Freaky Observation of Mine From Show

[NYGFanNJ]

Hello
First let me say I just came across this board and site, Unsolved Mysteries has always been one of my favorite shows since I was a kid, AWESOME SITE!

Now I was curious if anyone remembers a case of a murder of a man in Rome NY (I believe the original air date was 10/10/90 from the show descriptions) in his house who I believe was murdered beacuse he knew too much about organized crime in the area (the guys name escapes me). The reason I am asking about this case was at the end they were looking for a man named Chuck -------- (those who have the show on tape will hear the last name) for questioning in the case. Now I have an uncle I have never met who left the family to go on his own before I was born who has the same name and the picture bears a striking resemblence to one I have seen of him when he was younger. No one on that side of the family has heard from him in over 30 years. I am curious if that was him. That totally FREAKED me out whenever I see that episode. Of all the freaky shows that is tops for me. -- Bill

[Opal]

I think I remember this.

The man was upstairs starting to take a bath and the wife was in the kitchen. Minutes later 2 thugs came into her house and tied her up. I also seem to remember that she was hard of hearing, and when she fell to the ground her hearing aid came out. She managed to free herself and found her husband shot dead. The house was ransacked. The children think there was a possible cover-up with the police because of their questionable investigating (or lack thereof).

Didn't the police claim he was stabbed, but the children found a bullet shell that went unnoticed by investigators at the house?
There was also the lady letting her dog out the very night of the murder, and she saw 2 men running and speeding away in a white car in the alley by her house.

[NYGFanNJ]

Yeah, that is the description, I also believe the two men were also seen around town several places around the time of the murder - Robbery definately wasn't a motive as nothing was taken from the house - the man Chuck -------- whom I talked about in the inital post was shown right at the end of the case, if anyone has information pertaining to the case other than what was seen in the segment, it would be appreciated, THANKS

[dynoguy88]

I know this case. This was about the murder of Stanley Greasick. (Don't know about the spelling of the last name.) He was killed in the late 70's, I think 1979.

I'm meeting some friends for dinner but once I get home, I'll check my tape and get the extra details for you, NYGFanNJ.

[crystaldawn]

Yes, I believe it was Stanley Gryziec. I remember he had a closed door discussion with his brother before (his brother) died and they speculated they told him some things that could have endangered Stanley's life. I also remembering them saying the only thing that was missing from the house were a couple of beers.

[dynoguy88]

NYGFanNJ - O.K., I went back and checked the tape at the end of the segment for the info about "Chuck."

Chuck Bryzinski (don't know if the spelling is right on the last name - it's pronounced BRA-ZIN-SKEE) is a former employer of the bar (where it is believed there were drug deals and illegal gambling going on at the time of Stanley Gryziec's murder which may have led to his killing). He is wanted as a witness in the case and as a fugitive in an unrelated drug case. At the time this segment was shown, authorities believed that he may have been living in the Phoenix, Arizona area.

And one correction that I need to make from my previous post, Stanley Gryziec was killed November 6, 1976 in Rome, New York. (Not 1979)

[AVERMAN]

There are many inconsistencies in this case.

I imagine Rome NY to be a small town. There are many witnesses to the 2 guys in such a small town, surely somebody knows who they are. They were seen talking to a guy in the bar, someone most likely knows that guy.

This case reaks of police corruption, which leads me to believe this case will never be solved. As if they didn't see the shell on the floor, and tried to pass it off as a stab wound.

I believe this wasn't a random attack and that the killers knew exactly what they were doing. I believe they knew Stan's wife was deaf, so all they needed to do was tie her up and remove her hearing aid and their only possible witness is useless. They ransacked the house to make it look like a random robbery but forgot to take something of value. The suspects must have been Australian, as they only took a couple of beers with them and left everything else :P.

I have no theory on the motive, but I do believe his late brother is involved somehow.

[The Third Man]

My wife and I saw this case not long ago. I decided to poke around Lexis-Nexis for a little information, and came up with a few articles that look useful. Unfortunately, it looks like there's been little new in the case since 1991, but intriguingly there is a suspect. Police don't have enough on him, though.

