The Peacock

I went to the Sofia Criminal Court last month with two of my friends. We immediately all focused on The Peacock, although we didn't know that was his name.

He stood out. He was wearing a very tailored lavender dress shirt with black pants. Not much wiggle room in that shirt. Everyone except one other woman was in dark coats or dumpy dark jackets. He looked pretty young as long as he was chatting it up. But the few times he became serious, the wrinkles showed and he looked older -- maybe 40 or so.

Sofia criminal courtrooms are large (see below a pix of the courtroom taken a week before with no trial in progress). The courtrooms have plenty of seats, everyone involved in these cases stands the entire time in front of the judge's bench. That day there were probably 10 "standees" -- The Peacock, 2 prosecutors, and 6 or 7 lawyers, and 1 witness.

The Peacock was the standout. He pranced, stretched, preened, posed, and frequently popped his back (elegantly encased in his lavender shirt). I could hear the popping six rows back.

He's slim, muscular, and he was very, very confident. He and his "best friend" attorney (?) a small blond in an expensive, fitted gold-colored suit, laughed and chatted, seemingly without a care in the world. In a courtroom full of dumpy blacks and grays, these two colorful characters drew all eyes.

Come to find out that The Peacock is a notorious Bulgarian Smuggler. Somehow he got his name from smuggling in chickens! From China!! Or so the story goes.

There were 19 defendants and 15 prosecution witnesses there that day (out of a total 115 prosecution witnesses.) The smuggling happened in 2002 and involved goods in the amount of $3.5 million U.S. The case has been going for a year! This is the 4th hearing. They got through all 15 witnesses that day and the next hearing with The Peacock was set for 6 weeks later. No wonder The Peacock is without fear. It will take at least another year to simply get through the first part of the case!

His potential penalty, according to Bulgarian Criminal Code, is from 5 to 20 years. He doesn't appear to be at all worried even though there are 115 witnesses against him! In the meantime, he's undoubtedly out there maintaining his lifestyle and paying his legal fees by doing what he's always done -- smuggling!

This judge is working under a new Bulgarian initiative, the purpose of which is to get the judges to realize that once a judge starts a trial, he/she can and should run it consecutively from start to finish. If he that can happen, (and if the courts will keep the accused in jail while they are awaiting or in trial) these career criminals might just loose their individuality. They'll cease to be chickens, or tractors, or hamsters, or titmouses and all just become -- jailbirds.