Charles Tidwell is an ungrateful sack of shit

**Jaded** · November 19th, 2008, 11:04 AM

A wealthy retiree opened his three-story lake home to an out-of-work mechanic he had befriended, then was murdered and his possessions plundered, according to indictments against the mechanic and 15 other people.

The mechanic, Charles Lee Tidwell, 46, and another man were indicted on murder charges Monday in the death of retired investment banker 52-year-old Allan Kowalski. Fourteen people, mostly friends and family of Tidwell, were indicted on theft charges and related crimes.

Tidwell apparently learned the extent of Kowalski's wealth, and the men had a falling out, Kerr County Sheriff W.R. "Rusty" Hierholzer said Tuesday.

Authorities said Kowalski saw that Tidwell, a mechanic with a methamphetamine habit, had been down on his luck, so he hired him to work on his classic cars.

Kowalski was last seen Aug. 26 but was never reported missing. A deputy who pulled Tidwell over became suspicious when Tidwell claimed to be Kolwalski.

The banker's body was found in a shallow grave in his yard Nov. 6.

Authorities believe Tidwell and his wife took over the home and invited two recently released felons into the house after Kowalski's death.

Hierholzer said the theft ring sold off Kowalski's classic cars and housewares and tried to sell his $530,000 home. The group also opened credit cards and forged checks in Kowalski's name.

"Once he was dead, it was kind of feeding frenzy," Hierholzer said.

More charges are possible, and investigators are still looking for some of Kowalski's cars and other possessions.

Tidwell and Ricardo Giovannetti, 46, were each being held on $600,000 bond.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories...MPLATE=DEFAULT

In reality, Kowalski was missing, and Tidwell and his wife had taken over the $500,000 home. In mid-October, he invited two recently released felons, who authorities said are members of a white supremacist prison gang, to join the party.

One of the men, Jeremiah McGregor, later told investigators “they were all getting high” when Tidwell allegedly told him he had killed Kowalski and buried him in the backyard, according to a sheriff's news release.

Several days later, Tidwell was stopped in one of Kowalski's cars and arrested. According to the news release, he told McGregor to “gather all my tools and help my old lady out.” By the time sheriff's deputies searched the lake house three weeks later, Kowalski's house was practically bare.

McGregor, 31, and Wayne Christiansen, 35, have since been charged with burglary in the case.

But investigators say many more charges are forthcoming, that the investigation has spread across at least three counties, including Bexar, and that it has grown to include multiple more people.

http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/Mec...gram_case.html

**moonlilly1981** · November 19th, 2008, 11:27 AM

geez a whiz the guy opens up his home to this guy and his wife and your right what a way to say thank you. Thanks dude for letting me live in this huge lovely house, I shall kill you now and rob you blind. Guy might not have gotten caught if he had not been so greedy.