Carl Hirschmann Child Sex Prison Sentence Confirmed

Is the Carl Hirschmann saga finally coming to an end? It might, though it is down to him to draw the line here. Since 2009, I've been posting regular updates on him and his many and varied court cases. Now the Swiss High Court has spoken. It confirmed a prison sentence from 2011 as correct. Finally, Carl Hirschmann is going to prison for paedophile sex. Or is he?

Carl Hirschmann

Carl Hirschmann moved from Switzerland to London after the series of court cases that had him in newspapers almost daily for two years. Now that the prison sentence has been finalized, it comes into force by law and has to be served by him. The judges of the Swiss High Court in Lausanne had refused to budge despite Carl Hirschmann's lawyers pointing out that he had apologized to the girl and her parents as well as paying reparations. They were of the opinion that both had been part of the deal with the court in Zurich and had been reflected in the lenient prison sentence handed to him. They also wanted to make it quite clear that rich criminals can't buy out of prison cards in Switzerland.

The deal sees Carl Hirschmann go to prison for 12 months, while 20 months are converted into a suspended sentence. The 12 months prison have to be served in Switzerland, though, implying that the millionaire has to return there to sit it out. He may choose to return of his own free will. If he does that, then he can work things to his advantage. If he shows an employment of any kind, he can spend the day outside of prison and is only asked to return in the evening. If he doesn't show an employment, he could still be put into an 'open' prison (i.e. no high walls, usually somewhere in Switzerland's beautiful countryside).

He could, on the other side, think he is being clever by sitting tight in London. Swiss authorities have already made it clear that they would apply to the United Kingdom for extradition should that be the case. They also made it clear that they expect the extradition to be followed as British judges wouldn't want to send the wrong kind of signals to paedophiles in their own country. It is also a question if such extradition proceedings would bring Carl Hirschmann into the sex offenders register (which he has so far escaped as he got sentenced in Switzerland).

With some luck, this might be one of the last aarticles on the young man from a rich family without morals. Or it might just be the start of a new series of court cases, this time handled in the limelight of London. It is up to Carl Hirschmann what it will be.

Further reading
The Carl Hirschmann Trial: It Was All About Sex
Carl Hirschmann Appeals Against Prison Sentence
Another Public Humiliation For Carl Hirschmann

Another Public Humiliation For Carl Hirschmann

Millionaire Carl Hirschmann, heir and grandson to Jet Aviation founder Carl Hirschmann Senior, took another rap from the Swiss High Court in Lausanne. It wasn't all bad news, though, in this particular case involving his former girlfriend. The publicity attached to the sentence is probably the worst punishment.

Carl Hirschmann was the owner of the now closed VIP club Saint Germain on Zurich's prestigious Bahnhofstrasse; he has an estimated fortune of over £100 million. He was sentenced to publish an apology to his former girlfriend on the internet for calling her a liar on various websites. The Swiss High Court felled the sentence on principle while referring the details back to the district court in Meilen, canton Zurich.

With this final sentence, another lackluster episode in the life of Carl Hirschmann comes to an end and once again it needed a trial in front of the Swiss High Court. Four years ago, a former girlfriend testified to the police that he had grossly abused her. Carl Hirschmann subsequently published his allegations of a "revenge of a disappointed ex-lover" calling her a liar at the same time. His verbal attacks were made to people; he also published a written version on various websites.

The former girlfriend lodged a complaint against Carl Hirschmann as she saw herself injured in her personal rights. While the district court agreed with her and decreed that Hirschmann must apologize on the internet to her, the cantonal supreme court came to a different conclusion. The supreme judges surmised that media reporting over the processes had made a separate apology redundant. The plaintiff didn't accept this verdict and took the case to the Swiss High Court in Lausanne. The panel of high judges followed her argument: Carl Hirschmann has to publish a full apology in social media. Media coverage of the connected trials was not sufficient and doesn't count as an apology.

In another point, the judges followed Carl Hirschmann's lawyers' argument: The Swiss High Court came to the conclusion that the risk of a repetition of the incident wasn't to be expected in this case. Therefore, the judges desisted from including an in injunction in the sentence.

The district court in Meilen is now called on to clarify where exactly Carl Hirschmann has to publish the apology. While a personal website of Carl Hirschman's is still active, two Facebook profiles on which the slurs had also been published were meanwhile deleted.
 
