"Good morning, ladies and gentlemen." "All the ladies will receive flowers." "A tulip for you." " Here you are..." "No flowers for the men." "People might think I'm part of a minority group." "We say welcome to "The Mayor for a Day", Witold Skrzydlewski!" "Thanks a lot." " Oh, no!" " A small token from the children." "Thanks a lot." "All this could only happen thanks to today's hero Witold Skrzydlewski." "Thanks to his generous gift we'll be able to achieve our goal." "It's a lot of money, much more than we have ever received here in Poland." "This way, Mr. Mayor." "There'll be a trial in Lodz." "Who wanted to kill you and why?" "We already know who it was and why." " But today isn't the right moment..." " But who and why?" "Excuse me, let's talk about the topic of the day..." "Excuse me, this isn't the right time." "Don't answer the questions." " This isn't the right time." "Excuse me, the interview is over." "Thank you." "I now ask you to leave." "I'm sorry, I didn't think it would end like this." "I'm sorry." " Where is Mr. Skrzydlewski?" " He'll be here for the match." "But his car is already here." " Are they having a board meeting?" " No." "A guy stopped me in the street." "He said that if I didn't stop talking to the police about Skrzydlewski, he'd kill me." "It was so real!" "I went to the police, the prosecutor, the security police..." "There I met inspector Teper." "First he promised me to look into it." "Then he said that he couldn't touch Skrzydlewski." "I understood zilch!" "Jacek Tomalski..." " Name and date of birth?" " Jacek Tomalski..." "It was Skrzydlewski who destroyed my life." "I had no enemies." "I know that he is a ruthless man." "He can't take no for an answer, walks over corpses to get his way..." "He claims to be a Catholic but I don't believe that." "He's a Satanist, if anything." "I'll die here." "And then his firm will come and get me..." "I'm a finished man." "Please, Mr. Prosecutor..." "The actors in our drama are the plaintiff, Witold Skrzydlewski, a funeral director, who stands high in people's estimation, twice elected to the town council." "A supporter for sports and culture." "On the other side the defendant, Tomalski, an autopsy technician, who for a long time worked in the Army Medical Centre." "He and his colleagues asked to be paid for dressing corpses." "For several years he had a significant income from this "business"." "But when Skrzydlewski's funeral firm built their own mortuary, there were less corpses at the hospital." "Why was a professional killer hired?" "Well, with Skrzydlewski dead Tomalski thought he'd make more money." "Tomalski, who is guilty to the charges, there's no doubt about it, deserves severe punishment, which I hereby demand." "Thank you." "Please, Mr. Tomalski..." "Witold Skrzydlewski suggested a collaboration..." "I was to give him informations about all deceased, who ended up with us." "I was to persuade the families to engage his funeral firm." "I should paint in black colours the undertaker they had already engaged, and praise Skrzydlewski's firm." "But I didn't agree to that." " How do you do." " Nice to meet you." "I'd like to know a few things, among them, about Mr. Tomalski." "What kind of man is he?" "He was surrounded by people who supported him." "He liked power and he liked money - especially to spend it." "Was he greedy?" "He liked to spend money in order to get even more." "I've heard that people called him "The Colonel"." "But his mistake was to..." "He went too far." "If you already wear a crown, you shouldn't put on another one, because they'll both fall off." "He could organize a collaboration between 40 different firms, not only funeral firms." "He drummed all together and had everything in hand." "And whatever Skrzydlewski may say, I claim he was very frightened." "What had you done to make Tomalski hire a killer to kill you?" "I'm like a bear - heavy and lazy..." "And I sleep like a bear." "But they woke me up." "and when the bear wakes too early, it's angry." "How do you mean "woke up"?" "That Tomalski-guy told all the other stupid undertakers, that they had less work because of me." "That I had 500, 1000, maybe 2000 funerals a month." "Then there'd be no more living souls in town!" "Did you ever hear anything about Mr. Tomalski having problems with..." "That he was a subject to threat?" "Yes, he claimed he received plenty of calls at any hour, day and night." "And his car was set on fire." "Did Mr. Tomalski connect the threats to Mr. Skrzydlewski?" " Yes." " How did you come to that conclusion?" "The threatening calls started only when Tomalski had reported on Skrzydlewski." "Was it then harder for Skrzydlewski to carry on his business?" "Yes." "Stay seated in here if you want." "If you go