Unsolved Mysteries with Dennis Farina - Season 5, Episode 3 | Forensic Files

[Music] next on Unsolved Mysteries how can an autopsy mistake a gunshot for a stab W that was just one
hint of a cover up in this New York murter he's a devout hidic Jew a dedicated family man and a brilliant con
artist who made off with close to $200 million two friends come to blows in a bar over a woman the next day one is
dead accident or murder and parents are told their newborn daughter won't live to see her
first Christmas but then an unexpected visitor promises [Music] America whether it's murder Larsen or
foul play sometimes these cases are solved thanks to you I'm Dennis finina and this is Unsolved Mysteries
[Music] [Music] he Rome New York for almost 20 years Stanley gik and his brother Peter operated a few local
businesses including a gas station and a bar Stanley and his wife Esther lived right next door to the gas station their
life seemed happy and secure until one November night dad had just gone upstairs to run
Mom's bath water mom went through the house doing her nightly check she did a nightly ritual where she would go and
check all the windows and doors and make sure everything was locked my mother was deaf and she wore
hearing aid with hearing aid she could hear very well and she had just finished in the kitchen when she heard a loud
noise and as she turned around the back door just flew open Sharon said her dad RAC downstairs when
he heard the commotion of two men breaking into the house hey what are you doing I think he startled the
perpetrator the shorter stack your man was already at my mother's throat and was choking her and in the process
knocked her hearing aid out of her ear and she said she just played dead she just wouldn't move she just laid
there she tried to hold her breath so she would they would thought she died while she was laying on the floor she
said they laid this pearl handled gun next to my face she says I could see it I opened my eye just a little tiny bit
and I could see they spent a good hour in the house just ransacking it totally they took all
the stuff out of the desk threw everything on the floor the pillows they ripped I mean they obviously were
looking for something but what they were looking for I have no idea eventually the two men left no one
knows why they broke in or if they got what they came for Sharon's mother waited until she
could no longer feel any vibrations in the house and then she tried to free herself somehow she managed to get her
hands untied from her feet and her feet untied her hands were still tied behind her back but she did manage to go into
the dining room and find my dad laying on the floor dead [Applause] detectives worked the crime scene and
came up with a surprising conclusion the only things missing were two bottles of beer from the
refrigerator it appeared to investigators as if the ransacking was to look for an item possibly or a piece
of paper that Mr it may have had hidden somewhere the next day Stanley's son found an important clue that the police
had missed hey come here look at this I happened to notice a shell casing on the
rug I mean it wasn't embedded in the rug or anything it was lying right out on the rug oh it's a shell casing don't
touch it I picked it up with a pencil put it in a plastic bag and called up the Rome Police Department I one
detective came over and uh he looked at it yeah that's a shell casing all right and I proceeded to put it in his pocket
and said um let's not mention this to anyone at for the time being it was a curious request but the
case would soon take an even more disturbing turn the official autopsy report stated
that Stanley was killed by a single stab wound to the heart well we knew that was totally
false that my father had been killed by a stab W he had found a shell casing there was no guns in the house the only
way that shell could have got here was that it was fired in this house there was only one way to settle the question
Stanley's body was accumed and a second autopsy was performed it revealed that he had been
killed by a 25 caliber bullet fired at his chest there never had been a stab wound it would seem difficult to mistake
a bullet wound for one made by a knife was the ruling simply an oversight or was it deliberate and if so who ordered
the cover up and why Stanley's children believe that someone wanted it to look like their father had been stabbed to
death it seemed that these questions would remain forever unanswered until a witness find sty steps
forward an admitted drug dealer told police that he knew who killed Stanley gik I was tending bar one night and um a
person approached me and he knew that I owed him money and he offered me to get even so we drove around for a little bit
and uh he pulled in an alley over here and he goes I want you to break into Stan's
house why staning that's my business and I told him I go uh I'm not a burglar I'm
out here selling coal you know I'm not going to go breaking into anybody's house he was like Disturbed with me and
he goes all right he goes just I'll take you back to the bar his information reactivated the
investigation with a new set of detectives they contacted Amy Scott Stanley's neighbor she told him that on the night
of the Murder She was letting her dog outside when she saw saw a man walking through the alley towards Stanley's
