Historical Calendar: June 25, 1998 – Marek Papala murdered

Anniversary of the execution of Chief of Police General Mark Papala.

Today in our calendar we will look at the mysterious death of General Mark Papala. Gen. Papala was Chief of Police from 1 January 1997. After more than a year of his duties, he resigned from this post and then on 29 June 1998 he intended to presume the function of the Polish Police Liaison Officer in Brussels. A fatal shot was fired at close scope while the general was sitting in the car. Direct witnesses initially pointed to 1 perpetrator who escaped from the scene. Investigative activities began immediately, but due to the presence of people with crucial positions in the public life of the state at the scene, the political issue was assumed. No weapons or casings were found, but they were able to safe fingerprint traces. In the course of the investigation, the gene was determined that day. Papala tried to contact Prime Minister Jerzy Buzek through his advisor, Stanislaw Bishtyga. Evening, Gen. Papała stayed at the home of retired general SB Józef Sasin, where he besides met with American businessman of Polish origin, Edward M. The verification of investigative versions then began. The options that the media initially presented put the gene in the incorrect light. Papals, bringing the case to a score between him and his illegal contractors. The case of the State Securities Company was mentioned here, at which the general took a journey to Hong Kong. There was besides a version saying that the execution was the consequence of the general's actions to explain the case of Wojciech D., associated with arms smugglers supplying arms to Kurdish guerrillas.

All these versions, as you can imagine from the press accounts, have not been confirmed in the investigation. Even in 1998, the police obtained the first applicable information. Ukrainian citizen Sergei S. was arrested. The way he acted in the alleged crimes and evidence of the incognito witnesses pointed to his engagement in the General's assassination. Police in the course of their operational activities obtained information about paid murderers circulating in the environment from the police general.

In 2001, Richard B was detained in Cancun, Mexico. He has been known in the criminal planet since the early 1990s. At first, he worked on the borderline of business and later together with another known gangster Richard N. created a consortium of paid murderers, working with criminals from across the east border. According to the Police, their work was, among others, the killing of the celebrated boss „Pruszkowa”, Andrzej K. – „Pershangaż”. The arrested Richard N. managed to escape in 2000. Ryszard B. in turn from the place of detention, while being detained, tried to control his group through 1 of the inmates, Peter W. This individual has cooperated with the police and on this basis information about Richard B.'s engagement in the assassination of Gen. Papala has been obtained. another witnesses besides spoke of being at the scene of the execution of Richard B. and Richard N. The 3rd point of evidence is the evidence of Artur Z. – ̋, a associate of a group of paid murderers, who pointed out as persons seeking to carry out an order for Gen. Papalż, Andrzej Z. – ̋, 1 of the bosses of the Pruszkowski gang; and Edward M.; a businessman who had already appeared in this communicative as the individual with whom the general met on the day of the murder. On the basis of these statements, Edward M. was detained on 27 February 2002 while in Poland. Despite the affirmative outcome, he was released almost immediately. In the face of the upcoming extradition from Spain, Andrzej Z. “Słowika”: the investigation has picked up pace. Prosecutor Jerzy Mierzewski and the investigation squad under his supervision were prepared to present charges to the following persons: Ryszard B. and Sergei S. as performers and Andrzej Z. and Edward M. as helpers.

The grave of Marek Papala in the Powązkowski Cemetery in Warsaw

National prosecutor Karol Napierski and the head of the Appeals Prosecutor's Office in Warsaw Sigismund Kapust suspended, as the media reports, the presentation of charges. Therefore, only Richard B. Gen. Papala had good contacts with political environments, especially on the left side of the organization scene. The name Jerzy Buzek besides falls in this context. As deputy chief of chief police liable for investments, Gen. Marek Papał was most likely confronted with the problem of alleged sponsorship of police bodies, made public in the celebrated Żafera Poznańska ż. As Chief Commandant, he oversaw many cases of top importance for the fight against organised crime in Poland. As those cases that may have been connected with the murder, the case of a smuggling gang supplying arms through our country to the Kurdistan Workers Party. associate of this group, Wojciech D., was closely associated with Andrzej Stuglik, a erstwhile advanced counterintelligence officer. Stuglik was murdered in the early 1990s in the same way as Gen. Papala. At the time, he worked with DAL, which, according to some, dealt with large-scale arms trafficking. Opinions are presented that DAL financed left-wing political groups in Poland. Gen. Marek Papala thwarted the appointment of a individual associated with this group to a advanced position in the Ministry of Interior and Administration.

The motives for giving up the gene are unknown. Papals from the post of Chief of Police. His mission in Brussels could pose a threat to many environments, as it was intended to include the exchange of information on the activities of the global criminal world. On the day of the execution (as Mr. Bishtyga claims, with which the gene. Papała met and by whom he sought a gathering with the Prime Minister himself) the general was clearly afraid and intimidated. He attached his concern to the planned appointment of the liaison officer in Brussels. On that day, the general met with Edward M., a businessman whose acquaintances with people from the left were widely known. This gathering took place at General Sasin's home, who is besides a erstwhile safety officer and whose witnesses in the case reportedly indicate as having ties to the planet of organized crime.

Investigating this murder. Papals, especially from the time they selected possible suspects, provided further clues. In February, Edward M. Witness was detained in Poland, who previously referred to him as the individual who sought the executioner of the conviction on the General, identified him positively, and after all, Edward M. is not a publically known person. According to any media, Edward M. was released after this diagnosis due to pressures from above. Edward M. then appears at a social gathering with key left-wing politicians. In June, strong evidence was obtained against Richard B., who was identified by witnesses remembering him from the scene. In November, the prosecution completes a list of suspects, after which its superiors restrict the list of suspects to the minimum necessary, including, as the media reports, excluding Edward M. A gathering was held in January 2003 to draw up further steps on the conduct of investigations involving heads of the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Interior and Administration, the Agency for interior safety and Police, as well as, as we learn from the Communication from the National Prosecutor’s Office, another people. It must be admitted that the atmosphere of the investigation into the death of the gene. Papals have become very dense. It penetrated threads from the planet of mafia, politics, and business, and the superiors of the investigative authorities issued decisions concerning the further conduct of this investigation that were incomprehensible to the public.

The substance has not yet been full resolved. It is simply a symbol of rottenness and the fall of the moral elite of the 3rd Republic of Poland in the 1990s.

Link to erstwhile entry from our calendar Here.