The Fußach case

Ex-mayor and ex-chief financial officer are guilty!

The verdicts in the trial surrounding the financial affair were handed down late Monday afternoon after eight days of proceedings. The former head of finance was sentenced to partial imprisonment. Former mayor Ernst Blum received a conditional prison sentence.

The former mayor was only sentenced to a conditional prison sentence of 18 months for embezzlement. "The panel of lay judges did not assume that the first defendant had colluded with you," said the judge, explaining the non-final judgment. "You said yourself that everything blew up in your face. But that doesn't exculpate you. You were mayor and should have done your homework."

The co-defendant, the former head of finance, received a significantly higher sentence. He was sentenced to a partial prison term of 30 months, 18 of which were suspended, for embezzlement and abuse of office as a designated offender. "You managed in a cinematic way to eliminate everyone so that you could take control yourself. You were the driving force!"

The former CFO acted in a "cinematic manner", the judge found.(Bild: Krone KREATIV)

The two convicts will have to swallow one toad "with a shared hand": restitution for damages amounting to around 308,000 euros. Within 14 days. Both the defendants' lawyers and the legal representative of the municipality of Fußach asked for three days to think it over. Public prosecutor Manfred Melchhammer made no statement.

Big stir after Court of Auditors report
Blum and the now retired finance director have had to answer to the Feldkirch regional court since May. Both defendants pleaded not guilty before the court of lay assessors. The case had caused a great stir in public because control mechanisms had failed for years. The mayor, who did not stand for re-election in the fall of 2020, submitted a statement of facts to the criminal authority in the summer of 2020 when he learned of anomalies in salary payments. As a result, the State Court of Audit became involved and carried out an audit that found gross mismanagement and deficiencies in the administration of the municipality of 4,000 inhabitants.

At the beginning of the jury trial, the public prosecutor's office spoke of "highly criminal machinations". Due to a lack of control, the former head of finance had paid himself special bonuses and thousands of hours of overtime over the years and had repeatedly exceeded his authority. In addition, he is said to have unlawfully paid the mayor a functional allowance of 4000 euros.