Carl Hirschmann was sentenced to publish the following text in full:
"Carl Hirschmann and the Saint Germain Ent. AG have injured the personal rights of Lulu M. with the publication of the posts 'photographic proof exonerates Carl Hirschmann' and 'photographic evidence exposes Lulu M. as a liar' and use of the image of Lulu M. was illegal. Carl Hirschmann has explained in a letter to Lulu M. that he was sorry to have hurt her personal rights. He has apologized in the letter to her."

Further reading
When a Sassy Headline Becomes an Embarrassment
The Hirschmann Family Saga
Carl Hirschmann Appeals Against Prison Sentence

New Court Case Opened Against Carl Hirschmann

So far, court cases against Carl Hirschmann were varied, colourful, and confusing. By end of summer 2010, all court cases against him but one had been shelved, discontinued, or thrown out after out-of-court settlements had been reached in each case. Only one remained open, until now. 

Carl Hirschmann

Carl Hirschmann’s lawyers proved to be wizards in getting rid of damaging court cases this summer; open cases dropped like dead leaves in late autumn and closed faster than shops on the High Street. The power involved was not natural, it was magical; the magic applied was relying on what Carl has in abundance: Money.

The open case remaining was the demand of his ex-girlfriend for him to promise under oath not to cause her bodily harm or to publish intimate photos of her in any way. The verdict in that matter had been passed a month ago with the judge squiggling out of an uncomfortable situation. Doing some fast talking, the judge had ruled that it was proven that Carl had threatened his ex-girlfriend with causing her bodily harm during a heated discussion.

It ruled that Carl Hirschmann will have to promise under oath not to cause her bodily harm and that he will have to pay a state deposit of 500,000 Swiss Francs (£275,000). The state deposit would go forfeit against a (higher) fine should he renege on his pledge. The claimant had asked for a deposit of ten million Swiss Francs.

In the case of the pictures it was ruled that the alleged threat of disclosure was not proven but that they would be removed from Carl’s computers and other technical devices all the same as the pictures belong to the claimant. As all these devices are currently in the possession of the state attorney, the removing would be done by specialists. Neither oath nor forfeit were deemed necessary in connection with that part of the case. The verdict has been appealed against by the lawyers of Carl Hirschmann.

Now, a state attorney in Zurich has opened a court case against him. The allegations include causing bodily harm, sexual harassment of two women in separate incidents, and a case of sexual acts on a minor. The court now has time to decide if it will allow which if any of these allegations will be admitted to a hearing. The lawyers of Carl Hirschmann have challenged the attorney over ‘his hasty approach’ to the matter.

Carl Hirschmann meanwhile has announced that he will close his night venue Saint Germain on January 1st, 2011. He claimed that the decision for the closure had been made by him upon the death of his father. He announced his intention to get involved full time in the administration of the real estate that forms part of his inheritance.

Closing down the club seems like a smart move in the upcoming defence battle. The Saint Germain was the venue for the jeunesse dorée attracting a few prominent guests and many more pseudo prominent ones as well. The premises of the club have often been alleged to be the venue of serious drug dealing. Cutting this link must be a smart move in view of the serious allegations in question.

A line of defence that has been opened by Hirschmann’s lawyers earlier this year was a medical assessment as to a psychological disorder. Should things go really wrong, the job as professional real-estate dabbler will come in handy to better his position; a seemingly stable job should help him being kept out of prison should he be found guilty in any or several of the allegations. The board is set, let the game begin.

This article was originally published on Triond on 07/12/10.

Further reading
When a Sassy Headline Becomes an Embarrassment
Carl Hirschmann Repeat Performances
Carl Hirschmann: Things Money Can Buy

Carl Hirschmann: Things Money Can Buy

Last month, Carl Hirschmann’s lawyers put a spike into court proceedings under way. Now the Court of Appeal of Basel announced that proceedings against him had been closed without verdict. And a third case never reached courts, it was revealed at the same time. Things a lot of money can buy.

In December 2009, Carl Hirschmann was found guilty at a court hearing in Basel of having assaulted and caused bodily harm to a man in a bar. The claimant had asked for damages of $100,000 and received $5,000 plus the same amount in legal costs while Carl fined with $1,000. Hirschmann’s lawyers appealed against the verdict. Now the Court of Appeal issued a statement that the case had been closed without verdict as the claimant had retracted his claim. It’s astonishing what a few hundred million Dollars at your disposal can do for you.