out, ask Mr. Koroch to come in" "Krzysztof Koroch testifies..." "Answer the defence counsel's questions." "Did you hear about Mr. Tomalski being the victim of threats, or that he was afraid of something?" " Yes, his car was set on fire." " Was he threatened at any time?" "He said that his daughter had been." "He had to accompany her to school." "Have you any idea, based on knowledge, who was behind it?" "It was Sumera." "Who did Mr. Sumera work for when the car was set on fire?" "He ran the funeral firm "Non Omnis Moriar"." "Did this firm have a connection to Mr. Skrzydlewski's firm?" "Officially I don't know, but unofficially yes." "Someone called and said hello from a good friend, and I met him." "We met three times." "At our first meeting the man claimed that he'd help me with Skrzydlewski." "At our second meeting he asked me if he should kill him." "I said yes." ""Anything!" "As long as he leaves me in peace", I said." "And then we decided on the sum of 50,000 zlotys." "At our third meeting," "I gave him an envelope in the car, containing 25000, since the sum was to be paid in two parts." "I didn't think." "I just wanted that me and my family should be left in piece." "When I came out from the town hall, they had decided to kill me." "In order to tease me even after my death, a rival was to drive my remains to Tomalski, so that he could hack away at me!" "I would have wakened on the table!" "So Jurek Killer was paid 25000 zlotys..." "Jurek Killer..." "Just a minute." "I recognize that, from some film." "It's pathetic that the police could fool that idiot so completely." "They filmed him when they agreed on the deal!" "Then he simulated some kind of affection, something with his heart." "So he called for an ambulance." "To fall "ill"... sure was a good alibi." "The ambulance came." "But it was green." "I can't say it out loud, but all this will be torn down next year." "How many funerals have you sold this month?" "Five..." "We have no hospital here, and we aren't here 24 hours a day." "That's the difference." "But when we'll have our own mortuary, and have come to an agreement with the cemetery, things'll be better." "The cemetery administration is in the house to the left." "I'm sure we'll come to an agreement." "You know what I mean." " Has anything been decided already?" " It's all in God's hands..." "I gave them a TV set, a sofa..." "And I drove some vodka there." "I never saw anyone drunk at the job, but afterwards it could happen, that the guys arranged a party and I brought them vodka." "And then?" "Sometimes I brought brandy..." "For Women's Day the ladies received of course flowers and chocolate." " But then someone outdid me." " And gave money?" "I used to joke about that, if you fell ill and the ambulance came." ""Just tell the medical orderly that you'll pay him well to be saved."" "Good Heavens!" "No!" "I don't want to slander anyone, but you can never really know if they're doing everything to save you." "Tomalski comes this way." " Comes or came?" " Comes." "He's in custody here." " I see, when he's brought to trial?" " So he has seen our new branch here." "Everybody said that it could have been Sumera, who set my car on fire." "But at the same time I know, just like everybody else, that Sumera couldn't do anything without Skrzydlewski's approval." "He couldn't choke me, so he harassed me until I had a breakdown." " You've already told us that." " I was ready to do anything." "For the safety for my family." "Especially for our daughter." "They'd turn her into a whore, and play ball with your head." "We know." "I know I'm repeating myself, but..." "I never went to see any killer." "Skrzydlewski heard about my discussions." "That's what I think." "He knew I was feeling bad, and he sent the killer." "Then the police took care of the rest." "And here we have the happy team' captain" " Slawomir "Dudi" Dudek!" "You don't behave like that, and we'll see to it that he learns that!" ""Bang, bang", that's all there is to it." "Hell, he should be put six feet under!" "Let's check the cars, guys." "How is it going?" "Whose car is this?" "Jadzka!" " Open up!" " It's not mine." "Well, yes..." "You don't know?" " This is the firm's first boozer." "It's bad luck if he drives sober." "He usually has a drink before." "We must check that you have no cards, no porno magazines..." "Hey there, whose are they?" " Take these shoes!" " They aren't mine!" "Whose are they?" "Do you bury people without shoes?" "Remember that you have to get a receipt for everything, so that you can collect your 4500." "Got it?" "Your wife can buy a new pair of nice shoes." "What do you mean?" "You can't bury your aunt without shoes, can you?" "Yes, but you'll get compensation in any case." "Shoes, skirts