Spring Break
Former Edinboro man fights extradition in child kidnapping case
Lisa Thompson
Issue date: 11/19/09 Section: Community News
A former Edinboro man indicted on a charge of international parental kidnapping is refusing to leave Bulgaria to answer the allegations against him.
Instead, Chad Z. Hower is mounting his defense online and 5,000 miles away from U.S. District Court in Erie.
On his Web site, kudzuworld.com, Hower, 35, has created an entry called "Arrested in Bulgaria on False Charges." In it, he describes in great detail a protracted custody dispute with Nancy Oberlander, the mother of his son, Aarys; his wretched 13-day stay in a Bulgarian detention center after his Oct. 14 arrest; and his claims that he was charged based on false information.
He asks readers to spread news of his situation to others and the media, and send money to help with his legal fees. He said defense of the case is expected to cost him $100,000.
"Because of their false evidence and the intimidation that has followed, is why I am now approaching various media outlets," Hower wrote in an e-mail to the Erie Times-News.
Hower, according to his Web site, was held in a Bulgarian detention center for about two weeks after his arrest in Sofia.
He was released Oct. 27 and was awaiting another extradition hearing when, on Thursday, he was taken into custody again for reasons that were not immediately clear, according to messages on Facebook, where friends are rallying around his "cause," called "Free Chad From False Bulgarian Arrest."
In the e-mail to the Erie Times-News, which was sent before his most recent arrest, Hower said he planned to fight extradition.
"If I return to the U.S., they will put me in prison while we sort this out, and they told us it will take six-plus months. I'm also not confident that I will receive a fair trial given the situation and the history," Hower wrote.
"We have tried to work it out with them, before and after, so that Aarys can spend time with both his parents. But the FBI's priorities do not concern this."
The U.S. Attorney's Office on Oct. 14 unsealed a one-count indictment accusing Hower of international parental kidnapping, which is punishable by up to three years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine.
Instead, Chad Z. Hower is mounting his defense online and 5,000 miles away from U.S. District Court in Erie.
On his Web site, kudzuworld.com, Hower, 35, has created an entry called "Arrested in Bulgaria on False Charges." In it, he describes in great detail a protracted custody dispute with Nancy Oberlander, the mother of his son, Aarys; his wretched 13-day stay in a Bulgarian detention center after his Oct. 14 arrest; and his claims that he was charged based on false information.
He asks readers to spread news of his situation to others and the media, and send money to help with his legal fees. He said defense of the case is expected to cost him $100,000.
"Because of their false evidence and the intimidation that has followed, is why I am now approaching various media outlets," Hower wrote in an e-mail to the Erie Times-News.
Hower, according to his Web site, was held in a Bulgarian detention center for about two weeks after his arrest in Sofia.
He was released Oct. 27 and was awaiting another extradition hearing when, on Thursday, he was taken into custody again for reasons that were not immediately clear, according to messages on Facebook, where friends are rallying around his "cause," called "Free Chad From False Bulgarian Arrest."
In the e-mail to the Erie Times-News, which was sent before his most recent arrest, Hower said he planned to fight extradition.
"If I return to the U.S., they will put me in prison while we sort this out, and they told us it will take six-plus months. I'm also not confident that I will receive a fair trial given the situation and the history," Hower wrote.
"We have tried to work it out with them, before and after, so that Aarys can spend time with both his parents. But the FBI's priorities do not concern this."
The U.S. Attorney's Office on Oct. 14 unsealed a one-count indictment accusing Hower of international parental kidnapping, which is punishable by up to three years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine.
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