In March 2010, Carl Hirschmann hit out again, this time in the Grand Hotel Dolder in Zurich. The case never came to court. In a refreshingly frank statement from Hirschmann’s lawyers, they confirmed that the damaged parties in both cases had been bought off in out-of-court proceedings together with some spat in Gstaad. The spat at the Dolder would probably have gone unnoticed by the wider public if the parties involved had refrained from a prolonged tug of war in the tabloids.

At the same time, Hirschmann was arrested for alleged sexual harassment in one case and alleged sexual acts on a minor in a second. After paying a $500,000 deposit, he was allowed to remain at large with the injunction of not leaving Zurich. While these cases were going on, the further case of his girlfriend was added to the list. She claimed that Carl had assaulted her during their relationship and that he had threatened her future bodily harm and disclosure of intimate photos. This case had been already on record but was under an injunction on request of the claimant. The injunction blew up in the judge’s face only because the press was just filing into the court building for another hearing while Hirschmann and his ex left it after their hearing.

The verdict on the two cases with sexual connotations should have been passed end of August but the lawyers pulled a stopper on that at the last minute. Claiming bias on part of the single judge dealing with the case, they played for time. After disclosure of the multiple retractions they probably hope to clear these cases in the same way to get their hands free for the real clincher of Hirschmann’s ex.

The problem with that latter case lies in the nature of the demands made by the claimant. She demands that Carl countermands his threats under oath and pays an adequate deposit to substantiate his oath. On the outside this might look easy. If he didn’t threaten her, he could just swear on it and pay the deposit. The crux of that is, this would be counted as an admission of guilt and he would be prosecuted for blackmail by the state attorney. The judge in that case therefore has to come to a decision of whether he was guilty or not and accordingly demand the oath or not. Obviously, having a previous conviction for sexual harassment or sexual acts on a minor would be unhelpful, to say the least.

The article was originally published on Triond on 06/10/10.

Further reading
When a Sassy Headline Becomes an Embarrassment
Carl Hirschmann Repeat Performances
Poor Rich Boy: Carl Hirschmann

Carl Hirschmann Jun. Died of Cancer

A speaker of the Hirschmann family announced the death by cancer of Carl Hirschmann Jun. at the University Hospital in Zurich. He also said that no statements would be made by his sons Michael and Carl Hirschmann on the occasion. Addressed specifically to the media, he stated that the funeral would be a family affair and that no media representatives were welcome to attend. 

Carl Hirschmann

Carl Hirschmann Jun. was one of the children of the founder of Jet Aviation Carl Hirschmann Sen. He served in the company under his father until he was chucked out in 1983. The affair behind the boot was so ridiculous, it is hardly credible. Carl Hirschmann Sen. had ordered a driver and car to take him from Basel to Baden-Baden in Germany. But driver and car were already on their way to Nice in the South of France to pick up Carl Jun.’s wife. Carl Hirschmann Sen. took this rather personally and chucked his son out of the company.

Carl Hirschmann Jun. was succeeded as crown prince by his brother Thomas Hirschmann. Carl spent the following years waging a war of attrition against both his father and his brother culminating in denouncing them for tax fraud. Carl Sen. and Thomas were found guilty and had to pay over 24 million pounds in taxes and fines.

Carl Hirschmann Sen. died in 1995 leaving Thomas in command of Jet Aviation. This changed in 2003, when a shareholder coup supervised by Carl’s widow Rita replaced the existing board of directors with herself and three of her cronies. Thomas was fired the same day. In 2005, the family sold the majority of shares to private equity firm Permira Funds and Carl Hirschmann Jun. replaced Rita on the board while retaining his shares. He even acted (oh irony) as CEO ad interim for a while until the company was sold to General Dynamics in 2008.

Carl Hirschmann Jun. died of cancer at the University Hospital of Zurich on July 30th, 2010 at the age of 61. His son Carl Hirschmann’s speaker Sacha Wigdorovits made it quite clear that the media would not be welcome at the funeral. Carl Hirschmann had a permanent media presence over the past year thanks to several scandals instigated by him.

The name Carl Hirschmann still seems to bring forth the worst in media sloppiness. Most of the headlines and articles pertaining to the death of Carl Hirschmann Jun. confuse him with his father. Accordingly, they credit him with having founded Jet Aviation. Considering the amount of capital needed for that, it would have been an extraordinary feat for an 18 year old.

Add this sloppiness to the earlier usually incompetent media coverage pertaining to Carl Hirschmann and his scandals, the pointed barb against any media presence at the funeral is highly understandable.

