Bludenz Mayor Tschann sentenced to prison – construction project scandal!

Bludenz Mayor Tschann sentenced to prison – construction project scandal!

On Wednesday, the mayor of Bludenz, Simon Tschann (ÖVP), was sentenced to eleven months in prison and a fine of 51,000 euros for abuse of office and false certification. The 32-year-old, who has been in office since 2020, was punished because he, as a building authority, issued a building permit for a controversial residential complex in 2021, even though not all legal requirements were met. According to the jury, Tschann knew about the inadequate conditions and ignored the criticism of the responsible official expert, which led to a procedural upset, as well Courier reports.

Origin of the procedure

The trial revolved around a construction project that was originally intended to consist of two three-story apartment blocks, but was expanded to three four-story blocks. Neighbors expressed concerns about the project from the start, while Tschann and his office pushed through construction. It was criticized that the distance to traffic areas did not correspond to the prescribed specifications and that a negative opinion from the expert had disappeared in the file process, which raised more questions about the administrative processes, such as ORF Vorarlberg noted.

After the verdict, Tschann expressed surprise at the guilty verdict and announced that he would remain in office and run again in the upcoming mayoral election on March 16, 2025. His defense emphasized that in practice mayors can only review a few building permits themselves. Nevertheless, the judge and prosecutor decided that it is not just the result that matters, but also the course of action - the mayor has the responsibility to read the documents and cannot trust the employees, as the judge made clear.