Man Who Inspired Netflix’s ‘The Polka King’ Shares His Bizarre-But-True Life Story

Less than a decade after his release from prison, Jan “Lewan” Lewandowski is the subject of a new Netflix movie that’s based on his strange life story. He talked with Glenn on today’s show about his journey from Poland to Pope John Paul II to “Polka King” inspiration.

Lewan came to the U.S. from Poland in 1971, intent on success. He brought together a polka band and took them on a European tour where they went to Rome to meet the pope. But unfortunately, Lewan’s story also includes fraud, tampered votes and an elaborate Ponzi scheme.

Lewan was arrested in 2001 for fraudulent dealings that amounted to millions of dollars stolen from more than 400 people. And yes, he would like for you to watch the Netflix movie.

“Even though I was told, ‘Don’t do it,’ I [kept doing it] because when you drown, you will catch anything,” Lewan told Glenn on today’s show.

This article provided courtesy of TheBlaze.

GLENN: So Netflix has a new movie out with Jack Black. It's called the Polka King. And the polka king is an actual guy. And I started looking into him. And I thought, we have to talk to this guy. His name is Jan Lewan. And he is from Poland. He was born in Nazi-controlled Poland and grew up under the Soviet Union. Came over here. Wanted to make it big.

Fell into a Ponzi scheme. I should say, he started a Ponzi scheme and others fell into it. He lived the high life. Met the pope. Pope John Paul II. Had real notoriety in the polka world. His music was nominated for a Grammy. And then he went to jail where he was stabbed in prison.

He is out now and has a whole lifetime of interesting stories. Welcome, Juan la Juan. How are you, sir?

JAN: Fine. How are you?

GLENN: Very good.

So let's start -- when did you come over here in the United States? And what was life like back in Poland for you?

JAN: Well, you're in a communist regime, the life is terrifying every day. You couldn't trust nobody, and you are living always with the fear that you're going to be punished for anything.

So life in the communist is definitely very negative, very depressing life.

GLENN: And when did you come over here? What time period?

JAN: To the United States, I arrived in the '80s. In 1980. I actually -- early, I was coming for the performing, for the festivals. I was living in Canada first. And they were bringing me here to the states from time to time.

And then in the '80s, I came here permanently.

GLENN: So you came under -- at the height of the Cold War, with Ronald Reagan, which must have been --

JAN: Yep. That's exactly it.

GLENN: And how do you remember those days, as somebody from Poland? The Reagan --

JAN: Oh, I remember.

GLENN: The Reagan years and the Pope John Paul and Margaret Thatcher years.

JAN: That was the turning -- turning point in Poland. Finally, the opposition started growing, included movements with Lefawenza (phonetic). And that gave power to oppositions, to -- to succeed. And actually thanks to Lefawenza, they succeed eventually to get back freedom in Poland. And, of course, they were behind 50 years. So, you know, we didn't have a proper education. See, you have to belong to the Communist Party. Then you were -- you'll be assigned to the better school. You can learn English. In my case, my parents did not want nothing to do with the communists.

So they not only lost the job, but I was learning Russian instead of English.

GLENN: So you come over here. You move to Pennsylvania. And you become the polka king. Tell me --

JAN: Well, the polka king, you know, that came along.

GLENN: Yeah.

JAN: I guess your question is, how I went to that.

I learned that in Poland, for the people who came here after the Second War, and many of them cannot go back to Poland, during the communist regime. Many cases, they will find out in jail since they didn't come back to Poland after the Second War.

So that was the -- and there were all just there for me. Because I was starting to learn English a little bit. But I was speaking Polish.

And then due to my education in Poland, in the theatrical school and this, I wasn't ready for that kind of entertainment with the polkas and this.

And I found that when I turned the polish folk music to polka, I gained lots of viewers. I mean, my -- my concert hall and festival, they were full to the last seat because they loved that. Broken English. Polish.

GLENN: Right. Right.

JAN: You know.

GLENN: Right.

JAN: That's the way it goes.

GLENN: So you -- in the movie, with Jack Black, you appear to be a wide-eyed, I love America and I'm going to make it big.

And it seems as though you don't really know what you're doing is wrong, until later. But you started a Ponzi scheme. Can you --

JAN: Yes.

GLENN: Tell me about it. And did you know that it was wrong at first?