and things..." "Got it?" "It has to say "women shoes", so that nobody thinks you bought men shoes." "What do you mean by "Skrzydlewski, too, will sit here some day"?" "I'll give you an example..." "Skrzydlewski's involvement in certain things will soon be common knowledge." " What is he involved in?" " I won't do the prosecutor's job." "It was Tomalski, who was the Godfather of the "corpse traffic"." " So he was behind the system?" " That's right." "His wife worked at the emergency ward and issued death certificates." "He was thinking that he'd get all dead people to his mortuary, and that he'd dress them." "Fru Tomalska may come in." "How are things at home?" "How is Uska?" "She got lower grades in three subjects." "She didn't forget the white chalks, did she?" "Are you planning to open a nursery school here, or what?" "I have to do something to be occupied." "You know that you can't appeal against the decision, now that you're the suspect for another attempted murder?" "The visiting-hours are over." "Take care." "Come with me." " Say hello to everyone at home." " Wait here." "I think that this whole affair can only end with either mine or his death following a heart attack." "I can't see any other solution." " It's him or you?" " That's what I think." "Police provocation was until recently an unknown concept in our legislation" "This is about an active and extremely dangerous provocation, because it has resulted in crimes being committed, that otherwise wouldn't have taken place." "I understand that the Pope isn't an authority to everybody." "But he forgave his assailant." "Skrzydlewski was brought up in the Christian belief, and would certainly be able to forgive the defendant Tomalski." "That's what Tomalski expects." "Thank you." "I know that I must assume the consequences of what I've done." "It was wrong what I planned, and I ask Mr. Skrzydlewski for forgiveness" " Do you want to add something?" " I feel sorry for Mr. Tomalski." "I would have forgiven him, if he hadn't tried twice already to do the same thing from the prison." "It's hard to live, when you have to watch your back all the time." "Thanks." "Do you want to leave the court?" "Honey..." "Are you feeling bad?" "Sit down." " Can we have a 15-minute-break?" " Of course." "This is too hard for me." "Have you got enough strength to talk about how you see the future?" "Very black." "My daughter is being mobbed because she's the daughter of a criminal." "When I go to see dad in prison," "I have always lots to tell him." "I've never commented on anything." "But once I asked if it was all true." "He had tears in his eyes, and I started to cry." "But I got no answer." "Have you got the judgment?" "For Tomalski..." "Mr. Tomalski..." "Your judgment..." "Excuse me, can I appeal against it?" "It says nothing about that." "This judgment came after the appeal." "I know, but there must be another way." "Annulment or something?" "Have I no rights?" "Just a fine court system we have..." "There's nothing else to do than hang oneself..." "This shows that the court in Lodz doesn't care about justice and truth." "Here only filthiness, money and contacts count, nothing else!" "Skrzydlewski said already in 2001 that I'd be judged, and so I am!" "What kind of justice is that?" "Justice in the courthouse in Lodz?" "Forget it!" "Corruption everywhere, nothing else!" "Are you pleased with the judgment?" "because I think he let himself be manipulated by others." "He himself didn't have that money." "Well, it's not for me to judge, but one day he might realize that he was a tool in the hands of others." "He took the blame and proved to be a real man." "I don't want to talk about it any more." "This has affected me a lot." "I never thought I'd be so affected by this." " What has affected you most?" " That nobody condemns him." "Everybody feels sorry for him and continues spitting at me." "Everybody blames me for being alive." "That's the worst part of it!" " If I could turn back time?" " Yes, to 1988." "Then I wouldn't be so stupid to marry again." "To Jacek?" "Unfortunately..." "And he knows it." " But you married out of love?" " No, only for our daughter's sake." "We opened a small office and painted it blue and white." "The priest inaugurated it on Saturday and on Monday an employee called me to ask me to bring some white paint." "I came and stepped out of the car..." "Somebody had painted on the house:" ""Skrzydlewski is a prick!" Maybe..." ""Skrzydlewski is a whore!" That may be so, I said." "But "Skrzydlewski is a fag" was too much." "I wanted to smash someone, but there were only old people." "Everybody thought I'd paint over it." ""Leave it like that", I said." "Suddenly tourists came and business boomed." "I had expected to have