Free Chad from Bulgarian Arrest!

What I'm about to tell you seems unbelievable. Because of this, I have provided all the court documents and transcripts.

In October 2009 on a trip to Bulgaria I was arrested and detained in a Bulgarian prison because of on an Interpol Red Notice. Normally red notices are reserved for terrorists, murders, etc. However an agent of the Pittsburgh FBI in a secret court hearing and using false evidence charged me with the kidnapping a child in November 2006. In the same evidence he states that I was not in the US in November 2006, and neither was the "kidnapped child". So how could I have kidnapped someone from the US in a month that neither I, nor the child were even in the US? In fact I have lived in Europe since 2001 and my son Aarys had resided in Europe with me for quite some time.

Bulgaria denied my extradition to the US. Instead of accepting this fact, someone in the US Dept of State began to threaten our friends, canceled my passport, and farbicate blatantly false allegations, and attempt to abduct my son against his will from his home country. In December Aarys' mother visited him, and in front of a Judge Aarys (now 13) declared that he wants to stay where he is and does not want to live with his mother in the US. Despite these facts, someone in the US Government continues to harass me.

If you are interested in a more detailed history:

• Chart of where we lived and the interacting court cases. I moved to Europe in early 2001.
  
• Extended summary from my Pennsylvania attorney, Justice: By the law or the heart?
• Full History - Every court order and transcript
• Contact myself or my attorneys.

Current Status

In November Bulgaria officially denied my extradition. However US continues to harass me outside of the legal system. Eventually the Bulgarian authorities saw through the continued false allegations and released me. I spent nearly 3 months in Bulgaria. By January I was able to leave Bulgaria and I have moved my family with me in another location. They are still pressuring for my extradition from other countries. I cannot travel, and I will not be safe at home.

In the US we filed an appeal again at the village level where this whole mess started. The judge is so desperate to deprive me of due process that he moved to block the appeal and made a request that sanctions and fines be levied against me for filing a "frivolous appeal". Again this sounds like a bad fiction story, but it is not. Those are his exact words. At this point we do not know if our appeal will even be heard because of the moves to block it by the local judge.

Note that this is not the response of the appeals court, but the response of the local judge asking the appeals court to not hear the appeal.

More Information

• Letter from Neil Saltzman (Federal Attorney) to NCMEC - A letter describing the situation in detail up through 2008.
• NCMEC - Documents to show that NCMEC is providing false information as well.
  
• Detailed History - Think I omitted something? Check here for every court order and transcript with annotations.
• Blog Entry from Barbara Mountjoy (PA Attorney)  A great blog post summarizing the history of the case until my arrest.
  
• Harassment in 2002 - In 2002, an American Embassy falsely and maliciously reported me to a foreign country as a drug dealer.
• Bulgarian Prison - Read about my stay in a Bulgarian prison. Entertaining!
  
• FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions
• CNN iReport - Inside a Bulgarian Prison - A shorter version of the Bulgarian Prison story. Please click to increase the view count, which might make the story more visible.
  

You can help!

You can help in very simple ways. Please do not just read this page and close it without taking a few moments to help spread my story. If each person notifies their friends, through the concept of six degrees of separation, eventually the story be seen by a journalist, lawyer, politician, or other person uniquely suited to help. Please pass this on!

• Pass this link around: http://www.FreeChad.org
  
• Join my Facebook Cause
• Tell at LEAST 5 people, who you know will tell more people, and so on....The more the better.
  
• Add this page to your Facebook wall
• Contact the media with information from the media page
  
• Spread the word! Forward to friends, contacts, family... The more the better.
• Blog, twitter, share.
  
• Donate money for my overwhelming legal bills. Any amount welcome!
  
• Contact the media. In the US, Canada, Bulgaria, or EU. Encourage them to look deeper and carry the real story. The media was told that I kidnapped my son, but even the FBI has changed their website to no longer say this. The media was duped! Help me get the real story out.
  
• Legal help

Contact

Regarding inquiries or media contact, you can contact myself or my attorneys.

Media Coverage

• Oct 15, 2009 Erie Times - Man accused in parental kidnapping
• Television, Radio, and Others - It was also covered on television and radio in Erie and Pittsburgh including KDKA, Meadville Tribune, and more.
  
