The presumption of innocence applies, as is now also stated in the “Hannes Koza case”. The Public Prosecutor’s Office of Wiener Neustadt has opened an investigation against the mayor of the ÖVP. Koza admits mistakes and explains himself.
A ‘Krone’ report on the ÖVP mayor of Vösendorf, Hannes Koza, caused a stir. The Public Prosecution Service has started an investigation and has already held initial discussions. As reported, the legal costs incurred by Koza due to a withdrawal were compensated by the municipality as consultancy costs for the ‘purchase of a new fire engine’.
“A mistake that should not have happened,” as Koza himself admitted. The warning letter from the Viennese lawyer who reported Koza was addressed to him as mayor, but the bill was addressed to him as a private individual.
“At that time I should have contacted the law firm to have the invoice corrected accordingly, as it was also common practice with my predecessors for such legal costs to be borne by the municipality,” says the mayor.
He regrets that he ‘corrected’ the bill himself. He immediately returned the amount to the community. Koza now wants to clarify the matter ‘quickly and completely’. And he is certainly not the only one.
Neos and SPÖ are critical
Neos boss Indra Collini, for example, sees a “high criminal energy” surrounding the incident. “If it turns out that the invoice submitted by Koza is actually fake, I expect clear consequences from the ÖVP,” said the pink frontwoman. The community supervisor is asked to check the books in Vösendorf.
The self-proclaimed SPÖ “Control State Councilor” Sven Hergovich also wants to take a closer look. Like his comrades in Vösendorf, he calls on the Turquoise man to resign. But not only that.
Since the ‘Krone’ article became known, he has received indications that there could be ‘much more than just this one case’. Hergovich asks the population to report this information to him, adding: “We have known for years that the turquoise ÖVP has difficulty distinguishing between mine and yours. I understand from the media that an investigation is underway against a particularly exposed turquoise, the mayor of Vösendorf, because he wanted to charge his citizens the legal costs of a private Twitter dispute and even allegedly forged an invoice for this. If true, this is a serious crime. I don’t see how the other factions can leave him in office.”
The ÖVP declined to comment on the matter when asked.
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
