4/2/2007 - The Trial of the Century

OJ, Wacko Jacko, Martha Stewart, eat your hearts out, we in the Netherlands have a trial of the century of our own. On trial is the Al Capone of the Low Countries, known by his mother as Willem Holleeder. His trial is supposed to kick off today, and it looks as if he's going to make his court appointment too, but it was a close call. Around 3AM this morning blasts were heard at the maximum security court bunker in Amsterdam Osdorp, and the building has suffered some serious damages.

The media are speculating that this might be the result of an assault with a rocket launcher, no less, as something similar happened at a publishing company a while back. If Mr. Holleeder himself knows anything about this, he's certainly not telling. He was, in the words of his lawyer, 'sickened to death' by what happened. I myself believe him. It was probably a warning from some of his enemies.

The case against him isn't spectacular. He's on trial for four counts of extortion, and conspiracy to murder. He's suspected of a lot more, but this is all the Public Ministry (Dutch version of the District Attorney) are confident they can prove. Hey, wasn't it the same with Al Capone? He was suspected of loads of murders, but all they could get him for was tax fraud, wasn't it? See, I wasn't lying when I called him the Al Capone of the Low Countries!

Mr. Holleeder too, is suspected of at least 20 murders. Throughout the late nineties and the early 21st century there were a lot of ganster murders. At one point, late October and early November, 2005,  five of them were shot dead in a matter of days, including one who lived in hiding in Thailand. At first the authorities suspected that the Yugoslav mafia was enforcing a few inroads into the Dutch underworld by eliminating the competition, but in recent years many of these murders have come to be attributed to the résumé of Willem H., as we officially have to call him, to protect his innocent relatives, and unrelated namesakes. His previous attorney however, who withdrew from the case after the media expressed concerns that he might be too closely involved with him, always referred to him as the 'Gentleman Mr. Holleeder' to lend him a thin varnish of respectability.

I'm looking forward to the day when the verdict is passed. The Public Ministry would very much like to have him off the streets for twenty years, but four counts of extortion and one count of conspiracy to commit murder??? He might not even get eight years. Besides, in the Netherlands it is common practice to let prisoners go after serving two thirds of their sentences. Added to that the year or so he's already spent in custody... He may see the light of day yet.