• Oct 16, 2009 Erie Times - Bulgaria asked to return suspect in parental kidnapping of Titusville boy. This article was also front page news in the print edition. Article
• Oct 16, 2009 Sofia News Agency - Bulgaria Authorities Hold US Man on Kidnapping Charges - Article
• Oct 16, 2009 Associated Press (Taiwan News) - Man charged in US with abducting son held abroad - Article
  
• Nov 16, 2009 Erie Times - Former Edinboro man fights extradition in child kidnapping case. Front page image, and full article
• Nov 27, 2009 Erie Times - Bulgaria won't extradite former Edinboro man in parental kidnapping case. Article
• Dec 29, 2009 Titusville Herald - Man accused of kidnapping held in Bulgaria. Article
  

Frequently Asked Questions

Where does Aarys want to live?

In Dec 2009 Nancy flew and visited Aarys. She took him before a lawyer and a judge while I was still in Bulgaria. Aarys told her, the lawyer, and the judge that he wants to remain where he is and reside with me. Aarys is 13 now and old enough to make his own decision. I have always told Aarys that if he wanted to go live with his mother he only needed to tell me and I would make it happen.

What does Aarys think of all this?

I have always made available all the court documents to Aarys to read. In his own words (misspellings are his too. :) ):

This situation has me feeling very upset. It sucks and is completely rediculous. I'm upset that my dad is not here for Christmas because all of this. I wish that my mom would tell the FBI to stop putting charges on him. She started it and she can end it. I would like to visit my mom sometimes. I know that this has not been possible because all of the problem. I do not feel kidnapped in any way by my dad.

However Nancy has done nothing to relieve the situation and this is creating a barrier for Aarys wanting to establish meaningful communication with her. He did reach her at Christmas at his grandmothers house.

Ok the dates are wrong, but didn't you still kidnap him?

In August 2006 the Pennsylvania judge ordered Nancy to follow the Tennessee order and return Aarys to me after his summer visitation. She transferred him to the airport and he flew to Cyprus. I can see in no manner of the definition how this could ever be considered a kidnapping.

If you are innocent, why don't you just go back to the US and sort this out?

1. Given the usage of false evidence and harassment, I do not believe I will receive a fair trial.
2. I was not in the US when the alleged act is said to have occurred. Why should I need to be there now? If Russia indicted you tomorrow for something you did not do and were not even there at the time, would you feel obligated to go to Russia and appear before the court?
   
3. Even if found innocent, I would likely spend a year or more in prison awaiting the outcome. In fact there is an incentive to for them to drag this out. The case seems more about harassing me than convicting me. I have 3 children, one of whom was born in Sep 2009 and is a newborn. My family needs me at home.
   
4. I object to the Federal Court being in Western PA. There are conflicting orders between the states of PA and TN. A court in PA, while Federal is made up of residents of PA as would a jury.
   

You would not need to wait in prison. They could release you on a bond. So why not go back to the US?

1. Despite the US Embassy being aware that the prison in Bulgaria does not even meet Bulgarian standards of human rights, let alone International ones, the US Department of State repeatedly requested that I be rearrested and put back in Bulgarian prison. What makes you think their actions would be any different in the US where they have total control?
2. I do not live in the US and neither does my family. Even if by some miracle I was released, I would be restricted to Western PA which is thousands of miles from my family. My wife cannot travel with the newborn baby and the US Embassy will likely deny her a visa to visit the US.
   

Why can't you leave Bulgaria?

Bulgaria has denined my extradition to the US, so aside from the harassment which will eventually end, I am safe in Bulgaria. If I leave Bulgaria, I will repeat this process again in the next country. Even if that country denies my extradition as well, it is very expensive to hire the lawyers necessary as well as the costs associated with living in a foreign country. Bulgaria is inexpensive and I have lots of friends here.

Who is doing this to you? Why are they putting so much effort into this?

• NCMEC is a not a government organization but receives the majority of its funding from the government. Because of this special status, they have power but little accountability. They took Nancy's statement at face value, then the "passing of the buck" started from there.
• The FBI agent says he relies on documents from NCMEC.
• The Department of State says they rely on doucments from the FBI.
• Bulgaria says they rely on documents from the Department of State.

Yet they all go back to the statements of Nancy. Nancy has previously and repeatedly lied under oath in court, and filed false statements before.

Come on. They aren't really out to get you. Aren't you just being paranoid?

