Tuesday, June 21, 2016

More on Mark Marowski and the Argument at the Holy Cross Club

Several previous posts (see esp. posts of July 28, 2011, April 18, 2013, September 14, 2014, October 17, 2014, and July 15, 2015) have raised the problem of the argument between my brother and then Salamanca police officer Mark Marowski.  That quarrel, resulting in a DWI for Mark, happened the very day before the suspicious truck fire that took his life.  Yet the New York State Police did not interview Holy Cross Club members who witnessed the argument and did not press Marowski himself about the argument.  In addition, it is troubling that Holy Cross Club members have been unwilling to admit to being present at the time of the argument, even though numerous individuals mentioned details about the altercation and about Marowski's behavior shortly after my brother's death.

It is very odd that not one person will admit to being at the Holy Cross Club at the time of the argument between Marowski and my brother (see esp. post of November 16, 2014).  However, two specific individuals, according to a reliable source, were regularly there on Monday afternoons to sign the Monday book.  They were Pete Rapacioli and Gary Subulski.  Both of these men adamantly denied to me that they were there (see post of July 15, 2015).  Yet not long after Mark's death, my cousin Dennis Pavlock said that the information he had about that argument came from Gary Subulski, who gave Dennis the strong impression that he had been there.  When I called to speak with Pete Rapacioli shortly after Mark's death, the woman who answered his phone mentioned that Pete had told her about the argument, and Pete's cousin (and long-time friend of my brother) Jack Plonka told me that Pete had told a neighbor of Jack's mother about the argument.

Given their regular presence there on Monday afternoons, it seems unlikely that both of these men were absent from the Holy Cross Club that particular day, when my brother got into the argument with Marowski.  Rapacioli himself is problematic because of his alleged phone call with my brother's wife Susan for around half an hour immediately before the truck fire.  The State Police failed to verify that alleged phone call during the investigation by checking the phone records and later refused to verify the call when asked to do so by Atty. Michael Kelly even though they initially said they would.  Rapacioli reportedly was friendly with Marowski.  Gary Subulski has known Marowski since elementary school, though it is not clear if they were friendly, but he has certainly been on good terms with Rapacioli, a former fellow railroader.  Gary, who had previously encouraged me to continue to pursue justice for my brother, abruptly hung up the phone on me when I called to ask him a question about Pete Rapacioli.

As specific information about Marowski has become known (see esp. posts of September 14, 2014, October 17, 2014, November 16, 2014, December 14, 2014, February 17, 2015, July 15, 2015, and September 13, 2015), the failure of the State Police to investigate the argument between my brother and Marowski has become more troublesome.  The most salient points about Marowski include (1) his obvious hostility to my brother, evidenced by reportedly numerous quarrels with him at the Holy Cross Club and by his reported boasting about calling in to have Mark arrested for DWI, despite the fact that my brother suffered third-degree burns over most his body; (2) his alleged affair with my brother's wife; (3) his reported physical abuse of women with whom he lived; (4) his frequent failure to pay back money he owed, resulting in lawsuits against him by numerous individuals; (5) his reported gambling problem; (6) his reported dependence on prescription drugs; and (7) his very heavy drinking, reportedly affecting his performance as a police officer and culminating in a DWI, for which he was suspended from the Salamanca police department and forced to retire.

If generally “reported” comments about Marowski's disgraceful behavior may not seem compelling, remarks by a close family member of his make a strong impact.  Having seen my blog, David Marowski, a classmate of mine from Holy Cross elementary school through Salamanca high school, recently sent me an e-mail with his own personal reflections on his brother. It should be noted that David not only sent me his thoughts of his own accord but also gave me permission to quote them here.  David made it clear that he has nothing to do with Mark Marowski.  Here is what he had to say: “Although, as far as I know, we only live about 30 miles apart, I haven't seen him since my mother's death in 1991 (ZERO CONTACT). At my mother's funeral, he kept a low profile.  I ended up paying the funeral expenses; he didn't even put a flower on her grave.”  David went on to explain his reasons for distancing himself completely from his own brother, as follows: Mark “has never been trustworthy.  He has been a liar as far back as High School....We have found out that he has SCAMMED a lot of people and businesses. He SCAMMED me out of any inheritance.  He is NOT a nice person.”

A comment made some time ago (November 2014) in a post on a website called “Cat County Corruption” that exposed my brother's suspicious death suggests in general terms why he may have been killed. Here is the relevant remark: “This man appears to have taken action when he saw something wrong, and this is what happened to him.”  The author of the post is anonymous, and the source of that provocative comment not disclosed.  If there is a basis for it, where might Mark have seen “something wrong”?  The logical venues would be his regular social hangout or his place of work.  An individual who frequented the Holy Cross Club in the period when Mark was killed mentioned that “things went on there behind the scenes.”  Could my brother have seen something inappropriate or illegal going on there?

Given the almost uncanny silence of the Holy Cross Club members about the argument between my brother and Mark Marowski, those who were there that afternoon must have seen or heard something very disturbing to keep them from speaking out.  Whatever vicious impulse motivated someone to burn my brother to death, there are people out there who know the truth.  Has fear kept them thus far from coming forward?