claimed some $750 in damages which I would of course be obliged to pay.

The case was turned over to a public prosecutor named Stanislaw Wiesniakowski. Wiesniakowski read what was written in the statements, took interviews from both of us and despite obvious discrepancies that clearly indicated Zaremba was lying, decided to side with the cop anyway and sent the case to be prosecuted. I was charged with the crimes of attacking Zaremba and his car and causing damages in the amount of 3000 zlotys. I plead not guilty.

In the place of a three-month temporary incarceration (The time to wait for a trial) I was offered bail of $1000. However, when I returned to pay this money, I was informed that my passport, which was being held while I got the money, was to be kept permanently instead. I was now prohibited from leaving Poland. The business, my girlfriend and the play, would all just have to sit and wait along with me.

About the Case >>