"You aren't paranoid if they are really out to get you". Let me remind you:

• Three official representatives of the US Embassy in Cyprus threatened a friend of ours, who happens to be a religious minister.
• Another offical Embassy representative in our home country intimidated local police and attempted to bypass the courts of a foreign country and kidnap Aarys.
  
• My credit cards were "magically" stolen from sealed evidence and used.
• By opinion of several Bulgarian judges, the charges were trumped up far beyond reason in order to try to ensure an extradition.
• False statements have been made in official diplomatic communications to both my home country, as well as Bulgaria.

More details on the continued harrassment.

But you are a US citizen. Shouldn't you be accountable to a US court?

My second and third kids are US citizens but have never been to the US. Should the US courts be able to order them around as adults? Should Iranian women who now live in the US be bound by court decisions in Iran? Should Iran be able to force them to cover their faces in the US? The whole notion that a court can issue orders simply based on citizenship is ludicrous and I'm surprised every time someone asks this question.

Why don't you try to speak to the FBI and prosecutor and work out a deal?

One of my lawyers did approch them, as well as Nancy's attorney. None of them are interested in any form of negotiation unless I appear in the US. If I appear in the US, I will be detained in a prison. Of course none of them will have any reason to negotiate a settlement if I am in prison.

Does Aarys want to visit with his mother?

Of course he does. But the situation created by Nancy's actions have created a catch-22.

Why did you prevent Aarys from communicating with his mother since 2006?

I did not prevent Aarys from communicating with his mother. This is yet another of her false statements used against me. Aarys regularly called his mother until she disconnected her phone in Jan 2007. After that Aarys regularly tried to reach his mother on holidays at his grandmother's house. Later Nancy also moved and here where abouts were unknown. To this day, she has still not provided us with a new telephone nor address.

Why didn't you appeal the Pennsylvania order?

We did. The Pennsylvania appeals court refused to even hear the case because it was a temporary order. In Pennsylvania, temporary orders cannot be appealed. However the temporary order was given no expiration date and is essentially a permanent order. We believe the judge did this intentionally.

Why don't you just grow up and work this out with Nancy? You are hurting your son.

I have gone to extreme lengths to work out problems with Nancy. Instead she has taken advantage of this every time. I am not the obstacle to a resolution.

• In 2001 I let her have fully custody. She violated the visitation agreement. In 2004 she kidnapped him and disappeared.
  
• Because of that, in 2004 the courts gave me summer visitation. She violated this agreement too.
• Because of that in 2005 the courts gave me full custody and summner visitation to her. She violated this agreement as well.
• In 2006 she lied to the court and created a catch-22 situation.
• In 2007 she disconnected her telephone.
• In 2007 she told the PA state police that I entered the house and kidnapped him, despite the fact that I was not in the country at the time, nor was Aarys.
  
• In 2008 she moved with no forwarding address.
• In 2009 she lied to the FBI.

Nancy has continually lost visitation, custody, and other rights, but each time becuase of her own actions and her violations of court orders. The situation of today is no different, and was not created by my actions.

How did Nancy get a passport to visit Aarys?

Nancy's passport is still listed as revoked. However someone in the US Department of State overrode this restriction and issued Nancy a passport which was previously denied, and should have been denied again.

Why were you not extradited?

On Nov 24, 2009 the Bulgarian court denied my extradition to the US and on Dec 1, 2009 the decision became final. The court denied my extradition because the US purposefully trumps up the charges in order to make an extradition case, however the closest equivalent crime by charge is a civil matter in Bulgaria and punishable by a maximum sentence of 6 months. The extradition treaty only applies to criminal crimes (not civil), and ones that are punishable by 1 year or more in prison.

Where do you live?

Many people have asked where I currently live, and why I don't publicize it.

In 2007 I received many strange e-mails including pictures of me at conferences. They included vague threats, but included specific knowledge of my where abouts. We believe these are the actions of my ex-wife (she has threatened me as well, see history) but we could never prove it. These events caused me to speak at several conferences using an alias.

After several months the threats stopped, but we decided that it was time for me to separate my private life from my professional life. Because of this we protect our privacy and home location from the public. In documents posted on this site, I have removed just the name of our home country while leaving all other contents in tact.

While we do keep our location private from the public, the US Government, my family, my ex-wife, and close friends do know where we live.