JAN: No. Not at all. I went with my accountor, for the legal advice. And I was advised that everything is fine. A couple days later, we went again. Everything is fine. Go ahead.

I wasn't told I have to register. That was the -- that was the wrong thing on the beginning. Not so -- I feel free to advertise. This is perfect. That's -- again, oh, I'm going to build the empire.

GLENN: Right. And what were you selling people?

JAN: Well, it was a promissory note, which I offered them 12 percent. And that was very easy for me on the beginning to pay that, because in Poland, at that time, everything was penny. And in America, you sold for tens of thousands of dollars. So I created the gift shop. When you create the gift shop, you have to -- you have to have money to buy these gifts, which I didn't have nothing.

So people could travel with me to Poland. They saw on their own eyes, oh, my gosh, that doll cost 25 cents here. And in America, I pay 20 dollar. You should buy Poland. You should get everything to America, and you're going to get rich. And we're going to get rich.

Sure, I go for it.

And that's called -- of course, later on, I learned, I'm not doing illegal thing -- it's illegal. Well, I already have huge merchandise in the silver, amber -- those and everything, just to sell that. I wasn't able to sell when the accident came over. When the 9/11 came over. And, oh, the whole thing fell apart. My two musicians get killed. My son was suffering with terrible -- we all were suffering. So even though I was told don't do it, I would keep doing it. Because when you're drowning, you will catch anything. So I did wrong, knowing that I did wrong, and I paid a high price for that.

GLENN: Yeah. You went to prison for how long?

JAN: Almost six years.

GLENN: And you were stabbed in prison.

JAN: Yes. Because I should never finalize in such a terrible prison in Smyrna. That's people who commit --

GLENN: Violent.

JAN: Terrible violence. Most of them were killers. And somebody like me, with an accent, with -- with the conversation, they thought, well, he's such a soft. You know, this guy -- this guy is here for something, what we call child -- which I had nothing to do with that. And they get angry. But that's what they say in media. My opinion on that is different. Something went wrong.

Somehow, somebody did the job. And the guy who -- who really cut my neck left and right, he got 25 years on the top of his life sentence. So makes no difference for him.

Why he did that, I still don't know. I was very nice to him. I bought him coffee in commissary and everything. And keep conversation. And somehow, you know, he got me when I was sleeping.

GLENN: When you can't trust a killer, who can you trust?

JAN: Thank you.

GLENN: So, Jan, now you're out, Jack Black is playing you in a movie. What does the future hold for you? And what's your attitude about being here?

JAN: Yeah. Before I go -- part of this -- let me just say that, believe me, I'm very sorry for people who get caught in my situation, who lost the money. I would do everything possible to supply my restitution as much as I can.

Since I am thankful for that -- but I never thought that movie going to change my life. Jack Black told me that. We were talking for six months every night for two hours.

And he learned from the day I was born, you know, how they got everything so perfect in the movie, I still don't know. I did send them some of my writing, what I was doing through this years in prison, they learned from that. But I think Jack Black was a great influence to the script, to the script writers, Mya and Wally, that they did so perfect. Because I don't see -- it may be -- Hollywood.

You know, that's -- but now, the movie -- I have right now thousands of very nice comments. Of course, the negatives as well. But next to -- I should say, well, they're writing to me. They're probably just writing a positive way.

But the point is that they're asking me right now to do the concert. And I wouldn't to do that. My music director, Steve Kaminski, who actually saved the music in the movie. We had -- in the movie, we had top notch arrangements for big dance polka. It's not like regular dancing. Small thing. Okay? I don't know.

Did you see the movie?

GLENN: I have not yet. I've seen several clips of it, but I have not seen the movie.

JAN: I wish you will see the movie.

GLENN: I will. I will. I will watch it.

JAN: So that is my camera man. He supplied them with -- with all of the footage, which he traveled with me all the time. You're going to see that in the movie. They did everything. I mean, my gosh, it's fantastic.

GLENN: All right.

JAN: I don't know what it will generate because I don't need money anymore. I want to give to people who suffer over that. And I'm so sorry. Believe me, I am sick over that.

GLENN: Jan Lewan. It's a pleasure to talk to you. I'm sorry I didn't watch the movie. I had plans to watch it with my family this weekend. Something came up, so we didn't watch it. But I'm anxious to see it.

JAN: Please. Please.

