Uses of otóż and lecz

I'm puzzled by the exact usage of otóż and lecz.
From listening to polish speech I'm guessing that lecz is something like because?

Not really, it means 'but', 'however', 'although'.

That clears the understanding for lecz, thanks but otóż?

I've heard it used in a reply to a question and also like this,
Otóż kiedyś na spotkaniu z policją padło słowo........
Couldn't you just say it without the otóż?

Otóż means well, (well) now i.e. when expecting someone, especially in a group of people, and she/he shows up, you may say "Otóż i on/ona" like announcing their arrival. In English: well, there he/she is...

It is a word that can be used for stressing your expression, and such like Eurola wrote, it may be translated as 'well', 'so'. Therefore you can say either:

or: 'Kiedyś na spotkaniu z policją padło słowo....' and the essence will be exactly the same, but in the first example you will stress the fact.