Two days before the end of his term, testimony in the corruption trial against O.B. Feldmann paints a strange picture of Frankfurt AWO behavior. They did not prove the influence of the mayor.
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Daniel Majic
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01:42 min.
AWO employee testifies at Feldmann’s trial
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Three days after him And the vote of the mayor of Frankfurt who is still Actually laughs well. “Today’s trial went very well,” said Peter Feldman (SPD) shortly after leaving the courtroom on Wednesday. “Sometimes you wish the poll had taken place in four days.”
It remains to be seen whether the statements made on this third day of the trial – later – will in fact change anything about the outright vote of the people of Frankfurt. However, it could be decisive in the ongoing corruption process against Feldmann before the Frankfurt District Court. They weren’t able to save Feldman’s office, but you may have heard him.
Profitable job through good connections
Feldman has yet to respond to the claim of accepting an advantage in at least two cases, both in relation to the so-called AWO issue A scandal worth millions over excessive fees, fictitious hiring and possibly illegal real estate deals. Feldmann maintained good contacts with the two associations of the affected regions in Frankfurt and Wiesbaden and above all with the managing directors, Hannelore and Jürgen Richter.
From the allegations against Feldman: his now divorced wife Zübeyde T. is said to have been employed by the workers’ welfare organization in Frankfurt in 2015 as the head of a German-Turkish day care center on very generous terms.. The Prosecutor is convinced that Zubeidi T. She owes this position exclusively to her relationship with Feldman.
High starting salary with no work experience
In fact, the statement of Cornelia Heald, head of the department in charge of daycare centers at AWO Frankfurt, notes that Zübeyde T. received her position at the instigation of the Richter couple. At the time, Heald was also in charge of personnel matters. In 2013, Peter Feldmann first told her about the idea of a German-Turkish day care center in Francourt. When this project later took shape, Hannelore Richter, President of AWO Wiesbaden, explained that someone was already on the management’s mind. It was Zübeyde T.
“I allowed myself one or two notes about their qualifications at the time,” Held recalled at the witness stand on Wednesday. When they first met in May 2015, Zübeyde T. had neither the formal qualifications for the position nor sufficient professional experience. But within AWO she was clearly told the job was an “obvious order” from management.
As a result, she “generously” interpreted Zübeyde T’s previously unavailable professional experience, thus raising it to Level 2, says Heald. This decision was then reviewed by management without their knowledge. Zübeyde T. was finally appointed to a higher salary bracket and was given the company car.
No influence from Feldman
That AWO in the main Rhine region Generously talented posts, is now known. The fact that one of them went to the partner and then to the wife of the current mayor, who himself is closely connected with AWO, raises doubts about getting a favor.
However, Heald also notes that in 2020, after returning from parental leave, Zubeidi T. Frankly about how her job arose. Accordingly, Zubeidi T. At a dinner with Feldman and Richter’s husband she was studying educational sciences. Then Hannelore Richter said, “We have our streak there.”
Initially, Zubeidi T. A friend, but Richter did not want to know anything about her, the witness told the district court. Instead, she was promised a salary starting from 4,300 to 4,500 euros. On the way home, Feldman is said to have said, as Heald quotes from her conversation with T: “You made a good impression. She didn’t do it because of me. She doesn’t like me.”
tacit agreement?
It’s a hearsay story, but it contains a few similarities to Feldman’s testimony on the second day of the trial. Heald also asserts that the relationship between Feldman and Zubaidi T had not been so clear for a long time. In any case, Feldman’s direct influence in favor of his subsequent wife during the trial cannot be proven yet.
On Wednesday, former Frankfurt social affairs official Daniela Birkenfeld (CDU) is set to provide information on the question of whether Feldman has returned the favor to AWO with political favors. Prosecutors assume that AWO employees collected donations for Feldman in 2018 for the mayoral election campaign. In turn, there was said to be a “tacit agreement” that the re-elected mayor would support the interests of the Arab Women’s Organization.
My voice
03:00 min
Birkenfeld on a conversation with Feldmann about AWO
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Conversation during break
The plaintiffs feel the potential impact regarding the operation of refugee housing in Frankfurt by the Arab Women’s Organization. At the end of May 2018, the city was dissatisfied with the work of the social association and wanted to end cooperation. The Birkenfield division negotiated termination of the related contracts.
During this time, the mayor asked her for an interview. “I was sure it was about refugees,” Birkenfeld recalls, and that was the dominant topic at the time. Then the conversation took place during a theatrical performance pause. Feldman asked about the problems. “AWO has always been a good contracting partner. Come on in agreement!” Feldman said.
Birkenfeld asserts that she also has the impression that Feldman has maintained a close relationship with the AWO and Richter’s husbands. “I basically assumed there would be a regular exchange between the judges and the mayor,” Birkenfield says. However, she cannot confirm that the mayor directly influenced political decisions in favor of the Arab Women’s Organization – only because the mayor is not authorized to issue instructions.
My voice
00:55 minutes
Evidence-taking begins in corruption trial against Feldman
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Defense attorney resigns
The allegations against Feldman are not necessarily false. But from the standpoint of the accused and his defense, the process is headed in the right direction. After Feldman on the second day of negotiations By his own admission and statement about his daughter, he also lost the sympathy of the votersAt least, the criminal procedure strategy appears to be working.
However, there is no longer a single person who notices this turn of events – at least not as a party to the process. Frankfurt’s famous criminal defense lawyer Ulrich Enders resigned from his duties as defense attorney before the start of the third day of the trial.
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