five funerals the first months, but we sold fourteen!" "When we painted over it, we had fewer, so now we're considering painting it back again!" "I've started writing my memoirs, from my time as an ambulance man, and all misunderstandings with Witek." "I started because I was bored." " "Witek"?" " Yes." " Were you friends?" " We were once." "We were rather good friends." "I think it was... from 1991... to 1998." "Until I was appointed chairman of the board of funeral service." "He presented me with an ultimatum that I rejected." "Then I was in a lousy position." "He suggested a very close collaboration." "All funeral firms were to disappear, except one..." "Hello?" "Yes, how do you do." "What happened?" " Do you understand the charges?" " Yes, Your Honour, I do." "The defendant has certain rights during the proceedings." "Giving explanations, especially." "That I will do." "The defendant says that he wants to give explanations." "The court and all those present are listening carefully." "My testimony during the preliminary investigation wasn't true." "I was very scared at the moment, and the prosecutor tried to make me say what he wanted me to say." "I was alone with the prosecutor and he said..." "He let fly at me, saying:" ""You'd better not go back on this, because than I'll see to it that you die."" " Say that last thing once again." " That's what the prosecutor said." "What did he say?" "You changed your mind." "If I rejected my testimony, or denied anything of what I had said..." ""I'll see to it, Nowocien, that you die."" " Can Pavulon have been used to kill?" " It can't be excluded." "If it was used for that, it leads to the most painful death a person can suffer." "You suffocate and at the same time you're conscious, but completely defenceless." "You can neither move your arms, nor defend yourself, scream or whisper." "In your testimonies you describe in detail, the effects of Pavulon, how long it takes to die, how the body reacts, what you look like after death..." "There are things you can't describe without having seen them." " Where did you learn all that?" " I've already told you here that..." "I've seen death for 12 years in ambulances - tragic and dramatic." "The worst effects of Pavulon were depicted to me by the prosecutor." "It happened once... that I went to a patient who had got an electric shock." "The visit was very delayed." "When I came there..." "It was a young man, in his forties." "After the electric shock, there was no sign of life from him." "All attempts to bring him back to life failed." "Afterwards the control officer tried to persuade me, that we had arrived much earlier than we actually did." "You mean that the control officer tried to falsify the documents?" "I think that might be what happened." "The control officer Selder was probably paid by the undertakers." "Was Skrzydlewski one of the under- takers who paid for "collaboration"?" "Certainly." "He was behind it all." "Selling information?" "And all that it led to." "You mean that patients were killed." "That death was precipitated." "Not by him directly, but we consider that he must be held responsible." "Besides being accused of corruption, he's accused of having delayed turn-outs, and that's also a way to kill patients." "When you read about Selder in the papers..." "Either the charges against him are false, or else he's a real monster." "That's why I'm asking you if you know him." "What kind of man is he?" "From what I've seen on TV, he seems to be a decent guy." "The biggest undertaker didn't try to scare me." "On the contrary." "He brought flowers, a bottle of wine, and suggested a collaboration." "I'm not a fag bringing flowers to men!" "A beautiful female control officer would have been something else..." "Maybe I'd have given him liquor." " What proves you didn't take bribes?" " What proves I did?" "People from the funeral firms will testify that they paid you." "How?" "I don't want to go into that." " Let's say they'll testify about it." " Bribes?" "Brilliant!" "That you'd delay the ambulances and they'd get the corpses." "And then, accordingly, people died one after another..." "With such charges it'll be a brilliant trial." " It's easy to refute." " How?" "I won't tell you that." "But I'm prepared." "So the bigwigs have already left?" "Will the bishop have his office here?" " I heard it'd be transferred here." " It'll be in these two rooms." " Is that him, the bishop?" " Yes." "And there's no way to get the bishop to appear in the film?" "Maybe you could ask him the next time you see him?" "If I hadn't told him what the film is about, maybe it would have been possible." "What did you say?" "I told him what I have understood, and what Mr. Sumera has explained." "I don't want to