Vösendorf in turmoil

Public prosecutor files criminal complaint against SPÖ deputy mayor

Gratzer is said to have cheated a customer as an electrician before the company went bankrupt. He also charged the city large sums of money.(Bild: Patrick Huber, SPÖ Vösendorf, Krone KREATIV)

The election campaign is raging in Vösendorf: the investigation into ÖVP mayor Hannes Koza for falsifying invoices has been dropped following a diversion, but the public prosecutor is still investigating an SPÖ deputy. The latter is said to have collected payments shortly before the insolvency of his electrical company.

Before the citizens of Vösendorf go to the polls again on May 5, a fierce election campaign between the ÖVP and SPÖ is raging in the market town. While the Reds are still accusing the incumbent mayor of numerous offenses - including falsifying invoices - the Social Democrats are also coming under pressure.

1000 euros taken before bankruptcy
Following initial accusations of fraud against the top men Alfred Strohmayer and Wolfgang Gratzer due to excessive invoices - Gratzer was the owner of an electronics company until recently - a first court date has now been set. However, it is not the five million euros in tax money that Gratzer is said to have collected from the municipality in just ten years that is the subject of the trial, but a comparatively small 1000-euro invoice from November 2023.

(Bild: Krone KREATIV, zVg.)

Mr. Kommerzialrat is said to have diligently collected the down payment from a customer shortly before the bankruptcy. However, there was no more service in return and the woman sued the SPÖ man. Public prosecutor Erich Habitzl has now confirmed the criminal complaint against the ex-entrepreneur and further ongoing investigations to the "Krone". Gratzer himself could not be reached for comment. The judge's decision on April 11 will nevertheless affect him. However, as with all other accusations, the presumption of innocence applies.

Election campaign at municipal expense?
The SPÖ itself is now criticizing Mayor Hannes Koza again. Unlike his ÖVP municipal council colleagues, he did not resign in order to continue in office. As the head of the city, he is putting himself in the limelight in his usual skillful manner - which annoys the Reds. "Schoolchildren and firefighters must not be misused for the election campaign," says SPÖ regional manager Wolfgang Zwander.