GLENN: You have led a very interesting life. And I wish you all the best, sir. God bless.

JAN: Thank you. Thank you very much for your time.

STU: So to review, guy comes from over from Poland. He's a polka king. He starts up a polish gift store. He gets people to invest in the store by promising them 12 percent and 20 percent returns.

That apparently is illegal. But he's too far in the hole to pay the money back, so he has to continue the illegal activity. He goes to prison over it, and then he gets stabbed in prison in the neck.

GLENN: More than stabbed. He had his throat cut.

STU: Throat cut in prison. And his life -- right now, the story so far -- and I'm not going to say that there is not a lot more to this. But right now, it ends in a Jack Black movie that just came out on Netflix. It's perfect. And it should be a Jack Black movie.

GLENN: Yes, it is. We live in a parallel universe, man.

STU: I really want to see it. The movie is called The Polka King. There's not only a Jack Black movie, but also a documentary that are both on Netflix now, if you're interested in the stories.

GLENN: Yeah. I saw parts of the documentary. He's a fascinating guy.

What do clay pots have to do with to preserving American history?

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Editor's note: This article was originally published on TheBlaze.com.

Why should we preserve our nation’s history? If you listen to my radio program and podcast, or read my columns and books, you know I’ve dedicated a large part of my life and finances to sourcing and preserving priceless artifacts that tell America’s story. I’ve tried to make these artifacts as available as possible through the American Journey Experience Museum, just across from the studios where I do my daily radio broadcast. Thousands of you have come through the museum and have been able to see and experience these artifacts that are a part of your legacy as an American.

The destruction of American texts has already begun.

But why should people like you and me be concerned about preserving these things from our nation's history? Isn’t that what the “big guys” like the National Archives are for?

I first felt a prompting to preserve our nation's history back in 2008, and it all started with clay pots and the Dead Sea Scrolls. In 1946, a Bedouin shepherd in what is now the West Bank threw a rock into a cave nestled into the side of a cliff near the Dead Sea. Instead of hearing an echo, he heard the curious sound of a clay pot shattering. He discovered more than 15,000 Masoretic texts from the third century B.C. to the first century A.D.

These texts weren’t just a priceless historical discovery. They were virtually perfect copies of the same Jewish texts that continue to be translated today. Consider the significance of that discovery. Since the third century B.C. when these texts were first written, the Jewish people have endured a continued onslaught of diasporas, persecutions, pressures to conform to their occupying power, the destruction of their temple, and so much more. They had to fight for their identity as a people for centuries, and finally, a year after the end of the Holocaust and a year before the founding of the nation of Israel, these texts were discovered, confirming the preservation and endurance of their heritage since ancient times — all due to someone putting these clay pots in a desert cave more than 2,000 years ago.

I first felt a prompting to preserve our nation's history back in 2008, and it all started with clay pots and the Dead Sea Scrolls.

So, what do these clay pots have to do with the calling to preserve American history? I didn’t understand that prompting myself until the horrible thought dawned on me that the people we are fighting against may very well take our sacred American scriptures, our Declaration of Independence, and our Bill of Rights. What if they are successful, and 1,000 years from now, we have no texts preserved to confirm our national identity? What kind of new history would be written over the truth?

The destruction of American texts has already begun. The National Archives has labeled some of our critical documents, like our Declaration of Independence, Constitution, and Bill of Rights, as “triggering” or “containing harmful language.” In a public statement, the National Archives said that the labels help prepare readers to view potentially distressing content:

The Catalog and web pages contain some content that may be harmful or difficult to view. NARA’s records span the history of the United States, and it is our charge to preserve and make available these historical records. As a result, some of the materials presented here may reflect outdated, biased, offensive, and possibly violent views and opinions. In addition, some of the materials may relate to violent or graphic events and are preserved for their historical significance.

According to this statement, our founding documents are either “outdated, biased, offensive,” “possibly violent,” or a combination of these scathing descriptions. I’m sorry, the Declaration of Independence is not “triggering.” Our Constitution is not “outdated and biased,” and our Bill of Rights certainly is not “offensive and possibly violent.” They are glorious documents. They should be celebrated, not qualified by such derogatory, absurd language. Shame on them.

