Changing his tune to penance

HAZLETON – Jan Lewan is reinventing himself as a polka rapper.

Fresh out of prison and set to begin repaying his debt to the people he swindled, the area polka legend said he was exposed to rap music while behind bars and took a liking to the art.

He admits it took a little while for him to get used to the genre, but he finally started liking it when he realized he could tell a story, along with the uplifting melody.

“My rap will be a melody of polka. It is something different and something I hope polka people will accept,” Lewan said.

He is now working on his rap polka album and just finished his book, “Two Suitcases Full of Dreams,” that he hopes will be sold nationwide starting around Christmas time.

Lewan, 67, of Hazleton, whose real name is Jan Lewandowski, filed for bankruptcy in 2002 without much to show for the millions of dollars invested in unregistered promissory notes sold to support his music and merchandise businesses.

He promised returns of 12 to 20 percent on the investments. But authorities said that when he was unable to deliver the high returns on maturing notes, he instead paid the interest with money from new investors.

Federal and state authorities filed criminal charges against Lewan related to the investment scheme. He pleaded guilty to mail and wire fraud in federal court, two counts of theft against the elderly, one count each of racketeering, securities fraud, selling unregistered securities and sale of securities by an unregistered agent for the Delaware charges, before being sentenced in Delaware, New Jersey and the U.S. Middle District Court in Scranton. Lewan began serving a five-year jail term in Delaware in 2004 and was released in April 2009. The New Jersey charges were also related to Lewan selling unregistered promissory notes.

He admits his mistakes and emphasizes he has learned from his experience behind bars and hopes to repay money owed to the 400 people he cheated out of $5 million.

After Lewan returned to his adopted home of Hazleton, living in an apartment he shares with his teenage daughter, Amber, he began working to re-form the Jan Lewan Orchestra to begin performing shows to help him supplement his Social Security income and, he says, more important, repay those he swindled.

Lewan remains good friends with his wife, Rhonda, despite their separation. His son, Daniel, is now married and lives in Florida.

He said he was presented with what he thought was a great opportunity to earn money while supporting his band, and he grabbed it. Now he realizes he should have been more cautious of such a great opportunity.

“Now I try to do everything to avoid mistakes. This is the greatest country in the world,” he said, noting that people in America have the opportunity to achieve their wildest dreams, but he was just “rushing too fast.”

Trying to get back on track, he volunteered his time to perform at Guardian Health Care in Nanticoke’s Sheatown neighborhood earlier this month during a tribute concert organized by Red Hat Sweeties organizer Alma Berlot.

Lewan said the best way to help his former investors, some of whom lost their life savings, is for him to start performing again and selling copies of his book. He hopes people, especially the victims, will understand. Proceeds from all his earnings will be given to the probation department. He then said the money will make its way back to his former investors, but he admits he is not sure how that process works.

“I hope in my lifetime I will still be able to reach the highest stars, so everyone can be happy … the more opportunity I have, the better it is for everybody.”

A native of Poland, Lewan, immigrated to the West in 1972, performing polka for Canadian Pacific Chain Hotels across Canada. He moved to the United States in 1981 and became a U.S. citizen on Oct. 30, 1986, chasing the American dream of wealth and happiness.

“Everybody that is coming from Europe wants to achieve the highest stars. Some people are more likely, some are not. Some doing the right things all the way and some making mistakes. I am the one I believe I make mistakes, which I paid a high price,” he said.

He served a few months at the James T. Vaughn Correctional Center, formerly named the Delaware State Correctional Center, in Smyrna, Del., before he was attacked by a fellow inmate.

Lewan said he felt like he was “in hell” when he was in Smyrna. “One day in jail is one day too long,” he said.

Lewan nearly died in prison when his cellmate Keith Garner attacked him as he slept on April 18, 2004. Garner cut Lewan on the neck sometime after 3 a.m. as Lewan laid in his bunk facing the wall.

Lewan said he didn’t even feel himself being cut. When he reached his hand to the back of his neck, he could feel the blood flowing and immediately began desperately trying to get the guards’ attention. He was finally found and taken to the hospital when guards opened the door for breakfast about 4 a.m.

Lewan underwent two operations, totaling eight hours, on both sides of his neck, and remained in the hospital for about a week.

Garner, who was serving a life sentence for rape, later received an additional 25 years for first-degree assault for the attack on Lewan. Shortly before the attack, Garner had been removed from solitary confinement, where he spent years, before being moved to the general population.

Lewan isn’t sure why Garner attacked him but said that Garner just did not want to interact with anyone.

“You can get used to being alone. I was very nice to him. He didn’t talk to me,” Lewan said.

A few months after the attack, Lewan was transferred to the Sussex Correctional Institution in Georgetown, Del., where he served the majority of his sentence.

His life improved, as much as it could in a prison setting, in Georgetown. He worked in the cafeteria, earning 18 cents an hour for six months, and enrolled in a vo-tech carpenter class, where he made gifts for his family.

He also was allowed to play the piano and sing two hours a day in the prison’s chapel, calling it his “kind of escape.” It also helped him keep his voice healthy enough so he could resume his singing career to pay back others.

“If once you have that zeal of entertaining, it’s hard to say goodbye. Even today it brings some beautiful memories for me to entertain people. Once you have that you never give up. I believe if someone gives up, it is because they have no choice – because of health reasons or whatever,” Lewan said.

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With music, freed Lewan hopes to repay investors

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