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Jan Lewandowski, the former “Polka King” who once called Hazleton home and fell from grace after being convicted of securities fraud, will be portrayed by movie star Jack Black in a new film, according to published reports.

Entertainment websites HollywoodReporter.com and deadline.com both reported Thursday that Black, who voices Po in the animated “Kung Fu Panda 3” and scored a Golden Globe nod for his lead role in “School of Rock” in 2003, will produce and star in “The Man Who Would Be Polka King.”

A member of Black’s press team confirmed the information on the websites as correct and said Black was out of the country and currently unavailable for an interview.

The websites said the new movie will be based on a 2007 documentary of the same name produced by John Mikulak and Joshua Brown.

The documentary first aired on Court TV on Dec. 3, 2007, when it was titled “Mystery of the Polka King.” The movie was apparently re-released in 2009 under the new name, according to the IMDb.com (Internet Movie Database).

The documentary portrays Lewandowski, who went by the stage name Jan Lewan, as both a charismatic performer, singing to fans who idolized him, and as a white-collar criminal whose illegal Ponzi scheme defrauded 400 investors of $10 million.

Earlier parts of the documentary show Lewan in happier times, dancing with fans as he sang to them, and meeting such famous people as Pope John Paul II, Lech Walesa and Donald Trump.

After defecting from Communist Poland to Canada in the 1970s, he eventually found success as a singer, met and married his wife, Rhonda, and moved to her hometown of Hazleton, where he was well-received by the many residents who shared his Eastern European ethnicity.

He built what some have called a “polka empire,” which included a gift shop and leading tours to Europe. He also convinced investors to give him money, promising returns of 12 percent and later 20 percent. But Lewan used the money of new investors to pay earlier investors — a Ponzi scheme — and eventually filed for bankruptcy.

In 2004, he was sentenced to five years in prison on securities fraud charges.

According to deadline.com, Maya Forbes and Wally Wolodarsky (Infinitely Polar Bear) write and direct the new film starring Black. Permut Presenations, Red Hour Films and Shivhans Pictures are beginning pre-production on the project ahead of a July start date, the website reports.

U.S. Rep. Lou Barletta, then mayor of Hazleton, hands Jan Lewan, center, and Lewan’s wife, Rhonda, a proclamation announcing Immigration Day in Hazleton in July 2000.
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/web1_Lewan_Barletta_CMYK-3.jpg.optimal.jpgU.S. Rep. Lou Barletta, then mayor of Hazleton, hands Jan Lewan, center, and Lewan’s wife, Rhonda, a proclamation announcing Immigration Day in Hazleton in July 2000. Pete G. Wilcox | Times Leader file photo

Black
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/web1_Black_AP1CMYK-3.jpg.optimal.jpgBlack AP photo

By Steve Mocarsky

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Reach Steve Mocarsky at 570-991-6386 or on Twitter @TLSteveMocarsky.