Loading...
The Citizen, 1990-01-03, Page 7THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 3, 1990. PAGE 7. Henschel nearly pulled off his perfect crime Court evidence shows complicated scheme to defraud nearly worked but for a suspicious western cattleman Evidence given in the case of Klaus Henschel in Provincial Crim­ inal Division Court in Goderich Dec. 19 reads like a movie plot full of financial scheming, foreign in­ trigue and elements of old time cattle rustling. Huron County Crown Attorney Robert Morris tried to outline for Judge R. G. E. Hunter, the details of Mr. Henschel’s plan to make off with three-quarters of a million dollars while bankrupting his com­ pany, Brussels Stockyards Limited in Oct. of 1988. Mr. Morris’ brief ran to 15 typewritten pages. Mr. Henschel’s attorney Fletcher Daw­ son agrees that all but a few minor details of Mr. Morris’s account of the crime were accurate as Mr. Henschel pleaded guilty to theft of 1103 head of cattle valued at $685,000 mostly from western Can­ adian cattle producers and $104,330 in money from Brussels Stockyards (which ultimately came out of the pockets of local cattlemen when the bank refused to honour cheques from the company in payment for cattle sold through the Stockyard the Friday before Mr. Henschel disappeared with the money. (Most of the money was later recovered through the Live­ stock Protection Fund co-ordinated by the Ontario Ministry of Agricul­ ture and Food). Mr. Henschel will be sentenced Feb. 5 in court in Goderich follow­ ing the reading of a pre-sentence report. Much of Mr. Morris’ account was pieced together through the help of Mr. Henschel’s cousin Juergen Buettemeyer of Mount Elgin who co-operated with police in the investigation. He had been a key figure in helping Mr. Henschel with his scheme after being ap­ proached by Mr. Henschel in September, 1988, nearly two months before Klaus and Kristin Henschel and their two children fled to West Germany via Amster­ dam. It was about that time that Mr. Henschel apparently realized the Stockyard was not generating money at the rate he had figured it would when he bought it May 1, 1987. Klaus cooked up a scheme to try to get a great deal of money quickly, abandon the business and take his family to Germany to live. After getting the help of his cousin, Klaus rented a barn in the Beachville area and began a plan to house cattle there that had been taken from the Stockyards’ own feedlots or had been ordered by the Stockyards but never sold through the yard. The cattle would then be diverted to other auction barns in Toronto, Denfield, Cargill, Milver­ ton, Hanover and Listowel. He told his cousin that the money raised from the sale of the cattle would finance the purchase of land for a new venture of Klaus’ at Ingersoll. As the scheme was being put into place, Klaus was ordering cattle from western livestock pro­ ducers. Normally the buying was directed by Mr. Henschel but was done by Keith McLean, but now he began doing direct ordering, with­ out either Mr. McLean or Marie McCutcheon, bookkeeper at the Stockyard, knowing. Delivery dates were set for the orders but the producers were told to have the transport drivers telephone Klaus at his residence rather than at the yard before they arrived in Brus­ sels. The cattle never arrived in Brussels but were diverted to the barn at Beachville where they were unloaded and, within hours, were usually loaded onto different trucks by Mr. Beuttemeyer and shipped to other auctions under the name of a fictitious company Oxford Live­ stock. Mr. Beuttemeyer dealt with these auctions, as instructed by Klaus, under the name Joe Sween­ ey. Auction records show 101 head of cattle sold at Milverton for Oxford Livestock for a price of $50,281.99; 51 head at Listowel for $25,797.75; 42 head at Hanover; 143 head at Cargill; 396 head for $213,174.14 at Denfield on six dates; and 397 head on five dates in October at three Toronto auctions for $269,045.61 with all the cheques being picked up by “Joe Sweeney’’. In all cases the money was deposited in the account of Oxford Livestock in the Royal Bank in Ingersoll. The net value of the sale of the 1103 head of cattle was $685,950. Later investigation would show that Brussels Livestock had an inventory of about 490 cattle on area feedlots valued at $417,303.39 but all of 100 head of these disappeared, apparently sold as the property of Oxford Livestock. Max Fried of Les Enterprises Max Fried of Montreal had shipped 80 head to Brussels Stockyards in September of which 46 were sold and Mr. Fried was paid. Mr. Fried and Mr. Henschel agreed the other 34 would be kept on feed at a Brussels feedlot and whatever ad­ ditional profit was made would be split between the two companies. The 34 head, valued at $13,273 also disappeared, apparently sold by Oxford Livestock. Mr. Buettemeyer later told police that throughout October 1988 he would pick up cheques for Oxford Livestock the day after each sale, take them to the bank of the company issuing them and pay to have them certified. He’d then meet Klaus in either Ingersoll or Brussels and Klaus would give him deposit slips to deposit the money in the Oxford account in the Royal Bank in Ingersoll. The scheme began to unravel Continued on Page 9 Happier times Klaus Henschel had a happier time in May 1987 when he took over Brussels Stockyards from the McCall family. Seventeen months later, not making money as fast as he had planned, he plotted to recoup his losses through fraud and start a new life in West Germany. maple LEAF, sweet pickled Lj/ i 'i //l jjLLLII /I 1 <-------' '------\ - —J ____- k___a _ COTTAGE ROLLS 3 75kg CRIMMS foods, store pkged FISH CAKES 2.18kg CUT FROM CAN CRAOE A BEEF BONELESS, EYE REMOVED OUTSIDE ROUND ROASTS 6 59kg PROCESS MEATS FRESH MEATS IN THE DELI FRESHLY GROUND’ IcROUND BEEF 3 73kg Ip? MAPLE LEAF. Regular or All Beef SLICED BOLOGNA 179 M PKG500g pkg CUT FROM CAN CRADE A BEEF BONELESS SIRLOIN TIP STEAKS 2"6 59kg BLUE RIDCE FARMS, dell Sliced. PASTA & VEGETABLE or ROTELLI SALAD T99 66C per ioog MM LB Devon SUCED 1 QQ bacon___________-zzi /. yy,.. Maple Leaf popular var SANDWICH MEATS Maple Leaf Regular or All Beef HOT DOG qq WIENERS 17W 7 • 49„.g Cardinal store packaged BREADED VEAL 4 STEAKETTES 4 59kg f i if if lb Maple Lodge Farms CHICKEN on WIENERS O ifpxg Maple Lodge Farms Cooked or smoked <8 80kgi CHICKEN o BREAST ROASTS U. C7C7 Maple Leaf dell sliced Regular or PEPPERCORN o SALAMI ssc per Maple Leaf dell sliced PASTRAMI EYE A A r\ OF ROUND 99< per lOOgHF ■ it ifib Maple Leaf, dell cut POLISH COIL 2 29 Prod of Ont.v< Can = ’ >,i GREEN CABBAGE .69.. 1 Prod of U 5 A Can a ’ Grade VINE RIPE TOMATOES 1 69 Prod of Ont Can EifrjFan SPARTAN APPLES 1’•id oag f • V v | KIWI ‘ FRUIT ^.99P.g COOKING ONIONS ...2/.99\ NEW CROP PEACHES 1.69 J PROD OF U S A PROD OF U.S A TANGERINES FRESH BROCCOLI