offend anyone, but he who loved flowers was in the business behaving like a gorilla in a shopping mall." "He needed a partner like Tomalski, who manipulated him a bit, and gave him the hand." "But it was all fake." "They bowed and kissed, like Brezjnev and Honecker." "It was all about money." " Yes..." " This is my ID." "Thank you." " Hello." "Janusz Pietraszkiewicz?" " Yes." "When we came there, a woman was lying by the sofa." "The doctor checked her and sat down to issue the death certificate." "We had a medical orderly with us..." "Pawel or Piotrek..." "He came and said:" ""I can feel her pulse still."" ""Get the defibrillator", he said," ""and bring the saliva extractor." I ran down to get it all." "He gave her two injections, without asking the doctor, and the woman got up and lay down on the sofa." "Who was the doctor?" "He had a distinguished name but he was a rotter." "Roman Korczak." "Yes, I'm the one they call "The Angel of Death" in this country." "In the media I've been described as a man who killed people and sold information to funeral firms about where they could find corpses." "But nothing of that is true." "I was once contacted by an undertaker One single time." " He suggested..." "But..." " What?" "Money for information about deaths." " But there was no deal." " You didn't accept the offer?" "I simply didn't want to have anything to do with such things, because..." "Giving out such information would have been completely incompatible with my principles." " Hello." "So you're a free man now?" " Sure." "Then maybe you don't know that Dr Korczak is dead..." " I heard about that." " What did you hear about his death?" "That he probably took poison." "Himself..." " Suicide?" " Yes." "Did you know that he had a breakdown after all you'd written about him?" " After what you told..." " He had?" "Roman Korczak's pilgrimage here on earth has come to an end." "He was a modest and honest man, who bravely resisted the difficulties at the end of his life." "Do you think there'll be witness confrontations?" "They'll certainly show me photos of criminals." "You do know how many ex-cops Skrzydlewski has employed." " Do you think he shouldn't have?" " It's good for him to have guards." "Lately they've been shouting insults at him at the speedway track." "Then he had two police cars that protected him." "Do you think he's been recording us all the time?" "The witness changed tapes in a tape recorder." "Is he recording us?" "Absolutely not." "You're allowed to make recordings in here, but not a witness!" " I'm not recording." " I warn you!" "From your testimony I draw the conclusion, that you have an inclination to be a secret agent." "I mean espionage..." "Did it occur that the ambulance personnel were incited economically, that is with money - in order to persuade families to go to your firm?" " Yes or no?" " Yes." " Do you know where Tomalski is now?" " Yes." "It must have been profitable..." "The payment was made in order to..." "I think that Mr. Tomalski..." "I pay no attention to what you think." "Just answer the questions." "Or do you want to have a break until 4 o'clock p. m?" "No, that's not necessary." "I might have been unclear..." ""Might"?" "!" "You were unclear." "What was the idea behind the collaboration?" "I used to leave a pot at the mortuary before next shift." " I don't know what happened then..." " A "pot"?" "A "pot" of what?" "to ten cases where you used Pavulon - maybe eleven cases, with the aim of killing a patient." "That's your own statement." "Yes, because the prosecutor manipulated me to say that." "Please tell us again, because this could be something new, how the prosecutor manipulated you." "When I said that I didn't know anything about Pavulon and all that the prosecutor said it wasn't true." ""Tell us the tale instead." "The rest is unimportant."" "Did the prosecutor really say, literally, "the tale"?" " Yes, he did." " I see." "If I gave the testimony, that the court now has, he promised me plenty." "First I'd be acquitted of the bribery charges." "So for a promise from the prosecutor of acquittal or milder punishment you confessed to four murders?" " Yes." "You said something about bribes as well, didn't you?" "I confirm truthfully... that we accepted financial benefits from funeral firms." "Who are you talking about?" ""We accepted." Who are "we"?" "Everyone!" "I can't recall any names just now..." "So you didn't meet one single doctor who didn't take bribes?" "Not that I can recall." "Please..." "Did the accused doctors sitting here in the court also take money?" " I said everyone at the casualty ward" " This is a tangible question!" "Did the defendants Wasilewski and Kulinski take bribes from the funeral firms?" "Yes." "During the preliminary