house it was shortly after 11:00 p.m. I let my dog stay out maybe a half an hour to 45 minutes and um then I I
opened the door I went on my porch to call my dog back in Sam then I looked up and I saw this guy coming through the
same pathway that I noticed before only this time he was headed toward a white car he got in the car and then I noticed
there was another man in the car and he proceeded down the street very fast you idiot what do you think you're doing and
I yelled at him because he just came within inches of hitting my dog a few days later while Amy was at a
local bank she saw the men in Lincoln again to Amy it seemed like they were following
her I got really nervous so started my car off and I speed it down the street I was really
frightened I just drove like crazy till I got to the police station and I jumped
out of the car and I ran up the steps where I met a policeman and I told him what was happening we got in his car and
we drove around a couple of blocks up and down but we never saw him again detectives also learned that the
owner of a local bookstore had seen the two men the day before stanle was killed
she also said they were driving a white L seen you a long time there was the tall dark man who had on a trench coat
the other man was shorter and Sandy haired come on over what investigators asked py why she had not come forward
with her information sooner she told him that she had she had spoken to one of the original
detectives we looked in our files and found there wasn't anything put down on documentation form as to their interview
with paty peek investigators also discovered another witness claimed to have seen the
men in a local bar shortly after Stanley was killed he told us that a couple of men
had come into the bar matching the descriptions that were published in the paper they met with another man in the
back of the bar who handed him a large sum of money and they turn left he was kind of curious so he said
wasn't that so and so and the individual who had given him the money said yes it
was and he said uh well uh why did you give him that large amount of money and he said they' done a job for me and now
they had to leave town as you can see here investigators tried to pull the threads
together what might have link the murder the two men the bar and the pale off they discovered that the bar's
liquor license was in the name of Peter grek Stanley's older brother and then Stanley's children told
of a strange incident that had happened 8 months before the murder Peter GK had been Gravely ill at
the time and Stanley went to visit him no one knows what was said behind that closed door but the two brothers
who had always been close never spoke again Peter died 4 months later and Stanley seemed to have
changed I had spent a 3-day weekend with my dad he seemed in a good mood but he seemed a little
distant when he hugged me goodbye he said a very strange thing I don't know when I'll ever see you again and that
was the last time I saw him again the bar registered to Peter REI eventually lost its liquor license for
on-site gambling and the illegal sale of Controlled Substances if my father knew something
he did not share that information with my mother or my brother my sister or I it was just something that he kept to
himself and that was why being honest as he was was the cause of his death the murder of Stanley grek remains
unsolved numerous questions remain unanswered why did The Intruders ransack the house why did the initial investigators
fail to report the details of their conversation with a bookstore owner what was the connection between
the bar Peter grek and Stanley's murder authorities are hoping someone watching can answer these
questions these are comp composite drawings of the two men seen driving the white Lincoln if you have any
information about this case please log on to our website at unsolved.com coming up a brilliant con man hides
behind his religion as he steals Millions from Banks all over the world you're about to meet a devout
hidic Jew and father of 12 incredibly he is also the Mastermind of one of the greatest cons in recent history his name
is Joseph prusinowski and by all accounts he abided by the religious laws of the hiic Jews except when it came to
the eighth commandment Thou shalt not steal by living a life based on strict religious values the Sedum have earned a
reputation for honesty and Rock Solid Integrity this was the perfect cover for Joseph
kenowski Joseph his wife and their children Liv in anhes cdic community near Montreal he ran an export import
business from the basement of his modest home but that's not all he was doing he was also the brand remains
behind a brilliant scam one that would net him close to $200 million the first step of his Swindle
was to open his own bank and he did it with the help of his unsuspecting assistant Alan
fle uh I recommend that we go with anguila the Caribbean island of anguila is notorious for having some of the most
lenient banking standards in the world Joseph gave Allan a couple of phony names and told him they were the owners
or principles of his newly created Bank all we need now are the signatures of our principles that's all that's
required there we go but these are stamps yeah but they give me the authorization to use the signature I
