A Helmonder with a remarkable past to his mildly past was installed on Tuesday evening as a new councilor and party chairman of Mi Hellemonder. Wilbert Linders, formerly Willem Linders, was previously convicted of extorting a 79-year-old woman at the time.
Linders was sentenced to 240 hours and a conditional imprisonment of six months. The local broadcaster discovered this is Helmond after an anonymous tip. Justice had demanded a year in prison. Wilbert Linders replaces Herbie Guldenaar in the Helmond city council. “I am a man with a spot and I will have to live with that.”
The new party leader of Mi Hellemonders tried to squeeze a 79-year-old woman from Veghel. He had discovered (due to a wrongly delivered bank statement) that the woman had a lot of money and sent her threatening letters. There was a bullet with one of those letters. Through the letters, the woman was instructed to put 25,000 euros in a plastic bag at an agreed place. A remarkable detail: Linders wanted the amount in notes of a thousand euros, but they don’t exist at all.
Letter with 9 mm bullet
The victim then placed a bag with fake money that was monitored by the police, but nothing happened, This is how this is Helmond. When placing a second bag with fake money, the Linders police saw it appear. He walked around searching, but then left without a loot. Nevertheless, the police watched him for a while. Linders was eventually caught when he posted a third letter. The police took the letter from the letterbox and discovered a 9 mm bullet in the envelope.
Linders would have wanted to use the money for his Zjiveli foundation in Bosnia. This foundation was committed to people in Bosnia and Herzegovina who were affected by the consequences of the war that took place between 1991 and 1995. That is why Linders also signed his threatening letters with ‘Robin Hood’, because the money was intended for charity. Linders was broadcast as a Marechaussee from 1996 to 1997 to South Bosnia. Here he suffered PTSD (post -traumatic stress disorder) for his many war experiences, it turned out sixteen years later. Linders served for a total of twenty years at the Royal Netherlands Marechaussee.
Wilbert was previously Willem
The then chairman of FNV Bouw was convicted in 2013 for extorting women. Linders was then called Willem and then lived in Veghel. Nowadays he goes through life as Wilbert Linders and lives in Helmond.
According to the judge, Willem Linders was reduced attributable at the time of the extortion, so that the punishment was shortened. Because of the criminal case, Linders resigned as chairman of the trade union department. He was only chairman for two weeks.
‘The question is whether Helmond can live with this’
Wilbert Linders thinks it is a shame that a black page from his history is being raised. “I now live in a city other than where the extortion took place. Perhaps the gun factor is not there, given the event in 2012. I don’t want to play down or fool that happens. It happened, in whatever stands I was at that time. I am a man with a spot and with that I will have to live.
According to the municipality, his past is not an obstacle to council membership. “Wilbert Linders meets all the requirements of the Municipalities Act, so there is no obstacle from the municipality to allow Linders as a council member,” tells the registry to this is Helmond. “It’s all a long time ago and Linders has now served his sentence.”
Incidentally, everyone can apply for the city council. Also with a criminal record. Whether people with a past come on the candidate lists is then a consideration of the political parties. A few weeks ago, Wilbert Linders received his VOG (declaration of behavior). A VOG is a statement that shows that someone’s (judicial) past does not object to a certain job or position.