Schlesinger scandal: massage chairs, imported parquet and living walls - new details known
Created: 08/11/2022, 06:02
By: Anna Lorenz
In the course of the RBB affair, further details about the extent of possible infidelity become known.
The former director Patricia Schlesinger apparently enjoyed some luxury at the expense of the station.
Update from August 10, 8:15 p.m .:
The RBB broadcasting council wants to deal with the Schlesinger case again next week at another special meeting.
According to the committee, "final questions regarding the termination of the contract" should also be discussed.
There is no official information, but according to media reports, a high compensation for a premature termination of Schlesinger's contract is under discussion.
The prospect of Schlesinger being paid a severance payment when she leaves RBB, despite her alleged misconduct, annoys Brandenburg politicians.
According to Jan Redmann, leader of the Brandenburg CDU parliamentary group, Jan Redmann should "consider dismissing Ms. Schlesinger without notice." On Wednesday (9 August), he pointed out that violations of compliance regulations would presumably justify such a reaction.
"A golden handshake at the expense of the contributors does not seem plausible in this situation," emphasized Redmann.
"If a cashier is fired for a embezzled deposit receipt, that must certainly apply to a prominent public representative."
The SPD parliamentary group leader, Daniel Keller, called on Schlesinger on the same day to waive a severance payment.
Should the suspicion of breaches of duty such as breaches of trust and taking advantage prove true, "the payment of a severance payment would be a fatal sign to the employees of the RBB and the public," says Keller.
The RBB board of directors must therefore examine “whether, on the basis of the allegations and the documents already available, it will pronounce a termination or a contract cancellation without payment of a severance payment”.
Schlesinger scandal: allegations of infidelity against ex-director of RBB – details have become known
First report from August 10, 6:00 p.m.:
Berlin – massage chair, four-digit bills for dinner, imported precious parquet: the list of expenses that Patricia Schlesinger is said to have made at the expense of RBB is long.
Details about the purchases have now been made public, which is why there is an allegation of infidelity.
Some of the ex-director's confidants are also suspected of possible crimes.
Schlesinger: RBB funds allegedly used for luxury - new details known
The details bring back memories of the scandal surrounding Protz-Bishop Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Els. According to the allegations, the 61-year-old is said to have used considerable sums from the broadcaster for private purposes and equipped her professional environment with some luxury.
According to the
Tagesspiegel
, Schlesinger not only benefited from a salary increase to around 300,000 euros per year, but also from the RBB tax paid for a company car with massage seats as a "part of the remuneration".
Schlesinger's husband Gerhard Spörl (72) also used the car.
According to Deputy Director Hagen Brandstätter, the conversion of Schlesinger's offices also cost around 1.4 million euros.
In a special broadcast, the RBB showed the luxurious facility;
there were couch sets for 20,000 euros, a living wall greening for over 7,000 euros and an imported Italian parquet for 17,000 euros.
Parquet at her feet for 17,000 euros: Patricia Schlesinger had her office furnished with expensive staffage at RBB.
(Archive image) © IMAGO / Michael Handelmann
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Furthermore, according to a Brandenburg state politician, Schlesinger, who has since resigned from her post, organized private, opulent dinners at the expense of the broadcaster.
In February 2022, such an event cost more than 1,150 euros.
A spokesman for the then-participating Berlin police chief Barbara Slowik (56) now said that the officer had only now learned "with great astonishment and irritation" that the soiree was on the account of the RBB - a professional character of the get-together was "in no way evident". been.
Schlesinger: Investigations into infidelity - also confidants of the ex-director of the RBB in focus
Misappropriating funds is infidelity – a criminal offense that the Berlin public prosecutor is now investigating in the Schlesinger case.
At the same time, there is also the suspicion of accepting an advantage.
Not only the ex-ARD boss herself, but also her husband and the RBB board boss Wolf-Dieter Wolf are in the sights of the judiciary.
The latter has meanwhile announced his resignation from various offices.
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Hagen Brandstätter will take over the management of the RBB for the time being, but according to the
Tagesspiegel
, he had already announced his departure for next spring on Monday (8 August).
In a letter to the station's employees, he apologized that "this situation could not be prevented or at least averted quickly" and protested his ignorance of Schlesinger's misconduct.
However, employees had demanded the RBB-Aus for Brandtäter and program director Jan Schulte-Kellinghaus because they "no longer trusted that they could help with the restart".
(askl)