guess I witnessed the signatures I mean which I found out afterwards wasn't uh exactly uh a legally accepted procedure
that you one according to the law can only witness a person signing and not a signature stamp yes these are the check
take a look here let me see he could now issue officiall looking Bank cashiers checks which were much more convincing
than simple personal checks I have theist the second step of his plan was to write out checks in the amounts of up
to $1 million which the bank in anguila guaranteed Ben he would then deposit the
checks in business accounts that he had set up all over the world Joseph would contact the bank in
person or by phone and using his incredible Talent of persuasion convinced the bankers to advance them
the large amounts of cash even though the checks had not yet but before I endorse this I need to uh cash advance
of $750,000 Mr panowski is the policy of our bank to wait 14 days after deposit before you can draw on your account so
all I'm asking for $750,000 very clever very very persuasive man a man who trades on his being a very
religious person when he deals with banks wa a few more very good at persuading them to cash his checks
written on funny banks in Far Away places with strange sounding names all right Mr panowski we're going
to make an exception this time but please in the future give us 14 days before eventually the the checks all
bounced or most of them bounced by the time the bouncing stopped the bank was a million dollars
sure meanwhile Alan fold found himself taking calls from Angry Bankers demanding their money no M Mr panovski
is not here ultimately a Japanese company filed a lawsuit against the two men being sued for a million dollars uh
was something relatively shocking to me and I didn't understand what was going on
here Allan's Faith was completely shattered when agents of the Royal Canadian in Mount police stormed
Joseph's office when was the last time you saw Mr Aline gold was hired by Kinowski when
he was 21 years old he was very naive he didn't know very much about the business
world so he could not even contemplate the possibility that prushinowski had a Criminal Mind when I was asked to do
things for him Allen was cleared of any involvement and he agreed to help investigators
unravel a complex ripoff Canadian authorities searched the house this is it but came up empty-handed the
basement office had been cleared out and panowski had fled taking his wife and 10
of his children his oldest son and daughter planned to join him later do you know what s of work from his
Canadian operations alone Kowski left the trail of scams totaling more than $2 million he disappears off the face of
the Earth no one seems ever to see him hear from him again but what then happens is all of a sudden Joseph Weiss
starts to appear and Joseph Weiss operates frauds on exactly the same way that Joseph panowski did Joseph Weiss
and Joseph panowski were one and the Same by now isend were becoming absurdly huge over a 2-year period financial
institutions across Europe lost more than $100 million the astounding total exceeded
$190 million finally this master panman came up with one more brilliant plan he negotiated to return some of the
stolen money okay 50 cents in the dollar he knows that Banks don't like to go to
the police they don't like to prosecute people what they want is their money back so they will
settle and what that of course does is by and large it removes the lender from being a complainant to create a criminal
prosecution problem for panowski in that particular country and he's used that tactic very
successfully all over the world however a few Banks were not willing to settle and arrest warrants
were issued for the comment so what did Joseph prusinowski do with the millions that he
stole what is unique about Joseph panowski is there is no evidence that he is actually personally benefited in any
way at all from these frauds in fact authorities believe that he used the stolen money to set up
legitimate businesses and used those profits to provide housing education and other services to the hidic community
panowski I think likes to see himself as a Robin Hood figure it's a way of giving
a rationalization to what he does I feel that it's caused irreparable damage for the Jewish Community as I say
around the globe because it helps to to portray an an image of Jewish religious Jewish people or Jewish people in
general as being Crooks and robbers which of course is not the truth as to the basic doctrines of our faith and how
we practice update after more than 10 years on the Run Joseph panowski was arrested in
Israel there police received a tip from a man who Joseph had been counseling he was convicted of seven
fraud charges in a Jerusalem court and sentenced to 7 years in prison here in the United States prusinowski is still
wanted by the FBI on multiple counts of bank fraud next a man is found dead in his
garage the morning after a barroom brawl was it an accident or foul Edmore North Dakota
3:30 p.m. on a Cool October day what did you find when you first came to the door
police in this small town begin to investigate the death of a local auto repair man an hour earlier the body of
27-year-old Kenneth NG was discovered in his own garage by his uncle the cause of death was determined
