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Walter Meischberger, the second defendant in the corruption proceedings against former finance minister Karl-Heinz Grasser, cleared the name “Rotensteiner” as an “alias” for Grasser in court today. The name was created by and by Common Secretary Grassers. “Rotensteiner” – that’s “the one thrown by the red stones,” Meischberger said.
Also, Raiffeisen banker Walter Rothensteiner was well known at the time. The name had nothing to do with him, yet it was just an alias for Grasser, Meischberger said today. He doesn’t think Grasser knew. The secretary came up with the name because they were looking for a name that Grasser could identify by without being recognized, but she no longer knew it, Meischberger said. “Back then, we naively believed that we would not use her name in this way during wiretapping.”
Legal dispute over villa in Döbling
Judge Marion Hohenecker today played several telephone recordings of Meischberger’s conversations in the courtroom. The phone calls between Meischberger and the businessman S., who borrowed a million euros from Meischberger to pay off his tax debt from the Buwog commission and later sold his house, have been reproduced today. At the time, Meischberger wrote in his journal how pleased he was with S’s offer of help. “It’s amazing how the man supports me. It’s a wonderful feeling,” she noted in her journal. As yesterday’s questioning of witnesses showed, there was a break with S just a year after the money was turned over to Meischberger. A legal dispute over the Meischberger villa in Döbling raged for years. Meischberger is now accused of fraud in this regard, he rejects all accusations.
Back then, in early 2010, Meischberger had a detailed phone conversation with broker Ernst Plech, now a co-defendant, and a banker in Liechtenstein about house searches and investigations and other defendants. He also talked about the iPhone, which was new at the time, and that shows how long the “theater” has been running, Meischberger added. “But now you don’t want to call my judgment a theater,” asked the judge. Meischberger denied that he was referring to the investigations of the Economic and Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (WKStA).
