It would seem that the position of the head of the Investigation Office in Łódź at the end of the 19th century was quite a job. Well, basically it was, but there is no rose without thorns. Jan Kowalik, who performed this function, found out about it when a relative of the tsar fell victim to the pickpocket ...
The whole story began in mid-1899, when the general governor of Warsaw, Prince Aleksander Imeretyński himself, visited Łódź. The honorable guest, of course, also appeared on the doorstep of the local military garrison, where he was received with all honors in the officers' casino. There, however, something happened that completely spoiled the sublime atmosphere. Well, the prince discovered that his golden commemorative cigarette case had disappeared…
Grün's brilliant plan
As you can guess, the aristocrat was not particularly delighted with this development. Therefore, he immediately complained to the governor of Piotrków, Konstantin Müller. The latter, in turn, not wanting to expose himself to a relative of the emperor of All-Russia, immediately went to the already mentioned head of the Łódź Investigation Office, Jan Kowalik. He ordered him to track the perpetrator of the theft. Of course, he made it clear that it would be better for Kowalik himself if, apart from the perpetrator, a cigarette case was also found.
But it was easier said than done. Despite vigorous investigation, the case quickly stalled. Nobody knew anything, and Governor Müller was getting more and more impatient. In this situation, Kowalik decided to go to Warsaw, where he hoped to find help. Immediately after reaching the capital of Przywiślański Kraj, he directed his steps to his colleague - Wiktor Grün. Although he could not boast of any special operational successes, he had a reputation for being extremely resourceful .
Aleksander Imeretyński
Grün - who later became famous for his cruelty while working in Warsaw's Ochran - listened to Kowalik's account over a cognac and quickly found a solution to his problem. As Ryszard Dzieszyński writes in his book "Dark sniffing feeding", he suggested to the distressed interlocutor that:
Since the cigarette case cannot be found, agree with Łódź merchants to arrange a contribution for a new one . In turn, the Lord will discreetly find out who made the Prince's cigarette case in the Caucasus, the jeweler will make an identical one, and then we will find the perpetrator of the theft.
Well, admittedly, the idea was pretty good. The head of the Lodz Investigation Office agreed to him quickly, and what's more, everything seemed to be going his way.
Merchants, whether they wanted to or not, provided funds for the implementation of the plan - after all, it has been known for a long time that it is better to live in harmony with the police. Kowalik, on the other hand, managed to get a reference to a goldsmith in Tiflis - now Tbilisi - who once twice made an exact copy of the stolen trinket.
Give me a cigarette case and the thief will be found…
Since the cigarette case was "found", a scapegoat was needed to play the role of a "thief". And this time happiness smiled on our heroes. One of the officers of the Łódź garrison committed suicide. The consummate schemer Grün could not miss such an opportunity. As soon as he heard about it, he immediately contacted Kowalik, informing him:
We have a culprit . Suppose he found out we were on his trail, he'd rather shoot himself than be disgraced by trial, conviction and demotion.
Once again the governor applauded the idea of his Warsaw colleague who came to Łódź to look after the details personally.
First, Grün went to the military camp in Andrzejów. There, after a long search between the barracks, he managed to find a suitable hiding place for a cigarette case, which he buried in the ground.
Now all you had to do was invite Governor Müller to take part in the investigation and prepare for rewards for retrieving the precious memento. Of course, the intensive search resulted in a positive result and Kowalik was honored to personally transport the cigarette case to Prince Imeretyński to Warsaw.
There one had a very unpleasant surprise for him, it turned out that ... the cigarette case had not been stolen at all. The Warsaw governor simply left it in his coat pocket in the world, and later forgot to inform the police about it (and why).
He summed up the whole matter with an ironic statement: Our police is very efficient. It can even find what has not been lost .
The saying that a lie has short legs has proven itself once again. The Kowalik did not lose his job, but he was laughed at for a long time. Grün, on the other hand, obviously denied the authorship of this "genius" plan, leaving his colleague out in the cold.
Source:
- Ryszard Dzieszyński, Dark Sniffing Foraging , Rzeszów 1986.