to be carbon monoxide poisoning initially police viewed it as a suicide canny had too much going for him to be
committing suicide you know that was way too far you know you know he didn't have any
troubles that would bother him that much but almost immediately some of the evidence began to contradict the suicide
Theory why was a fully loaded rifle found just 6 ft away from Kenneth's body there was a small pool of blood on the
floor where did it come from even more puzzling was the fact that the car's ignition had been turned off if Kenneth
had in fact committed suicide he couldn't have turned off the engine and who did Kenneth angi's family insisted that
suicide was out of the question but if Foul Play was involved who had a motive and the opportunity to commit the crime
within 12 hours the police found a potential suspect who had both 2: a.m. conle bar the night Kenneth
died at closing time only two customers remain Kenneth and Curtis heck another auto repair man I'm closing up you got
to go I'm taking you home tonight I got to ride who are you going with Curtis you really are a [ __ ] aren't you I want
to talk to you she going home with me get your hands off me neither one of us were Muhammad Ali I
mean I was rolling around on the floor wrestling and bunch of dumb stuff there was some punches throwing back and forth
but nobody really got hurt at one point I got him down on the floor and I and I held him down there and I I told him I'm
going to let you up and I said when I let you up I want you to just walk out the
door moments later Kenneth ralated [Applause] I heard the the crash out out front and
I and I knew what it was as soon as I heard it and I seen my pickup out there it had been broadsided I thought about
just forgetting the whole thing but uh the more I thought about it I thought me and Kenny were both body men
and he had just annihilated my pickup so I thought if I'm going to have to fix my
vehicle and he's going to have to fix his heck decided to get even just wait here about an hour later he
and the bartender drove to Kenneth's home where they saw his truck parked in the
driveway Curtis Curtis I heard a noise coming from the garage it's a a groaning sound so I went
around to the back door and I opened up the door and I went in you know you toal my truck don't
you I should have realized you know that there was something wrong with him but I
didn't the guy just smashed my pick up all the pieces and I I figured he was sick from drinking so
I figured go ahead and spend the night on the garage floor according to official police
report this is the last time that Ken was seen alive it doesn't make me very happy to
know that I was the last person to see him alive and walked out the door and left him
there I believe that Kenneth eni when he was in the garage and it became cool started the vehicle sat there and waited
for Curtis heck to come to the garage for the confrontation that was bound to happen realizing that something is
happening to him at this point I believe he turned the vehicle off that was in the garage started to head for the door
and didn't quite make it to the door before he collapsed time passed and he died
waiting for Curtis heack Kenneth's Uncle disagrees with the official Theory Kenny was a little bit smarter
than not to start a vehicle up and leave it running in the garage while he was still in
there Richard believes that is nephew heard heck kicking his truck and then fought with him when he came into the
garage he fell down and probably was knocked onc conscious and Kurt just shut the door and walked away and then
realized the truck was running and come back and went in and shut it off with a sealed garage there was still
enough carbon monoxide fumes in there to still do somebody in the autopsy does not indicate that
there was any assault on that body and I don't believe there was there was a vehicle in his garage
but uh it wasn't running and I don't remember seeing any smoke in the garage did Kenneth start up the truck to
keep warm until Curtis heck arrived he was a trained mechanic and he had to know the dangers of running an engine in
a small enclosed space unless alcohol had impaired his judgment but if a drunken Kenneth did
start the truck and was overcome by fumes how could he have had the clarity of mind to cut the engine but was unable
to reach the nearby door and finally if it was not Kenneth who turned off the ignition then who
did and left him on the floor to die we believe that the occurred from a lethal dose of carbon monoxide and that
there was no criminal Foul Play involved law enforcement has officially closed this case there just doesn't seem to be
a clear-cut answer to it it's been hell on everybody is what it's been and I'd like to see an answer to it some place I
don't think they'll ever have a a final that says this is exactly what happened it's just there's too many loose
end Kenneth Angie's family still believes that the whole story is yet to be revealed if you have any information
that can shed new light on this case please log on to our website at unsolved.com
next a Christmas miracle saves the life of an infant girl suffering from a fatal
liver disease [Music] Seattle Washington Jolene and Terry hedin's thirdd child had just been born a
daughter named Taran even though they were Overjoyed with their new arrival for some reason Jolene felt uneasy Terry
