HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1990-02-07, Page 1Henschel gets 18 months for $790,000 theft
BY LISA BOONSTOPPEL
After a year of unravelling the
elaborate scheme that almost let
Klaus Henschel, former owner of
Brussels Stockyards, off with
$790,000, Judge R. G. E. Hunter
Serving Brussels, Blyth, Auburn, Belgrave, Ethel,
Londesborough, Walton and surrounding townships.
VOL. 6 NO. 6 WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 1990.50 CENTS
Bd. of Ed.
delays action
on ruling
The Huron County Board of
Education and its trustees decided
at their February 5 meeting that
the would monitor the teaching of
religious education-in the county’s
public elementary schools follow
ing the recent ruling by the Ontario
Court of Appeal.
The court ruled unanimously that
the regulation which required all
elementary schools to provide two
half-hour sessions of religious edu
cation per week was inconsistent
with the Canadian Charter of
Rights’ freedom of conscience and
religion. They ruled the regulation
invalid but decided that religious
education without indoctrination
w'as permissable.
In his report to the Board Robert
Allan, Director of Education, said
believed that at this present
time there was no instruction
taking place in Huron County
schools that would indoctrinate
students. “My suggestion to you is
that we continue business as usual
for another month until more
informatwr is available and this
situation becomes clearer.’’
“1 think what we have is accept
able now, but after further clarifi
cation we may have to make
adjustments,’’ Mr. Allan said.
The report of the Education
Committee said the HCBE has
received a special grant in the
amount of $18,080 to be divided
among the five secondary schools
to study the quality, partnerships
and new directions for Co-op
education. The schools are to
submit a proposal for an area of
study in which to expand their
present programs. A sum of money
is set aside to be used to remove
specific barriers that would prevent
students from entering certain
placements. The program is going
to be monitored and a report sent to
the HCBE Education Committee.
The committee also studied a
proposal for the introduction of
French Immersion in the secondary
Continued on page 27
sentenced Henschel to 18 months
in jail on a temporary absence
permit when Mr. Henschel be
comes eligible.
The sobbing of Mr. Henschel’s
wife Kristin ended the dramatic
Starting goung
Everyone knows that youngsters love to cook and these four are no exception. Thecooking class was
just one of many electives offered at Blyth Public School during the afternoon and many students
enjoyed the opport unity to make some tasty treats. Stirring up some Bird Nest Clusters are from left:
Leanne Haggitt, Ashley Howson, Michelle McNichol and Sara McNichol.
Brussels’ Huronview plans set
While debate still rages at Huron
County council on the future of the
Huronview redevelopment project,
Brussels council Monday night put
the last piece in place for the legal
work for building the Huronview
North project just south of the
village.
. Council passed a bylaw to enter
case on February 5 as Judge
Hunter cited Mr. Henschel’s guilty
plea and his voluntary return to
Canada as some of the reasons for
the lenient sentence.
However, Judge Hunter did
into an agreement with Morris
township to provide the sewage
outlet for the project into the
village’s system. That agreement,
as well as information received
from the Ministry of the Environ
ment about the ability of the
Brussels sewerage system to take
the additional effluent were requir
ed in putting together the package
speculate on the probability of Mr.
Henschel’s return to Canada if he
had been able to take out the
$790,000 from a Swiss bank ac
count; an action he was unable to
fulfill when banking officials froze
for approval by the Ministry of
Community and Social Services.
Meanwhile the price for Brussels
supplying necessary services to
Huronview North has been put at
$68,500. The two major items are
extension of Elizabeth Street to the
south edge of the village, at an
estimated cost of $30,000 and the
sewer extension at $21,000.
the account as soon as the premedi
tated scheme of fraud began to
unravel.
Judge Hunter said that Hen
schel’s crime “was a carefully
calculated and planned scheme.’’ It
was a conclusion reached after a
string of complaints began in
October 1988 when a Saskatchewan
cattle producer phoned the Ontario
Provincial Police about Henschel
and the Brussels Stockyards after
discovering he and other livestock
producers had been defrauded of
about 720 cattle. When police went
to question Mr. Henschel, he had
disappeared.
Mr. Henschel had admitted at a
court appearance Dec. 19, 1989, he
had devised a plot to quickly raise
cash, move to West Germany and
abandon a business which had not
been generating profits as expect
ed. After enlisting the help of his
wife, his first cousin Juergen
Buettemeyer and three Germans,
Uwe Geinke, Thomas Schade and
Ralph Hagemeier, he began order
ing cattle. These cattle were order
ed by Brussels Stockyards but
diverted to a fictional cattle com
pany called Oxford Livestock which
Henschel had set up. The cattle
were sold at various cattle auctions
across Ontario and Henschel collec
ted all the profits. Buettemeyer,
who later co-operated fully with the
OPP and the Ontario Ministry of
Agriculture estimated that Hen
schel sold 1300 cattle in the three
weeks prior to his escape to
Germany.
Besides the profit from these
cattle, Henschel stole $104,330.27
from the safe at the Brussels
Stockyards, the proceeds from the
Oct. 21, 1988 weekly sale. All the
money was deposited in a Royal
Bank branch in Ingersoll where
Kristin, the sole officer of the
account soon began to withdraw
and deposit cheques regularly.
Finally, through a series of
transactions between Henschel, his
wife and the Germans, all the
money was transferred into a Swiss
bank account in Toronto owned by
Hagemeier to be transferred to
Germany. When Hagameir later
tried to withdraw the funds in
Germany he was told the holdings
in the account were frozen in
Canada as banking officials believ
ed that the monies had been
obtained fraudulently.
Realizing his plan had backfired,
Henschel and his family returned
to Canada November 29, 1988 and
were arrested the next day. That
day began a series of trial appear
ances and sentencing delays until
Monday when Henschel was led
from the courtroom to be taken to
prison.
Judge Hunter said that the
deceit was probably a “one-shot
deal’’ when he gave reasons for his
sentencing and he added that
Henschel had already found em
ployment (he is presently employed
with the Thermoshield company in
London) and that the Henschel
family had been reduced to a
hand-to-mouth existence from their
former comfortable lifestyle. Hen
schel’s defence lawyer, Fletcher
Dawson, used Henschel’s past
success as part of his client’s
defence.
Dawson’s first argument was
that Henschel’s devious act “was
something completely out of char
acter,” as he went on to examine
Continued on page 2