These are only the beginning stages of rewriting our history. What if they start banning these “triggering” documents from public view because they might offend somebody? Haven’t we torn down “triggering” statues before? What if we are no longer able to see, read, and study the actual words of our nation's founding documents because they are “harmful” or “possibly violent”? A thousand years from now, will there be any remnant to piece together the true spirit behind the nation that our founders envisioned?

The Declaration of Independence is not “triggering.”

That is why in 2008, I was prompted to preserve what I could. Now, the American Journey Experience Museum includes more than 160,000 artifacts, from founding-era documents to the original Roe v. Wade court papers. We need to preserve the totality of our nation’s heritage, the good, the bad, and the ugly. We need to preserve our history in our own clay pots.

I ask you to join with me on this mission. Start buying books that are important to preserve. Buy some acid-free paper and start printing some of the founding documents, the reports that go against the mainstream narrative, the studies that prove what is true as we are continually being fed lies. Start preserving our daily history as well as our history because it is being rewritten and digitized.

Somebody must have a copy of what is happening now and what has happened in the past. I hope things don’t get really bad. But if they do, we need to preserve our heritage. Perhaps, someone 1,000 years from now will discover our clay pots and, Lord willing, be able to have a glimpse of America as it truly was.

Top 10 WORST items in the new $1.2 TRILLION spending bill

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Biden just signed the newest spending bill into law, and Glenn is furious.

Under Speaker Johnson's leadership, the whopping $1.2 TRILLION package will use your taxpayer dollars to fund the government through September. Of course, the bill is loaded with earmarks and pork that diverts money to fund all sorts of absurd side projects.

Here is the list of the ten WORST uses of taxpayer money in the recently passed spending bill:

Funding venues to host drag shows, including ones that target children

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Money for transgender underwear for kids

Funding for proms for 12 to 18 year old kids

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Border security funding... for Jordan and Egypt

Another $300 million for Ukraine

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$3.5 million for Detroit's annual Thanksgiving Day parade

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$2.5 million for a new kayaking facility in Franklin, New Hampshire

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$2.7 million for a bike park in White Sulfur Springs, West Virginia, a town with a population of less than 2,300 people

$5 million for a new trail at Coastal Carolina University

$4 million the "Alaska King Crab Enhancement Project" (whatever that means)

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There is no doubt about it—we are entering dark times.

The November presidential election is only a few months away, and following the chaos of the 2020 election, the American people are bracing for what is likely to be another tumultuous election year. The left's anti-Trump rhetoric is reaching an all-time high with the most recent "Bloodbath" debacle proving how far the media will go to smear the former president. That's not to mention the Democrats' nearly four-year-long authoritarian attempt to jail President Trump or stop his re-election by any means necessary, even if it flies in the face of the Constitution.

Meanwhile, Biden is doing worse than ever. He reportedly threw a tantrum recently after being informed that his polls have reached an all-time low. After Special Counsel Robert Hur's report expressed concerns over Biden's obviously failing mental agility, it's getting harder for the Democrats to defend him. Yet he is still the Democratic nominee for November, promising another 4 years of catastrophic policies, from the border to heavy-handed taxation, should he be reelected.

The rest of the world isn't doing much better. The war in Ukraine has no clear end in sight, drawing NATO and Russia closer and closer to conflict. The war in Gaza is showing no sign of slowing down, and as Glenn revealed recently, its continuation may be a sign that the end times are near.

One thing is clear: we are living in uncertain times. If you and your family haven't prepared for the worst, now is the time. You can start by downloading "Glenn's Ultimate Guide to Getting Prepared." Be sure to print off a copy or two. If the recent cell outage proved anything, it's that technology is unreliable in survival situations. You can check your list of supplies against our "Ultimate Prepper Checklist for Beginners," which you can find below:

Food

  • Canned food/non-perishable foods
  • Food preparation tools
  • Go to the next level: garden/livestock/food production

Water

  • Non-perishable water store
  • Water purification
  • Independent water source

Shelter

  • Fireplace with a wood supply
  • Tent
  • Generator with fuel supply
  • Go to the next level: fallout shelter

Money

  • Emergency cash savings
  • Precious metals

Medicine

  • Extra blankets
  • Basic first aid
  • Extra prescriptions
  • Extra glasses
  • Toiletries store
  • Trauma kit
  • Antibiotics
  • Basic surgery supplies
  • Potassium Iodate tablets