The article was originally published on Triond on 07/08/10.

Further reading
When a Sassy Headline Becomes an Embarrassment
The Hirschmann Family Saga
Carl Hirschmann Repeat Performances

The Hirschmann Family Saga

The saga of the Hirschmann family’s fortune and misfortune started in 1967 with the acquisition of a hangar on Basel Airport by Carl Hirschmann Senior. He founded Jet Aviation and earned the fabulous fortune the family now enjoys. 

Carl Hirschmann, David and Philipp Degen

In 1967, Carl Hirschman Senior bought a hangar on Basel Airport (then Airport Basel-Mulhouse; now Euroairport Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg). He started a business for the maintenance of company owned jet aircrafts. Through careful acquisitions and expansion first into Saudi-Arabia and later into the US he established Jet Aviation as the world’s leading private maintenance company.

The establishment of the company in Basel with its premises on the airport was intentional. The airport in Basel is bi-nationally owned by Switzerland and France. With this placement, the company was able to hire people for its operation that under Swiss or French law wouldn’t have received work permits. All it took was some squiggling around.

Carl Hirschmann Sen. was very thrifty in his business dealings. His human resources department came up with a ploy whereby British citizens could be employed without paying taxes in either Switzerland or France. These employees usually only found out about the draw-backs when they returned to Britain and faced huge tax bills. But Jet Aviation had been able to employ them with cut throat low wages.

When Carl Hirschmann died in 1995, a full page obituary was placed in the Wall Street Journal. If you have led a life free of blame, you normally leave the writing of an obituary to the living. Carl Hirschmann Sen. didn’t take any chances, though, and had it ready for the day. It contained the revealing sentence ‘I do not choose to be a common man.’ Charmed, I’m sure.

What he left behind was a very common, rich, and divided family. The company was run by his son Thomas Hirschmann, a competent administrator without much vision. His obvious successor Carl Hirschmann Jun. had been kicked out of the company in 1983 over the trifling dispute over the use of a company car. The company’s shares were divided between his widow and his five children opening interesting vistas for all kinds of alliances in a family at odds.

In a first alliance, Thomas Hirschmann finally managed to get rid of the old board of directors of his father’s cronies in 2005 and to replace them with business people from the aviation sector. The new board was headed most notably by Moritz Sutter, founder of Crossair (signing these days as Swiss). The board’s business was to streamline the company into the success it had been under Carl Hirschmann Senior. The unwelcome news of the new boards for the family was that this would mean no dividends for some years to come.

As all the family constantly lived above their income, namely the widow with houses and estates scattered over half of Europe, this was simply impossible to bear. What cheek! A new alliance formed, and the new board was sacked after only six weeks in office and replaced with the widow herself and her cronies. For good measure, Thomas was kicked out as CEO as well.

The new board finally came to an agreement with Permira Funds over the sale of the company, whereby Carl Hirschmann Jun. retained his part of the shares. It is thought that the family cashed in almost a billion dollars for their 90 percent share (without Carl’s part). With Permira, Carl Hirschmann Jun. entered the board and even had a go as CEO ad interim during a crisis. Permira Funds sold the business in 2008 for 2.25 billion dollars; Carl Hirschmann Jun. was amply rewarded for his waiting. Three years had more than doubled the worth of his shares.

Carl Hirschmann Jun.’s son Carl Hirschmann is a walking calamity in his own right. I have followed his exploits in many articles. 

Originally published on Triond on 17/08/10.

Further reading
When a Sassy Headline Becomes an Embarrassment
Carl Hirschmann: Poor Rich Boy
Carl Hirschmann Repeat Performances

Carl Hirschmann: Repeat Performances

Carl Hirschmann might be born rich, but he doesn’t seem to be the learning kind. After last November’s spat when he was arrested by police, he has been arrested again on Tuesday. And this after hitting out at a guest in the Hotel Dolder Grand in Zurich but not connected with the incident. 

Carl Hirschmann

Carl Hirschmann was at it again. At the Hotel Dolder Grand in Zurich, notably one of the most expensive Hotels you might find in Switzerland, he hit out at former Mr. Switzerland Sven Melig and his female companion. The latter has placed complaint with police as to having sustained bodily harm in the attack. This fact alone sheds a new light on the case of the Poor Rich Boy. As the receiving end of the punches was Sven Melig for allegedly calling Carl’s female companions floozies, it sheds a very dim light on the Hirschmann intellect.

