Beasts in Cassocks: The Crimes of the Heads of the Russian Greek Catholic Orthodox Church in America/Chapter 38
CHAPTER XXXVIII.
I Am Accused of Bolshevism
In addition to all this, last November they sent to my apartment in Bayonne, N. J., a few of their conspirators who stole $26,000.00 of my money, took away our family jewelry and arrested me on an accusation of Bolshevism and bribery. At the trial, they had a number of false witnesses, who were in the end exposed by the experienced judge and jury. The fair Amrican Court, afttr a trial that lasted fourteen days, acquitted me and indicted the perjurers, provocateurs and robbers, who had testified against me. I hope that the just American Courts will punish severely these false witnesses, robbers and provocateurs, sent to me by Metropolitan Platon and his clique, who robbed me and tried to send me to prison and my wife to an insane asylum, or have her deported to Russia. They failed in all these schemes! One of those whose trial for perjured testimony against me is pending, is one Saul Wolf, a notorious saloon-keeper at 35 West 21st Street, Bayonne, N. J.
In one thing, however, they did succeed. They had my wife taken to Bellevue Hospital and from there she was supposed to be sent to a building in Staten Island. This structure was burned down, and many patients were killed in the fire on the night on which my wife was to be taken there. Small wonder why on the day prior to the fire, Priest Alexander Chichillo, accompanied by his brother-in-law, Priest Varchol, came to me and said: "I was to Staten Island in the hospital but did not find your wife there. She must be in another building." The very next day, the papers announced that the very house in which my wife was supposed to be, was burned down. The following day Chichillo and Varchol called on me again, and showing the paper under my very nose, said: "Look, this is the hospital and the same house in which your wife was, and it is now burned down." To this I replied: "I wonder if this is not your work." Chichillo replied sarcastically: "Your case is now lost—the chief witness against Platon has perished."
I wanted to detain him, but was afraid to lose out in the scuffle with the two. I let the matteer go until I could learn about my wife's condition. I went to Bellevue, and finding her there, finally, with difficulty succeeded, together with Priest Ptashchuk, in taking her out.
But, suspecting something wrong in this affair, I began to make inquiries. Alexander Chichillo, in the meantime, circulated the rumor in the newspapers to the effect that he, too, was coming out against Platon and his clique. His brother-in-law, Priest Varchol, went to Ohio, where he committed suicide, having slain himself with a razor. Thus all traces were buried. I am certain, however, that it was Alexander Chichillo's doing and that it was he who had planned to havee my wife killed by bribing the watchman of the hospital with money given him by Metropolitan Platon.
To all this I will add that since Alexander Chichillo had it in his power to send my wife to a hospital for the insane and then give orders to have her deported to Russia, there is not the slightest doubt that he was also instrumental in settting fire to the Staten Island Hospittal. It is with the eobject of tying my hands that they have been dragging me to all sortts of American Courts and have obtained a judgment against me for $600.00. This money was collected from me more than once, to pay the bandits and robbers Kuklinsky who were bribed by Valerian Graves, Platon’s attorney, and Buimistrov, Chairman of the Russian Relief. It is impossible, however, to tell of all the machinations and misdeeds of Platon and his minions. I therefore, respectfully request the United States Attorney General to institute a most stringent investigation of all the crimes prepetrated by Metropolitan Platon and his clique.