Peter Feldmann in court on December 21st. He had protested his innocence to the end
Credit: AFP/SEBASTIAN GOLLNOW
In the corruption trial against former Frankfurt mayor Peter Feldmann (SPD), a verdict was handed down: Feldmann had to pay a fine of 120 daily rates of 175 euros for profiteering in two cases. The court announced on Friday.
dFrankfurt Mayor Peter Feldmann (SPD) who voted out was found guilty in the corruption trial before the regional court. Feldmann has to pay a fine of 120 daily rates of 175 euros in two cases for taking advantage, the Frankfurt regional court announced on Friday. He also has to pay compensation worth almost 6,000 euros. With more than 90 daily rates, a convict is considered a criminal record.
The proceedings concerned Feldmann’s close ties to the Arbeiterwohlfahrt (AWO). Feldmann had been accused by the prosecution of being willing to behave benevolently as a politician towards the social association. In return, the AWO granted perks, including an overpaid job for Feldmann’s then girlfriend and later wife at the head of a newly created German-Turkish AWO kindergarten.
The proceeding also involved campaign donations raised by the AWO. In two cases, the prosecutor had asked for a fine of 31,500 euros for having accepted an advantage, divided into 180 daily installments of 175 euros each.
Feldmann has always denied the allegations and said he hoped for an acquittal. In his last word as defendant, he stated: “I have not raised funds and I am not corrupt.” In their pleadings, the defense lawyers called for the SPD politician’s acquittal. The 64-year-old did not unduly influence city politics. As regards the management of the nursery, Feldmann could assume that the Turkish origin and relevant studies of his later wife would allow her to be employed legally.
The procedure is linked to the scandal surrounding the allegations of millionaire fraud at the district associations AWO in Frankfurt and Wiesbaden. The former managing director of Wiesbaden AWO Hannelore Richter had repeatedly asked Feldmann for support with SMS messages that were read in the process. Richter, as special representative of the AWO in Frankfurt am Main, had entrusted the then Feldmann girlfriend with the post of daycare manager, despite her lack of professional experience and qualifications. Furthermore, she had collected donations for Feldmann’s re-election as mayor of Frankfurt.
Feldmann was – also as a result of the indictment and trial – voted out in a referendum on 6 November.
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