But that was not the reason for the renewed arrest on Tuesday. After the many faults in the last publicity spat, Zurich’s attorney general at least has learned his bit and the press release this time included the reason for the arrest: Sexual harassment in one case and one for sexual acts on a minor. The court decision on his further imprisonment during the investigations will be published on Thursday.

What weighs heavily against Hirschmann in both cases is the fact that neither allegation is a first. The case of sexual acts on a minor had been raised already some years back, and even though the case had been dropped at the time, its shadows had hounded him constantly. That a new case has been deposited sheds a very negative light on what happened with the last case.

Last November, he had been arrested for another case of sexual harassment, a case that has not yet progressed to a court proceeding and is probably still under investigation. Only days after that arrest and his subsequent release on bail, he had to appear in Basel in court in a case of causing bodily harm to a person in a bar during a night out in town.

The publicity company behind Carl Hirschmann’s in club Saint Germain is in free spin over the latest developments and has deferred all statements until Wednesday. I am somehow looking forward how they will get the Saint Germain out of the line this time, as the only reason to really go there had been the status conferred by Carl Hirschmann being the owner.

For Carl the arrest by police came just in time to not join the homeless. As he had been residing at the Hotel Dolder Grand since last August, the announcement by the hotel’s management that they would not further welcome him as a guest has made a tramp of him. Reading the press release by the Hotel manager, I had to admit that it was the most politely phrased ASBO I have come across in years, citing as cause for it ‘the recent behaviour of Mr. Hirschmann’. 

First published on Triond on 12/01/10.

Further reading
When a Sassy Headline Becomes an Embarrassment
Carl Hirschmann: Poor Rich Boy
Carl Hirschmann and Noemi Lenoir

Carl Hirschmann and Noemi Lenoir: Reality Check on Press Rumours

British and international press and media latched on to the alleged suicide attempt of VIP Noemi Lenoir, a person so unimportant she didn’t even make the list of the most unimportant VIPs in the world. In an attempt to spice up the story to news level, they added unchecked rumour but didn’t do their homework. 

Paris Hilton and Carl Hirschmann

Reporting the sordid story of an alleged suicide attempt of a working single mother was obviously not enough of news for the press and other media. To link the father of her child, someone called Makelele, into the story is understandable. Makelele shares the non-VIP status of Lenoir; seemingly he is (like millions of others) someone who plays a bit of football (soccer).

Desperate to make at least some impression, they then cited ‘friends’ of Lenoir linking her to non-VIP Carl Hirschmann which finally allowed them to introduce the name of Paris Hilton into the story. Mission accomplished, at last a VIP from the D-list. Journalism must be a tortuous profession. But in doing so, they showed themselves as the incompetent scribblers they usually are, they didn’t bother to check on any of the ‘facts’ they reported.

In the reports, press and media placed Carl Hirschmann in Zurich, currently on bail for the duration of an investigation into alleged sexual offences. Actually, Hirschmann is in St. Tropez, in Southern France, and nowhere near Switzerland. Last week, the bail requiring him to remain in Switzerland had been temporarily lifted (for a small deposit of £300,000) to allow him to visit his father at their family estate in St. Tropez.

Father Carl Hirschmann Jr. is reported as suffering from pancreatic cancer, but there is no official statement from the family on that account. Whatever the reasoning behind the Swiss judge’s decision to let him go, Carl Hirschmann left Switzerland on Friday by private plane for Nice. He was conveyed by limousine straight to St. Tropez. Rumours that he hosted a big party at Cannes on Saturday haven’t been substantiated. It is also unlikely, as there are too many real VIPs throwing well planned bashes right now.

The tortuous way to link Hirschmann into the Lenoir story was done by an alleged romantic tie between the two. In view of his direction of travel, I would say that the hospital in Paris where Noemi Lenoir was treated over the weekend was not on the agenda. The whole ‘romantic tie’ story is based on a coincidental snap showing the two in Zürich and the stories of all those ‘friends’ of Lenoir’s.

Suicides often are the result of a total breakdown of communication with friends and family. It is doubtful that anybody should be called a friend at such a time. And all those ‘friends’ inventing Lenoir’s life for her should be ashamed of themselves, as they obviously failed her and just don’t know anything. The involvement between Hirschmann and Lenoir might be as true as Carl’s self-invented involvement with Paris Hilton.

As usual: It’s all true, it said so in the newspapers. 

