Uzrok sudbonosnog sukoba Williama Klingera, 42-godišnjeg povjesničara podrijetlom iz Rijeke i 49-godišnjeg Alexandera Bonicha, koji se kao tinejdžer s obitelji iz Hrvatske preselio u SAD, je prijevara, a ne nekakva tajanstvena zavjera vezana s Klingerovim povijesnim izučavanjem jugoslavenskog vođe Josipa Broza Tita, izvješćuje u subotu New York Times pozivajući se na izvore bliske istrazi.
Klingera, koji je živio u Italiji i usprkos akademskoj naobrazbi radio u naplatnoj kućici na autocesti, krajem siječnja je u u newyorškom Queensu Bonich fatalno ustrijelio, a protiv njega je podignuta optužnica za ubojstvo bez predumišljaja.
Kako su tada izvijestili američki mediji, Klinger je pronađen 31. siječnja oko 14,30 sati kako nepomično leži pored javnog bazena u sklopu parka u četvrti Queens. Imao je prostrijelnu ranu u glavi, ali još je navodno davao znakove života.
Alexander BonichAmbulantnim je kolima prebačen u bolnicu, no ondje je preminuo. Rođen u Rijeci 1972. godine., studij je završio u Trstu, a doktorirao je na Europskom sveučilišnom institutu u Firenci. Bio je oženjen i otac dvoje djece, a posljednjih je godina radio na knjizi o Titu. Prethodno je objavio knjigu »Teror narodu: povijest OZN-e, Titove političke policije«.
Bonich je istražiteljima ispričao da je Klinger došao u SAD zbog krize srednjih godina te da je namjeravao napustiti obitelj, a kada je shvatio da u Americi za njega nema posla planuo je.
»Planuo je. To nije bio isti William«, kazao je Bonich i opisao detektivima da je kod svog poznanika uočio revolver. Nakon što je došlo do fizičkog obračuna Bonich je priznao da je iz »čistog straha« opalio dva hica, nakon čega je napustio park Astoria, bacio metke u smeće, a pištolj u East River.
Klingerova supruga Francesca Boscarol tvrdi da da je laž da ju je suprug namjeravao napustiti te da mu je Bonich bio obećao posao na koledžu Hunter na Manhattanu te pomoć oko kupnje stana za 77.000 dolara.
U prilog tvrdnji Klingerove supruge ide i pismo koje joj je uputila šogorica Denisa Kuljiša, Amerikanka Peggy – William gdje je Klinger odsjeo kad je stigao u Ameriku i u kojem joj je opisala njegov veliki ponos i sreću kada im je pričao o svojoj obitelji. Pismo je objavljeno na portalu zurnalisti.com:
Dear Francesca,
We want to let you know that William had some wonderful times during his short stay with us and that he was a delightful guest.
The first thing William did when he arrived at our home was to pull from his suitcase three bottles of beautiful Italian wine. He had been well informed about what would make my husband happy. The second thing he did was to pull out an album of photos of you and the family. This is clearly what made him most happy and proud. We knew we were going to like him right away.
The morning after he arrived he began investigating our local birds. Despite being almost completely different from European birds, he could identify almost all of them. Mijo and I had always had a hard time telling one “little brown bird” from another. Then, out of his suitcase came something else fantastic, the Peterson Field Guide to Birds of North America, which he insisted we keep as a gift. We spent a lot of time with William watching and waiting for the birds to come to our feeders through the windows, binoculars out. We saw two types of woodpeckers, Titmouses, and sparrows, but he was most excited to see what he happily called “Angry Birds” (Red Cardinals) as they reminded him of his boys. He showed us a photo of Tom (I think) wearing an Angry Birds t-shirt. We will always remember them as William Birds. He also enjoyed seeing squirrels and rabbits active in our garden despite the winter snow cover.
That first morning we took William for breakfast to an American style diner, something you don’t find in Europe. We all had café lattes with elaborate bird patterns teased into the coffee foam. He ate a Mexican tortilla and egg dish that he seemed to like. Something completely new for him. For a relatively small man he had a large appetite. We walked around town taking photos and looking at the architecture. We stopped at an overlook above Ridgewood with a dramatic view of New York City in the distance.
William was very curious about the wildlife in our area, so our next stop was the James A. McFaul Wildlife Preserve in nearby town of Wycoff. We saw a lovely herd of dear up close relaxing after what I am sure was a night of raiding nearby suburban gardens. We also saw owls, foxes, and eagles, but sadly no turkeys. He was disappointed by the lack of turkeys.
On our way home from the wildlife preserve, we had a serendipitous and quirky find. We were driving past an 18th century national landmark property called the Hermitage in HoHoKus, and saw a sign advertising a “Civil War Encampment.” There is a tradition here by history buffs to reenact historical eras, the favorite always being the American Civil War (1861-1865). Enthusiasts dress up in period costumes, set up camps using period equipment, and display their collections of odds and ends from the old times. This is a hobby that appeals to an excentric but devoted bunch of mostly men who love history and want to keep it alive. We couldn’t have found a better show for your William than this slice of Americana. We enjoyed the descriptions of the life and times and had a tour of the house built in 1763 and remodeled in the 1800s.
That Sunday night we when out to our favorite Thai restaurant in Ridgewood. We all ate massive amounts of food from all over the menu and washed it down with some of the wine William brought. We have a great photo of him trying on Mijo’s Ausi hat. We argued about whether he looked more like Brad Pitt or Mat Damon. Will send the photo, and you can decide.
Monday morning William was so eager to go into New York City that he joined Mijo on his way to work at 5:30 am. Despite it being very cold and early, he wandered far and wide. He stopped and had a lunch and beer at the Pig and Whistle Pub and watched the New York crowd. He was impressed by how huge everything is in New York. He browsed a famous used-book store called the Strand where he found a copy of The Imperial Collection of Audubon Animals written by the artist and naturalist John James Audubon in 1848 and republished by John Bachman in 1967. Knowing that we shared a love and interest in all animal life, he brought this book home for us as a gift. It is a lovely book with drawings and descriptions of all of North American’s mammals by Audubon.
William returned that afternoon to Ridgewood with Mijo as our “storm of the century” was beginning to swirl. We had been warned to prepare for the worst and so prepared our generator, got batteries out, stocked up on food and hunkered down inside. All transportation was cancelled for Tuesday and a travel ban was issued statewide. We awoke on Tuesday to a storm but not to Armageddon, thank goodness. We had a quiet day of clearing snow and William did some writing in his room.
That Tuesday night we invited some local friends for a snow bound evening. I hope William enjoyed meeting them and sharing the evening with them over some pasta, sausages and again more wine. He was well liked by our friends who enjoyed him and were very happy to have met him. I want you to know that that evening his album of family photos was pulled out again and passed around proudly and with love. You were always in his thoughts.
Between these events were many conversations about history, nature, and life. He was intelligent, an encyclopedia of knowledge, and a very kind, gentle, and gracious person.
We were very happy to have had a chance to meet William and hope that we helped to bring joy, comfort and home to him while he was with us. We hope someday to be able to do the same for you should you or your boys ever wish to visit. Our heartfelt condolences to you, Max and Tom. He loved you all very much.
Sincerely,
Peggy Vandervoort and Mijo Mirkovic