investigation, when you went through intensive interrogations..." "The court has over 30 minutes from the interrogations with you." " 38." " 38, even!" "So we've been listening to you for at least 38 days." "I have here a passage from a written communication from you:" ""Why doesn't anyone talk about Skrzydlewski's funeral firm?"" ""That's where the bribing days started." "I was myself on..."" ""Drewnowska Street" or..." ""Dziewiarska Street, accepting money"" ""from a man called Witek."" ""I got them when 'the corpses were delivered'."" ""For Christmas we received Christmas trees, champagne, chocolate..."" ""I still have the thank-you cards for good collaboration from the firm."" ""Then Witek didn't want to pay himself anymore, too dangerous!"" ""He mentioned flower shops where we could collect the money."" "I had forgotten about that, but it's true what it says there." " Anything else?" " No thanks." "They cost 1,50 - not 1,90!" "Fuck you if you try to get paid more!" "Does the guelder rose cost 1,90?" "You look as if you're off to the gas chamber!" "Shaky and mute!" "Tomorrow I'll bring my weapon!" "Some of the ambulance personnel claim that your firm bribed the emergency ward to get corpses." "Is that true?" "I'm not surprised that they say so." "We put a stop to the business, and now they're running us down." " "Put a stop to the business?"" " Yes, in a way..." "I co-operated with journalists, who got wind of the proceedings." "It was me who gave the information." "And one of the defendants is in the same cell as the man who hired a killer to kill me." "So I have to take into account that people will talk against me." "But then they must prove what they say..." "Ladies and gentlemen, first some sad news." "In January, just like I predicted in December, we lost 8% of the market." "That's a lot." "I think you've lost 2% to our competitors..." "You've lost 7%." " And you lost 19%." "That's really a lot." "I think our competitors are uncorking the champagne right now celebrating that they've given us a beating." "I don't know about you, but I don't like losing at all..." "In this case several different undertakers are interrogated." "I must inform the witness that the information that has come to hand in this matter... indicate... to put it delicately, that you were the brain behind all this business." "If we're talking about the newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza, that revealed this scandal, it was me that they interviewed." "And I wasn't anonymous." "Mr. Nowocien..." "I can see you haven't fallen asleep, but sit there listening." "How do you know this man?" "Speak up, please." "From his funeral firm where he gave me money." " What were you paid for?" " How can you say such a thing?" "!" "For information about deceased patients." " One or several times?" " Once he paid me himself." " So this witness paid you?" " And then the flower shop did." " Whose flower shop?" " Your Honour..." "I've never seen this man or given him any money." "I'd like to ask him in what flower shop he received money." "Not you, but I'll ask him that." "That's the casting here..." "In what flower shop?" " I've understood there were several?" "In 2000 it was at Pojezierska Street, on the right side, in the pavilion." "And two years earlier at the corner of Wigura Street." "Who started to pay the ambulance personnel?" "Mr. Skrzydlewski's firm was first." "This is Monika Sieradzka again." "I can't reach your father." " I did right now!" " Where is he?" " On his way into the Peter' Basilica" " Has he managed to get in there?" "Yes, he' soon going inside." "He must be standing at Peter' Square" "He was at Castel Sant'Angelo 15 minutes ago." "He'll soon be there." " Will he attend the funeral tomorrow?" " Yes." " How did he manage that?" " Higher powers..." " You need contacts in heaven..." " And he has that?" "He' a saint already in life." "He' a good man, so he managed." "Good men are rewarded by God." "Since the beginning of the 90's, ambulance personnel ask each other:" ""Who are you working with today?"" "That question doesn't mean "with which doctor?"" "but "with which undertaker?"" "The defendant Nowocien injected Pavulon." "Reflect upon the number of deaths he caused, and where it took place:" "between the four walls of an ambulance, where there's a meeting... between the patient's hope, the family's confidence, the need for help... and the Darkness' merciless servant, disguised as a medical orderly..." "That was what you were, Nowocien, when you injected Pavulon in patients" "Mr. Schwalbe." "Mrs. Barasinska." "Mrs. Grabowska..." "Will the defendants please rise!" "For his crimes the defendant Andrzej Nowocien is hereby condemned to life imprisonment." "Subtitles by LeapinLar"