do you think she looks okay as they handed her to me she she looked up at me and her eyes had this look in them like
help me and it bothered me from the time she was born taran's doctors however pronounced her healthy and sent her
home but within a short time she refused to eat and had to have surgery to correct two abdominal
hernas the routine procedure should have taken only 2 hours finally teran's doctors told him that she had been taken
to the IU because her abdomen was filling with fluid to be a problem with doctors believed her liver was the
problem during the surgery we discovered an abnormal amount of fluid in her abdomen it was a helpless feeling I
remember asking the doctor what can we do how how you know what could we do to make her feel better and then the doctor
said just be here just touch her and let her know you're here so we did we didn't
leave her we were there every day for the next couple weeks lab tests later revealed that
Taran had wolman's disease her body lacked a critical enzyme without it her liver would shut
down and she would die there was no known cure 2 days before Christmas Jolene and
Terry had a meeting with teran's pediatrician the weekend before their appointment was one of the hardest
weekends I've ever had as a physician cuz I couldn't decide whether I should tell them that their baby was dying on
Monday or should I wait until after Christmas to give them you know that that awful news that there's no easy way
to do this the reason that she's not eating is because her body is shutting down she's preparing to
die I just broke down I was hard to accept it uh to give into it it was like a ton of bricks hitting
you somebody's actually telling us that our daughter's dying Jolene and Terry returned home
heartbroken and in shock they realized that Taran might not even see her first Christmas is the headlin were too
overwhelmed to call anyone with a devastating news but around 9:30 that night Terry's brother-in-law Wayne
Rogers just happened to stop by only later would they learn of the inspiration behind this unexpected visit
hi Wayne it's about A4 to 99 and I was kind of tired so I went off to bed this voice came to me and it was
very strong and very loud and very clear the voice said to me get up go over and put your hand on Tan's stomach
and pray and she will be okay it wasn't a uh something that I was you know laying there dreaming of or
something like that it was a voice just as clear as I'm talking to you hi Terry um you mind if I hold
her Wayne asked if he could be alone with Taran I looked down at taran's little brown eyes and uh I put my hand on her
stomach I said a prayer I don't know exactly what I said please Lord make her better I've come to do what you know you
asked me to do please make her better and then when I was through I picked her up and I took her back in the other room
and I had a good feeling that everything was going to be all right you got her so
way what brings you by this time of night uh I'm uh here because I believe in miracles Wayne left without saying
another word car she's taking her bottle later that evening they Reed the best Christmas present ever for the first
time in weeks Taran drank two ounces of formula and she continued to get better as if by Magic teran's body had begun to
produce the missing enzyme and her liver was functioning normally it was only then that Terry and
Jolene asked Wayne about his Christmas [Music] visit I didn't do this to be a hero I
didn't do this um the only reason I did do it was because I believe D in The Voice while I
was listening to Wayne tell me the story I was covered in Goosebumps and there wasn't one doubt in my mind that that
was a miracle that that's why Taran was cured and Wayne said to me you can believe me or not but that's what
happened and I remember I said to Wayne oh I believe you cuz I have the proof update today Taran Hedland is happy and
healthy and shows no sign sign of the incurable illness that once threatened her
life from a medical standpoint there is no spontaneous remission from the kind of disease that
Taran Hedland had uh there simply is no uh explanation along conventional medical
lines perhaps Medical Science will one day be able to explain what happened but the Headlands will always believe that
Taran was saved by a Christmas miracle [Music] coming up when a man disappears his
family learns that he has lived a lie for decades previously we profiled the baffling case of Alex
Cooper a devoted husband father of five who disappeared Without a Trace one spring day his car was discovered a
few miles from his home in British Columbia despite a massive search no sign of him was ever
found a year later Alex was legally declared dead I'm calling in regards to Alex
Cooper birth certificate when his wife Margaret tried to obtain his birth papers she made a surprising
discovery there were no official records of her husband prior to their marriage in
1952 as far as anyone can tell Alex Cooper simply did not and had never [Music] existed 4 years after he vanished
authorities learned that Alex was living in Toronto Canada but before he can be questioned Alex disappeared
[Music] again he's got this family that care about him and if he's out there living
among strangers he should rethink this thing we deserve it and so does he who was Alex Cooper and why had he