Article first published on Triond on 27/05/09.

Further reading
When a Sassy Headline Becomes an Embarrassment
Carl Hirschmann: Poor Rich Boy
Carl Hirschmann: Home Theatre

Carl Hirschmann Appeals Against Prison Sentence

Carl Hirschmann had received a 33 months prison sentence in a trial by the district court of Zurich. Unsurprisingly, he and his lawyers now have appealed against that sentence issuing from a trial on sex, lies, and videotapes.

Carl Hirschmann and Pierre Casiraghi of Monaco

The Carl Hirschmann trial had been about using force in his aim to get sex from several women, using force and causing bodily harm to his ex-girlfriend, and having sex with a girl of 15. The attorney general for the state of Zurich had asked for a four years prison sentence, but the judge ruled certain incidents that had allegedly taken place in London to be outside of Swiss jurisdiction and therefore sentenced Carl Hirschmann to 33 months in prison. 19 months have been set out on probation while 14 months will have to be served.

An appeal had to be expected under these circumstances, as the team of lawyers under the leadership of Dominique von Planta had obviously set their sight on a sentence below 24 months that could be set out on probation in its entirety. To add insult to injury, the judge had at the same time set a new bail amount for Carl Hirschmann, too. Hitherto, the bail had been set at 1 million Swiss francs (1.13 million dollars, 0.7 million pounds sterling); the judge raised it by 4 million Swiss francs to a total of 5 million. That is higher than the bail amount that had been set on Roman Polanski; they really don’t want to repeat the mistakes of the American legal system with that one.

Carl Hirschmann holds beside his Swiss passport also a French one; lawyers of victims had therefore demanded that bail should be withdrawn and Carl Hirschmann imprisoned immediately as a flight to France would remove him from immediate access for Swiss authorities. In such a scenario, a lengthy and costly extradition attempt would have to be made with a very uncertain rate of success. The judge moved for a punishingly high bail amount against which an appeal is not possible.

Dominique von Planta on the other hand has her work cut out for her. Her tactic of proving the women plaintiffs as liars and psychologically disturbed personalities did not work. IF at all, her final harangue against the plaintiffs was contra productive. The sentence of 33 months is high enough, considering that quite a few of the alleged charges had been removed from the tally for having occurred in London, to be considered a total defeat. She’ll have to devise a completely different approach for the appeal hearings.

It has to be said, though, in favour of Carl Hirschmann’s lawyers that they had a difficult position to maintain. With the allegation of having had sex with a minor uncontested and the record of several incidents of having caused bodily harm on record, it is difficult to paint the accused in the guise of innocence. The startlingly high pecuniary claims by the plaintiffs (for Swiss standards) on the other hand do nothing to prove their truthfulness.

Whatever the outcome of the appeal, we seem to be continuing the almost interminable Hirschmann saga into 2012. The story broke in 2009, when the attorney general of Zurich botched a press conference. Since then, the name of Carl Hirschmann has been permanently in the news.

Further reading
The Carl Hirschmann Trial: It Was All About Sex
Carl Hirschmann's Home Theatre
Poor Rich Boy: Carl Hirschmann

The Carl Hirschmann Trial: It Was All About Sex

It has been a long time coming, but finally the trial against millionaire Carl Hirschmann has taken place in Switzerland. Accused of various charges of sexual harassment and on one count of sex with a minor, Carl Hirschmann was tried in a two days trial. 

Carl Hirschmann

Carl Hirschmann finally had his trial at the district court of Zurich. The list of allegations was long and almost all of them had to do with sex. It was alleged that he had used force and coercion to reach his aims, that he had forced sexual intercourse with several women just stopping short of rape, and that he had sex with a minor. The press would have had a heyday if the court hadn’t decided to restrict access to the select circle of accredited journalists which abide by its secrecy rules on such occasions.

The restrictions were not put in place for Carl Hirschmann’s benefit, but to preserve the anonymity of the women involved in the case as plaintiffs beside the state. Despite being closed to the public, the trial was packed with all the lawyers of the plaintiffs and the state prosecutor as well as the teal of lawyers representing Carl Hirschmann who were headed by Dominique von Planta.

The prosecution had demanded a sentence of four years in prison for Carl Hirschmann; his defence lawyers demanded his acquittal. The court in the end decided to send him to prison; 14 months in prison have to be served, 19 months were deferred in probation with a probationary period of two years. At first glance, this might look like a lot less than the 48 months demanded by the state prosecutor, but at closer inspection it actually isn’t.

