Tuesday, April 28, 2015

Ferdie E.

Paul Robert Ferdinand (Ferdi) Elsas (1942 – 2009) was a Dutch criminal, responsible for the kidnapping and murder of AH supermarket-chain director Gerrit Jan Heijn. 
This was likely the most prominent criminal affair in contemporary Dutch history. I sure remember the non-stop media attention and speculation – a very “un-Dutch” event in that sleepy country in the late 1980’s.
Heijn was kidnapped Sept. 9, 1988 and shot through the head the same day. His body was buried in a forest in the eastern Netherlands.  It became the longest-running kidnap case in Dutch criminal history. The tycoon's family had paid the kidnappers a $4 million ransom in a bid to win his release. After the $4 million in diamonds and cash was paid in November, nothing was heard from the kidnapped businessman or his abductors. Heijn, who was 56 when he died, was vice president of Ahold, which owns the Netherlands' largest chain of supermarkets as well as the Giant Food and Bi-Lo stores in the United States.
On Oct. 14, after Heijn's relatives had demanded a sign of life from the kidnap victim, the abductors mailed what appeared to be his little finger. At the time, it could not be established whether Heijn had been alive or dead when the finger was cut from his hand. Stymied by the silence maintained by the abductors after the ransom drop, police staged a massive media blitz late December, when the authorities showed the scant evidence available in a nationally televised news conference.
That event triggered a flow of about 12,000 tips, which have been checked by the 40-strong detective force permanently assigned to the case (the majority of tips coming from clairvoyants).
Ferdi E. was an engineer, troubled by unemployment and debts.
Ferdie E. received a 20 year prison sentence and was released in 2001. He died in a traffic accident, hit by a digger while on his bicycle. What is new to me, is that Ferdi E. (in Dutch media, there is great name protection for criminals) was a consistent beret wearer. Not only that, he seemed to share my liking for Bordeaux berets!

3 comments:

  1. I have been studying the Dutch culture and have been to Holland on a few occassions in the 80's. Perhaps, it is the cold, withdrawn people themselves that can cause the beginnings of a mental illness?

    Here in North America, i have noticed that the do-gooders have RELENTLESSLY applied wave after wave after wave of pressure to all levels of government and private industry to have mentally disturbed/challenged people to show up to a place called Work, but do NO work at all and yet magically collect a pay cheque every 15 days or 2 weeks! This is MADNESS!! On two occassions i have worked with what i simply describe as IDIOTS who do absolutely NOTHING (one guy just showed up for 4 years, dis nothing, and still got paid!) and make more money than i do! As you may have guessed, this builds up resentments by those doing all the work while these morons do nothing. I have constantly brought this Fact to the attention of Upper Management, but they are so brainwashed by the Croneyism they do nothing. A waste of money and a promoter of non-team building. Perhaps, just maybe this is what led good ol' Ferdie to kill?? Did anybody ever ask him the WHY question?

    Ohhh, just in closing, here in Leftwing Canada it has gotten to the point whereby the Stupid people are taking over (job wise, politics, etc.) are the normal human beings are being brushed to the side. I guess this is the type of Idiot Civilization Steven Harper wants to build in Canada (along with being the lapdog of both the U.S.A. and Israel for some reason or another? Votes maybe??).

    Cheers

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    Replies
    1. How does this relate to berets and the content of this blog post? Get a grip on reality and take your rantings to the appropriate right wing blog.

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  2. Some pretty distressed and scary people are into berets. Fortunately, they are in the minority.

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