used an alias and lived a lie for more than 35 years update shortly after this story aired a
viewer recognized Alex and called authorities during questioning the mystery surrounding his life began to
unravel Alex told police that his true name was Albin Areno as a young man he was
accused of robbing an office of the Canadian Pacific Railroad where he was working at the
time I was young and I panicked and I said to myself there is no way I'm going to be take the fall for this because I
didn't do it I took off at that time and I became Alexander Cooper at that point a few years later Alex married
marget he had no idea that the criminal charges that might have been filed against him
had probably been dropped for more than 35 years he kept his true identity a secret then as his
65th birthday approach Alex's pass began to catch up with him I was due for pension and you're
required to submit a birth certificate I knew I couldn't produce one for several months prior to this I knew
this was coming up I couldn't bring myself about to tell my family so I walked away it was a snap decision and it was a
wrong one 2 days after he was questioned by authorities Alex was reunited with his
family after more than 5 years we were a very close family and this has been very devastating for all
of us including Al I'm really hoping that we can work through this and uh put it back together if not the way
it is maybe something better we can't pick up where we left off because things have
changed but we're going to start fresh take it a day at a time the way I feel I don't deserve for
anybody to accept my apology what I'd done abandonment of your family to me is one hell of a crime and biggest job for
me at this point will be to make amends and I would say it'll probably take me the rest of my
life the advertisement read wholesale medical supply distributor wanted investment of
$118,000 required this ad was placed in over 90 newspapers Across America it seemed like a dream come true it was
anything but Oklahoma City Oklahoma home to Fidelity National Medical Supply they invited potential
investors to visit the company headquarters one person who took advantage of that offer was a man we'll
call Robert Jones one day in January Robert Jones was driven to the offices in a limousine
provided by the company he had arrived in town the day before and wanted to see the operation in
person before making an investment I checked with the Better Business Bureau in Oklahoma City there
was no complaints there I had them checked out with a national uh credit firm and all their uh resources checked
out the same uh with with this firm I was satisfied that they were legitimate I can't take you into the warehouse
because it's a Bonded Warehouse you know we have Pharmaceuticals and you know how
it is the warehouse was equally impressive thousands of boxes were stacked behind
locked doors waiting to be delivered Robert took the plunge and bought a partnership for
$54,000 his entire life savings he was just one of the more than 300 people who made Investments totaling $1.2
million but as the money flooded in the criminal investigation unit of the IRS became became increasingly suspicious 3
weeks later the company was ready at one time there nothing in any of the boxes when they went into the boxes they found
that they were completely empty we found no evidence that Fidelity had in any way purchased ordered
received or shipped during the entire course of their business life any medical supplies the inventory which we found
when we executed search warrants at their warehouse would fit on the side of my desk
these are not amateurs these people have obviously done this in the past they knew what they were doing they did it
very quickly they knew how to get in they knew how to get out they knew how to set up the accounts without putting
fingerprints on the accounts update authorities finally determined that the two key figures involved in the
scam were Harold Frederick Krueger and Thomas Alfred Flanigan Krueger was eventually arrested
in San Antonio Flanigan was captured in Atlanta after one of our viewers called police both were convicted of conspiracy
mail and wire fraud and were sentenced to 9 and 1/2 years in prison they have since been released
[Music] [Music]

Brief Summary

Three cases: Stanley Gik's murder, Joseph Prusinowski's fraud, and Kenneth Angi's suspicious death.

Key points

The Mysterious Break-In. A family's home is ransacked, leading to the death of a father and unanswered questions.
A Shocking Autopsy Mistake. An autopsy mistakenly identifies a gunshot wound as a stab wound, raising questions of a cover-up.
The Mastermind Con Artist. Joseph Prusinowski, a devout Jew, orchestrates a massive bank fraud scheme.
Unraveling a Murder Mystery. A young man's death raises suspicions of foul play rather than suicide.
The Mysterious Death of Kenneth. Kenneth's death remains shrouded in uncertainty, leaving his family searching for answers.
A Christmas Miracle for Taran. Taran's unexpected recovery from a fatal liver disease astonishes her family and doctors.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

Why did the intruders ransack the house?

An unanswered question about a break-in.

12:07WatchMar 9, 2017

Tension

65/ 100Some tension

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