Transportation

  • Bicycle
  • Car
  • Extra fuel

Information

  • Birth certificates
  • Insurance cards
  • Marriage license
  • Immunization records
  • Mortgage paperwork
  • Car title and registration
  • House keys, car keys
  • Passports
  • Family emergency plan
  • Prepping/survival/repair manuals
  • Go to the next level: copy of the Bible, the U.S. Constitution, and other important books/sources

Skills

  • Cooking
  • Gardening
  • Sewing
  • First Aid
  • Basic maintenance skills
  • Go to the next level: farming/ranching
  • Self-defense training

Communication

  • Family contact information and addresses
  • HAM radio

Miscellaneous

  • Flashlights and batteries
  • Lamps and fuel
  • Hardware (tools, nails, lumber, etc)
  • Extra clothes
  • Extreme weather clothes and gear
  • Gas masks and filters
  • Spare parts for any machinery/equipment

Is Trump's prosecution NORMAL?  This COMPLETE list of ALL Western leaders who served jail time proves otherwise.

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Mainstream media is on a crusade to normalize Donald Trump's indictments as if it's on par with the electoral course. Glenn asked his team to research every instance of a Western leader who was jailed during their political career over the past 200 years—except extreme political turmoil like the French Revolution, Napoleonic Wars, Irish Revolution, etc.—and what we discovered was quite the opposite.

Imprisoning a leader or major political opponent is not normal, neither in the U.S. nor in the Western world. Within the last 200 years, there are only a handful of examples of leaders in the West serving jail time, and these men were not imprisoned under normal conditions. All of these men were jailed under extreme circumstances during times of great peril such as the Civil War, World War II, and the Cold War.

What does this mean for America? Are Trump's indictments evidence that we are re-entering times of great peril? Below is a list of Western leaders who were imprisoned within the last 200 years. Take a look and decide for yourself:

Late 1800s

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Jefferson Davis: The nearest occurrence to a U.S. President to serve jail time was in the case of Jefferson Davis, the first and only president of the Confederate States of America. Jefferson was captured in Georgia by Northern Soldiers in 1865 and locked up in Fort Monroe, Virginia for two years. He was offered a presidential pardon but refused out of his loyalty to the confederacy.

Early 1900s

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Eugene V. Debs: Debbs, a Midwestern socialist leader, became the first person to run for president in prison. He was locked up at a federal penitentiary in Atlanta having been convicted under the federal Sedition Act for giving an antiwar speech a few months before Armistice Day, the end of World War I. Many of his supporters believed his imprisonment to be unjust. Debs received 897,704 votes and was a distant third-part candidate behind Warren G. Harding, the Republican winner, and James M. Cox, the second-place Democrat. Harding ordered Debs’s release from prison toward the end of 1921.

Nazi sympathizers and collaborators: After the end of World War II in 1945, several European leaders who had "led" their countries during the Nazi occupation faced trial and imprisonment for treason. This list included Chief of the French State Philippe Pétain, French Prime Minister Pierre Laval, and Minister-President of Norway Vidkun Quisling. The latter two were also executed after their imprisonment. President of Finland Risto Ryti and Prime Minister of Finland Johan Wilhelm Rangell were also tried and jailed for collaborating with the Nazis against the Allied Powers.

Late 1900s

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The end of the Cold War: The fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 was one of the pivotal moments that brought the Cold War to a close and marked the end of Communist East Germany. With the fall of the wall and the collapse of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany), the former leaders were brought to trial to answer for the crimes committed by the GDR. General Secretary Erich Honecker and General Secretary Egon Krenz were both put on trial for abuse of power and the deaths of those who were shot trying to flee into West Germany. Honecker was charged with jail time but was released from custody due to severe illness and lived out the rest of his life as an exile in Chile. Krenz served 4 years in jail before his release in 2001. He is one of the last surviving leaders of the Eastern Bloc.

Lyndon LaRouche: Larouche was a Trotsky evangelist, public antisemite, and founder of a nationwide Marxist political movement, became the second person in U.S. history to run for President in a prison cell. Granted, he ran in every election from 1976 to 2004 as a long-shot third-party candidate. When he tried to gain the Democratic presidential nomination, he received 5 percent of the total nationwide vote. Even though in 2000 he received enough primary votes to qualify for delegates in a few states, the Democratic National Committee refused to seat his delegates and barred LaRouche from attending the Democratic National Convention.