Boardwalk Empire Wiki
Register
Advertisement

Download (8)

Sawicki's corpse.

Stan Sawicki, played by Joseph Aniska, is a government revenue agent in the Bureau of Prohibition in Atlantic City. He joined the bureau under the command of Nelson Van Alden in 1921. Within Van Alden's team he was partnered with Agent Clarkson. He took over when Van Alden became a fugitive from justice. He is on the payroll of Atlantic City crime boss Nucky Thompson.

Biography[]

Background[]

Sawicki is of Polish extraction.

Season 2[]

Clarkson suspects Van Alden of corruption. He follows him to a meeting at an out of town warehouse. Clarkson convinces Sawicki to check the warehouse with him. The two drive out to the warehouse and Clarkson goes to open the front door. As he approaches the building a bomb inside goes off and he is badly injured. Sawicki had been circling around to the back of the building and is unscathed. He carries Clarkson back to the car to get Clarkson help. ("What Does the Bee Do?)

Van Alden, Elliot and Sawicki visit Clarkson in hospital. Horrific burns cover Clarkson’s right side and he is unconscious. Elliot blasphemes in shock and Sawicki tells Elliot that he had not exaggerated Clarkson's terrible injuries. Elliot marvels at Clarkson's survival and Van Alden professes that it is due to Clarkson's faith in God. Elliot blasphemes again; observing that Clarkson has a one-sided relationship with God. Van Alden asserts that Elliot's blasphemy is an insult to Clarkson's faith and supports this thinking with Clarkson's doctor's admission that his fate is out of their hands. Elliot has no reply so Van Alden begins a prayer for Clarkson. The other agents remove their hats to join him but Van Alden is interrupted as Clarkson gasps for breath and awakens. Van Alden touches Clarkson’s fingertips as they are the only un-burnt flesh on his right side. Clarkson looks at Van Alden and says “I see you, I know what you did.” Elliot asks if Van Alden understands Clarkson's words. Van Alden excuses himself, claiming he will fetch a doctor. Outside the room Van Alden braces himself against the wall and covers his mouth. He then notices the ceiling light at the end of the hallway flickering. This encounter causes Van Alden to confess his guilt to his wife. She gets Van Alden's address from Sawicki and finds that he has had an affair. ("The Age of Reason")

Van Alden enters his rooms at the post office and is surprised to find his desk occupied by a woman. Van Alden angrily asks for an explanation and demands to know where Agent Sawicki is. Sawicki emerges from behind a desk at the back of the room. Van Alden asks Sawicki who the woman is and Sawicki urges Van Alden to be quiet by telling him that she is talking to the Attorney General. The woman concludes her phone conversation and introduces herself and her team. She is Assistant US Attorney Esther Randolph and her men are her chief investigator Clifford Lathrop and two clerks, Pratt and Halsey. Van Alden demands to know why they are there and why they have taken over his office. She says that her investigation into Nucky’s election rigging takes precedence over his work. Van Alden later leaves suddenly after getting a phone call. ("Peg of Old")

Sawicki eats lunch with Van Alden in an open cafe on the boardwalk outside the St. Louis Hotel. Sawicki notices tongue on the specials board and remarks that he has a friend who would eat it. Van Alden asks for the bill and the waiter says that it is covered. Van Alden wonders if he misheard and the waiter explains that they have a policy that police men eat for free. Van Alden states that they are federal agents and that accepting a gift is against regulations. Van Alden stares at Sawicki until the junior agent finally agrees with him. The waiter says that he was being neighbourly, writes out the bill and moves off to serve other customers. Van Alden recites the Latin phrase “Malum in se.” He explains to a baffled Sawicki that it means evil in and of itself. Sawicki suggests murder as an example and Van Alden agrees. Van Alden moves on to “Malum prohibitum.” He defines this as an evil prohibited by statute. Sawicki realises that Van Alden is referring to them accepting a free lunch and Van Alden confirms this but gives a second example; the sale of whiskey. Sawicki admits that he shares Van Alden’s doubts about the legitimacy of prohibition given the difficulty of enforcing the law. Van Alden says that they should leave, crumples the bill in his fist and leaves it on the counter, unpaid. ("Two Boats and a Lifeguard")

Witnesses to Van Alden murdering his earlier partner Eric Sebso come forward to Randolph. She tries to have Van Alden arrested and he shoots Lathrop and flees the building. He knocks Sawicki out of the way as he runs to the exit. ("Under God's Power She Flourishes")

Season 3[]

Sawicki succeeds Van Alden's corrupt relationship with bootlegger Mickey Doyle and more directly Agent Sebso's relationship with Nucky Thompson. He visits his warehouse to get a payoff as a large shipment is about to be dispatched. ("Spaghetti and Coffee")

Nucky Thompson suggests that Owen Sleater use Sawicki in his search for the thief Rowland Smith, who robbed their warehouse. Owen has Sawicki meet them at Smith's reported hideout. Sawicki got the address from a contact in the Philadelphia branch. They find the backwoods house filled with crates of liquor; their own and other bootleggers. Nucky leaves Owen and one of his men to wait for Smith. He pays Sawicki, suggesting that he use the money to "buy a personality".

The house is later raided by Philadelphia agents and Nucky and Owen are forced to hide in the basement with Smith. When they are finally able to emerge Nucky kills Smith. ("Blue Bell Boy")

After Billie Kent is killed by Gyp Rosetti, Nucky Thompson decides to strike against Rosetti's boss, Joe Masseria. He enlists Sawicki's help, who has information that Masseria regularly visits some Turkish baths in New York City. Sawicki also offers to accompany the hitman, Owen Sleater, and distract Masseria's bodyguards by flashing his badge. However, the mission fails and Owen Sleater is killed. ("A Man, A Plan...")

Season 4[]

Sawicki is revealed to have survived Owen Sleater's failed hit on Masseria, meeting with Eli at Mickey's warehouse. Later in the episode he accompanies newly arrived prohibition agent Warren Knox on an off the books raid at an isolated building, unaware that the rear door had been rigged with a shotgun trap. Upon opening the door he is hit in the chest and after the bootlegger is shot in the head by agent Knox, the agent watches Sawicki struggle to speak and tells him that he'll call for help when he composes himself, and watches Sawicki choke to death on his own blood. ("New York Sour")

Relationships[]

Memorable Quotes[]

  • "A man, a plan, a canal. Panama."

Appearances[]

Season two appearances
21 Ourselves Alone A Dangerous Maid What Does the Bee Do?
Gimcrack & Bunkum The Age of Reason Peg of Old Two Boats and a Lifeguard
Battle of the Century Georgia Peaches Under God's Power She Flourishes To the Lost
Season three appearances
"Resolution" "Spaghetti and Coffee" "Bone for Tuna" "Blue Bell Boy"
"You'd Be Surprised" "Ging Gang Goolie" "Sunday Best" "The Pony"
"The Milkmaid's Lot" "A Man, A Plan..." "Two Imposters" "Margate Sands"
Season four appearances
"New York Sour" "Resignation" "Acres of Diamonds" "All In"
"Erlkonig" "The North Star" "William Wilson" "The Old Ship of Zion"
"Marriage and Hunting" "White Horse Pike" "Havre De Grace" "Farewell Daddy Blues"
Advertisement