my county is starting to rival florida as a whole

A former Beaver County man who had his parole revoked for threatening to hire a hit squad to execute a county judge did not stop his threats there. James Malarik, 32, who last known address was in Monaca, also threatened The Times, Gov. Tom Corbett, law officials and Ambridge Water Authority board members in the same letter in which he sought money to kill county Judge C. Gus Kwidis.


The letter, which was included in court documents submitted by county detectives to the state Board of Probation and Parole before Malarik's parole violation hearing last year, was sent to at least three area residents Malarik hoped would help pay for an alleged terrorist group to "kill and maim" selected targets.

Other than a reference to the three being mentioned in front-page articles in The Times, there was no indication in the letter why Malarik thought they would be willing to assist him in raising $20,000 to "kidnap and decapitate Judge Kwidis like (Wall Street Journal reporter) Daniel Pearl in Pakistan" or any of his other targets.

Malarik also made some front-page appearances in The Times when he was charged with trying to stab Aliquippa Mayor Anthony Battalini in November 2003. He was acquitted of all charges in February 2006. Melvin Bassar of Aliquippa, pharmacist at Hometown Apothecary in New Brighton, confirmed Tuesday that Malarik sent a donation letter to the store last summer, and it was immediately turned over to police.

The letter was addressed in care of store owner Peter Antinopoulos of Economy, who was sentenced in federal court in July 2008 to 57 months in prison for a conviction on fraud and illegal drug distribution charges. Also on the letter recipient list were Ambridge Water Authority board member William Giallorenzo and Robert Perchanello of the Colonial Grill in Ambridge. Calls to Giallorenzo and the restaurant were not returned. In his letter, Malarik said donations could be made to a New York lawyer and other officials affiliated with the International Quaranic Open University, which the State Department has called a front for Jamaat ul-Fuqua, a terrorist group tied to the killing of Pearl. The Wall Street Journal reporter was on his way to interview the group's founder for a story on a possible link to the so-called "Shoe Bomber," Richard Reid, when he was kidnapped.

In addition to $20,000 Malarik wanted to raise for the Kwidis hit, he sought $5,000 "for other enemies."

Among the assortment of enemies listed were then-Attorney General Tom Corbett, the Ambridge Water Authority, the Ambridge Area Chamber of Commerce, tax collectors, FBI agents, officers of the government and rabbis.The letter also said "The Beaver County Times needs to be destroyed" and Times editorial page editor Robert Uhriniak "needs to be wacked."

Malarik claimed in his letter that he had approached three local printing shops about printing raffle tickets to raise money for the plan. He also suggested selling candy.

When police became aware of the letter last July, Malarik was arrested and charged with parole violations. He had been paroled on Dec. 1, 2009, from a five-year sentence on identity theft and conspiracy charges. The Pennsylvania Board of Probation and Parole ruled in September that the letter was "assaultive behavior" and a violation of his parole. He was placed in the Waymart State Correctional Institution in Wayne County, where he remains.

Malarik appealed the decision in November to the state Commonwealth Court, but the judges ruled, in an opinion released last week, that the board had acted properly. Malarik, who acted as his own attorney in the case, has a history of filing lawsuits.
In the last four years, Malarik has filed more than 20 federal lawsuits, suing police departments in Center Township, Monroeville, Turtle Creek, Ambridge and Aliquippa; Beaver County District Attorney Anthony Berosh; Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen Zappala; the Port Authority of Allegheny County; the state attorney general's office; Beaver County; and the state, alleging harassment and civil rights violations. Nearly all of the cases already have been rejected.

One of those cases involved Kwidis, who was one of the county judges who previously had rejected various personal injury cases Malarik filed in 2004. Malarik filed a federal appeal, saying Kwidis, George James and Robert Kunselman violated his constitutional rights by denying the motions, but the appeal was thrown out in August 2005 by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit.

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