Bryan Malinowski's sister responds to the news State Police will submit case file to prosecutor today: The investigation 'finished ... quickly after politicians started demanding answers.'
Also: Lee Ann's eulogy for her brother: "We will continue to fight to change whatever laws need to be changed so that the senseless and tragic actions that took my brother’s life don’t continue."
Response from Lee Ann Maciujec, sister of Bryan Malinowski, upon learning that the Arkansas State Police Criminal Investigation Division has completed its investigation into the ATF’s killing of Mr. Malinowski on March 19, 2024.
It’s not lost on me that the investigation has been finished so quickly after politicians started demanding answers.
We hope the report tells the whole truth, and that the prosecutor will prosecute to the fullest extent the law allows. Nothing will bring my brother back, but justice must be served.
— Lee Ann Maciujec
Bryan’s Eulogy
My name is Lee Ann Maciujec. I am Bryan’s little sister. Bryan was my rock. He was someone I always aspired to be like. When life got hard, he was the one that I called. He is the second child of the four of us that my parents had.
As a child, I would follow him everywhere, and I believed everything he told me. He convinced me, very easily, that I could fly like Wonder Woman if I jumped off of the couch backwards. I will always keep that memory close since I still have the scar on my chin from the 4 stitches I received as a result.
Bryan also taught me the value of money at a very young age. As a child, I always believed that the more you had in physical items of coins, the more you had. When I was 5, my allowance was 10 cents a week. I always wanted 10 pennies because that meant I had more. When I received a dime for my allowance, Bryan traded me 3 pennies for it and because it was more coins, I did it. He then told me not to do that and why. He brought me a quarter, a dime, a nickel and a penny. He explained what the value of each coin was. He showed me how to add them together and subtract them to make change if I was buying something. When our grandfather passed away, there were a few large jars of coins that my grandfather had collected. We sat for many hours sorting the coins into books according to the years they were minted. He learned that there were coins that were more valuable than their face value, and his love of collecting things started.
When Bryan was in grade school, … he was taking his allowance and buying penny candy at Woolworth’s, … and he was reselling it at school for a nickel. We all thought he was going to be a stockbroker when he grew up.
When we were young, we went to Camp Hugh Beaver every summer, which is a YMCA camp in the Pocono Mountains in Pennsylvania. At camp, when Bryan was 7 or 8, he was taught how to play poker by one of his counselors. As soon as he understood the game, he proceeded to win all of the money that the counselor had. His love for the game carried him through the rest of his life. He would play in poker tournaments and was ranked as a professional player. … It was at camp that we all learned to shoot a rifle and about gun safety.
Bryan was an avid gun collector. He took great pride in his collection and often traded at gun shows. He used to go hunting with his father and brother for deer when we were younger. I can tell you it wasn’t always too wonderful coming home from school to find dead deer strung up in our yard waiting to be dressed.
Bryan had an exceptional gift when it came to handling money. He was frugal but generous. He and his lovely wife, Maer, would adopt a family each year at Christmas so that the children would have something to open and feel loved. This past year, they adopted a family of 10. If you look in Bryan’s closet right now, you will find a whole slew of brand-new toys that they were collecting in order to be prepared for the holidays. He never wanted anyone left out.
Bryan also extended his expertise to his work life. Throughout his time at Clinton National Airport, the airport became one of only nine airports in the entire nation to become debt free. He handled budgets larger than $100 million and was able to make sure that his employees were well taken care of. He fought for their benefits and retirements and held meetings that they called Brown Bags so that the employees could sit with him, without their supervisors, to air complaints and concerns about the airport. He took these meetings seriously. As an example, Bryan made sure to have a speed bump installed to provide for the safety of his employees walking into work in the dark. …
He was the golden child of our family and set an incredibly high bar for the rest of us. He was the straight-A student, a master of mathematics, and a graduate of Easton Area High School. … He performed in two different musicals, was the winner of the Brain Bowl, … all of the math questions were handed off to Bryan. In high school, Bryan would stay after school to harass his chemistry and calculus teachers, because his thirst for knowledge was endless.
Also at a young age, Bryan would talk with our dad about the stock market. Those talks continued throughout their lifetime.
Bryan always won at all of the board games. We used to play them a lot as kids. If you ask my sister, she said he was cheating. I believe it was because he was great at reading people’s tells. You couldn’t bluff around him. I think he may have been able to count cards. Monopoly was one of his favorites, and I believe it led to his love of buying real estate. He also played pool a lot and taught me to play as well. He was a fantastic coach and taught me how to put English on the ball. I only ever beat him twice and I know I won because he would never just let me win. Ever!
After graduating high school, Bryan wanted to become a Navy fighter pilot. Top Gun was the movie and he wanted that. Unfortunately, his eyesight disqualified him from gaining entry to the program, so he had a back up plan of getting a degree in Airport Management. He was accepted to Florida Institute of Technology and placed so highly on the math placement entrance exam, that they started him at a junior level in math. While in college, he got his pilot’s license and then became a certified flight instructor. … He also became certified as a SCUBA diver and then an advanced open water diver. We had dived together off of the coast of Florida when he lived in Ft Lauderdale.
When Bryan graduated from FIT, he started working at our local airport in Allentown, Pennsylvania. After a few years, Bryan was offered a position at the airport in El Paso, Texas. It was there that he met the love of his life, Maer. Maer was his everything! He made sure to marry her so that when he was offered a position in Fort Lauderdale, she would come with him. She spoiled him rotten, and he loved her all the more for it. For 25 years, he took care of her, and they had their family of pugs that were their children. She was always his number one priority. And he was hers. She would cook his meals and do his shopping and he would introduce her to senators after she had just finished cutting the grass. He didn’t care because he was proud of her. They laughed a lot and they always had fun. But most importantly, they loved. They loved each other and everyone around them. They loved to take care of their neighbors and saw them as extended family. Anyone that saw them, saw their love for each other. … It was blazing like the sun and will continue, unending.
He will watch over you Maer, and he will watch over all of us, just as we will continue to stand up for him. We will continue to fight to change whatever laws need to be changed so that the senseless and tragic actions that took my brother’s life don’t continue.
This was completely unnecessary, and things need to change. I believe he will guide us gently, just as he has for our whole lives together. There can be no love greater.
With this, I broken heartedly say goodbye to my beloved brother. I miss you dreadfully, but I will see you again one day. I will look to you in the sky and send my love in your direction. Fly high Bryan, fly high.
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I'm sorry. I must have gotten something in my eyes...