Religious Clan Target Of Costa Mesa Probe

Piecemakers believes government should be abolished.

The Orange County Register, October 10, 1997
By Lori Basheda

COSTA MESA, CA - The city has opened a criminal investigation of the Piecemakers, a religious commune that believes government is a "usurper of God's authority" and should be abolished.

Steven Rosenblit, a Huntington Park attorney, is handling the case. The group has butted heads with the city several times in recent months, rejecting laws it says God finds intrusive and frivolous.

"No one is above the law, including the Piecemakers," Rosenblit said.

The group, led by Marie Kolasinski, 76, in August refused to let the fire marshal inspect its arts and crafts warehouse on Logan Avenue.

Last month the Piecemakers refused to get a permit to perform the musical "Big River" in the parking lot of their crafts store on Adams Avenue.

"We are fed up to our eyeballs with our greedy Gestapo government," reads a letter to the city. "There is a diabolical spirit covering our land that would like to control our every move. People of America, wake up!!"

At the City Council meeting Monday, Councilwoman Heather Sommers asked city staff members why they didn't stop the musical. A workshop was scheduled for November to discuss how far the city should go in enforcing its codes.

Saturday promises another standoff. The group is holding a craft fair and says it has no intention of getting a permit.