Banská Bystrica
An investigation file over 6,000 pages long and an accusation proposal 182 pages long charged Mikuláš Černák, an alleged crime boss of the Slovak underworld, with nine crimes including blackmail, tax and fee evasion, keeping a hostage and murder, said Jaroslav Ivor, the Director of the Investigation Sector of the Interior Ministry on May 17. If convicted, Černák could face 25 years to life in prison.
The former Banska Bystrica Mafia boss has been in custody in Leopoldov prison since December, 1997, awaiting prosecution. Far from complaining about the long delay, his lawyer, Ján Gereg, said "the conditions of his imprisonment and the way the accused has been treated by the staff are good and correct."
Nine other suspected mafia members are being held in connection to crimes committed by the alleged ringleader Černák and his gang, including the notorious Mello brothers, Ivan and Karol, from Prievidza, themselves arrested in March.
According to the prosecution, one of the crimes with which Černák is being charged is the September, 1997 murder of Gregorz Szymanek, a 30-year-old Polish man sought by Interpol for economic crimes, at a cottage near Polomka in the Brezno district. The victim's corpse was discovered on October 17, 1997 in an advanced state of decomposition.
