Prison sentences for former mayor and retired finance director

The former mayor and the now retired financial director of the town were found guilty at the Feldkirch Regional Court: 18 months suspended prison sentence for the former mayor, 30 months (18 of which were suspended) for the retired financial director. The verdicts are not final.

The charges were abuse of official power and breach of trust. Both defendants pleaded not guilty before the jury court. However, according to consistent reports in Vorarlberg media, the court considered it proven that the two men had broken the law.

Great sensation

The case caused a great stir in public because control mechanisms had apparently failed for years. The mayor, who ended his political career in autumn 2020, submitted a statement of facts to the criminal authorities in summer 2020 when he learned of irregularities in salary payments. The State Audit Office then took action and, in an audit three years ago, found gross mismanagement and deficiencies in the administration of the 4,000-resident community, with damages amounting to several hundred thousand euros.

The public prosecutor spoke of “highly criminal machinations” and accused the mayor of allowing the financial director to act without any control. He is said to have paid himself special bonuses and thousands of hours of overtime over the years and repeatedly exceeded his authority. He is also said to have illegally paid the mayor a functional allowance of 4,000 euros.

The jury deliberated for several hours to reach a verdict. In addition to the prison sentences, the two defendants must also pay damages of 308,000 euros, according to ORF Radio Vorarlberg. Because the defense asked for time to think about it, the verdicts are not legally binding.