Post Standard (Syracuse) January 6, 1991

A Central New York man is suspected of committing a 14-year-old murder featured on the NBC television series "Unsolved Mysteries" three months ago.

William Kernan, an assistant district attorney in Oneida County, declined to name the male suspect. The man is living in the Syracuse-Utica area and might not know he is suspected of the Nov. 6, 1976 fatal shooting of Stanley Gryziec in his South Street home in Rome, Kernan said.

"He hasn't hired a lawyer," Kernan said. "On some days I say, 'You know we could still possibly get an indictment.' On other days you think, 'No. We're never going to get an indictment because so many of the prime witnesses are deceased or have moved away."'

Oneida County Sheriff's Investigator Robert Saunders and Rome city police Investigator John Keys have received about 320 telephone calls from people who saw the "Unsolved Mysteries" episode Oct. 10 and claim to have information about Gryziec, who was 59 when he died.

"FIFTY PERCENT of what came in was advantageous," Saunders said. "A lot of it was repetitious. . . . We still get about two calls a week."

The death of Gryziec -- owner of a liquor store and manager of a car dealership -- initially was believed to be a robbery gone awry. The case was reopened in 1987 after new evidence surfaced during an unrelated arson investigation. Saunders said he now believes Gryziec might have been the innocent victim of a local crime ring.

He said the murderer might have killed the wrong man or went after Gryziec to keep him from revealing information about illegal activities. Gryziec was killed by two men in ski masks who burst into his home late at night, handcuffed his wife, choked her until she fell unconscious and shot him in the chest. His wife, Esther Gryziec, died of natural causes 23 months later.

SEVERAL PEOPLE have asked the investigators to test fire their .25-caliber automatic handguns -- the same caliber as the gun that killed Gryziec, Saunders said. The gun owners are worried that the murder could be pinned on them because they own similar guns, he said.

Saunders and Keys are still looking for Charles Bucrzinski, a potential witness who jumped bail in 1977 when he was being tried in Oneida County on drug-related charges, Saunders said. A composite sketch of Bucrzinski was aired during the 18-minute "Unsolved Mysteries" segment called "The Man who Knew too Much."

"WE HAVEN'T gotten anything new on him. We are really very interested in talking to him," Saunders said.

Saunders and Keys have been assigned to the case full-time and are working out of the Oneida County District Attorney's Office. The pair is expected to complete the investigation in February. Saunders, Keys and Kernan will then review the evidence and decide whether they have enough to charge the suspect, Kernan said.

Post-Standard (Syracuse) October 12, 1990

The morning after the television show "Unsolved Mysteries" focused on a murder here 14 years ago, police revealed that they might have their man.

"We think we know who did it, but we're not at liberty to talk about his whereabouts," Police Chief Edward Cretaro said Thursday. "That was the whole purpose of the show, to get more information, to button it up."

The 18-minute segment of the hour-long show featured a re-enactment of the murder of Stanley Gryziec. The program generated about 150 telephone calls nationwide from people offering information on the crime, Cretaro said.

Cretaro said his department has a suspect, but not enough evidence to convict that person of a crime.

"We have enough to indict, but probably not enough to convict," Cretaro said. "We don't want to indict without a conviction."

Gryziec was 59 when he was shot and killed Nov. 6, 1976, in his home in south Rome. His wife, Esther, was tied up in the kitchen while two men ransacked the house. She died of natural causes two years later.

[CanadianUMFan]

Any new developments on the Stanley Gryziec case? I just watched it and strongly suspect that some police officers were involved in this somehow. The weirdest part of the segment was when UM spoke to that Patsy Peck person who owned a shop with her husband that those two mysterious figures visited. Patsy actually hugged one of them but then gave the impression to UM that she didn't know them well (I don't even think that she knew their names). What was up with that? BTW, I wonder if that Chuck guy really was the uncle of the poster who originated this thread.