The prosecution had included incidents of force and physical abuse alleged by Carl Hirschmann’s ex-girlfriend which had supposedly taken place during their stay in London. The court ruled that it was not responsible for incidents happening in the jurisdiction of Great Britain and excluded them from the considerations. Until she takes them into a court in London they will therefore remain alleged.

Otherwise, the court considered the allegations made by the three women as proven; the case of sex with a 15 year old girl was not in contention as Carl Hirschmann had pleaded guilty on that count from the beginning.

Looking at it that way, the tactics of Carl Hirschmann’s defence was an unmitigated disaster. Dominique von Planta had tried from the start to depict the women involved as being untrustworthy and as liars. In her closing statement, she had attacked them one by one trying to discredit them and their allegations. She also had a go at the state prosecutor for the press disaster that had brought the whole affair into the press over two years ago.

The state prosecutor retaliated by calling Carl Hirschmann media hungry and proved it with an e-mail sent by Hirschmann to a friend: “It’s quite a sexy feeling to be public enemy number one.” The prosecutor has a point, at least to my way of thinking. A man who has to claim having had a fling with Paris Hilton is asking for trouble with the media because there really is nothing else to attract one to Paris Hilton except a terribly bad taste in women.

The state prosecutor said after the verdict that he probably will not appeal against the sentencing as it seemed balanced under the circumstances. Dominique von Planta on the other hand reserved judgement on launching an appeal on part of the defendant until she had studied the written ruling in detail. Should she decide to go into an appeal, she will have to change her tactics drastically. Otherwise, the appeal might even backfire.

Further reading
Carl Hirschmann's Home Theatre
Poor Rich Boy: Carl Hirschmann
When a Sassy Headline Becomes an Embarrassment

Carl Hirschmann’s Home Theatre

Carl Hirschmann’s name is normally banded about in the gossip and crime columns, but this time he managed to get into the cultural pages. A press conference hosted by him and the Theater Neumarkt in Zurich was aimed at promoting a new play to be put up by the theatre.

Carl Hirschmann party boy

A press conference hosted by Carl Hirschmann guarantees the attendance of a bevy of journalists mainly from the gossip department. They were sorely disappointed this time, as there wasn’t a shred of scandal about the announcement to be made.

Carl Hirschmann opened the press conference with a short statement, and then left immediately sparking an exodus of gossips. Theater Neumarkt’s co-director Barbara Weber quipped ‘and now they’re all leaving’ to the laughter of the remaining real journalists.

The opening statement had covered the main fact that the former Club Saint Germain in Zurich would be hosting the Theater Neumarkt for several months up to the end of this year. Carl Hirschmann had closed his VIP night club venue following the death of his father end of last year while his rent contract will keep on running to 2014.

Now the club will host the play A.N.D.Y., a production put up by Theater Neumarkt based on Andy Warhol’s 1975 book Andy Warhol’s Philosophy: From A To B & Back Again. As Andy Warhol and his set were regulars at one of history’s most decadent disco venues called Club 54 in New York, putting the play into the rooms of the equally decadent Club Saint Germain gives it a certain authenticity.

Also in the Club Saint Germain, Theater Neumarkt will put up the play Vestire Gli Nudi (Clothing The Naked) by Luigi Pirandello. The play tells the story of love, treason, attempted suicide and the involvement of the gossip press in it all. The stories of the protagonists and the press crisscross and contradict each other exposing them all as liars to the point where the real story is never told. In view of Carl Hirschmann’s past, the play gets some additional validation from the venue as well.

Theater Neumarkt’s co-director Rafael Sanchez said that the theatre had been looking for a suitable venue for several months prior to contacting Carl Hirschmann when he announced to close down Club Saint Germain. He had been intrigued by the idea and when the matter of money was broached, he declared to Sanchez that they would not be able to afford the rent of the first class venue at Zurich's prime address at Bahnhofstrasse 66. Theater Neumarkt will receive the use of the rooms rent free.

While Carl Hirschmann had been running Club Saint Germain, he had lived in the Grand Hotel Dolder in Zurich; he had been evicted from there after his arrest, but is now back in residence. During that time, the club was more his home than the hotel, giving home theatre a completely new meaning.

Further reading
When a Sassy Headline Becomes an Embarrassment
Poor Rich Boy: Carl Hirschmann
Zurich is More Than Banks