Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Garmisch-Partenkirchen World Cup Crime Wave

A Boston Blickbild Exclusive

Slovenian superstar Tina Maze received death threats last weekend in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. In addition, US skier Julia Mancuso's Go-Pro camera went missing. While both of these stories have already been reported by the others, the Blickbild dispatched one of its intrepid reporters to Garmisch to see if there is a connection between these two incidents. We also wanted to provide readers with our unique perspective on these crimes. Our reporter wanted to interview the Garmisch police chief, but he was unavailable. So we found the next best person to interview, actor Jan Dose, who plays Kriminalkommissar Robert Baehr in the ZDF TV show Die Garmisch Cops.

BB: Which program do you think is better, Die Garmisch Cops or Die Rosenheim Cops?
Dose: Die Garmisch Cops was modeled after Die Rosenheim Cops.  But I think that Garmisch Cops is the superior show. Garmisch is also a more famous city than Rosenheim, so people can better relate to it. 
BB: Die Rosenheim Cops has been on the air since 2002. Your show just started last year. Do you think there is enough crime in Garmisch for Die Garmisch Cops to end up being as successful as its Rosenheim counterpart?
Dose: I think so. Most of the crime in Garmisch has to do with either drunk drivers, bicycle thefts, or bicyclists riding on the sidewalk. But there are enough drunk drivers, stolen bicycles, and sidewalk cyclists in Garmisch to keep Die Garmisch Cops very busy for many seasons. 
BB: You are an actor who plays a detective. What makes you qualified to talk to the Blickbild about a crime wave in Garmisch that seems to be striking World Cup skiers?
Dose: Die Garmisch Cops was not my first police drama. In 2011 I was in Polizeiruf 110: Die verlorene Tochter (for those who don't speak German, that means "Police Call 110: the Lost Daughter"). For any show, I must do a lot of research to be able to play my roles properly. In fact, I may be just as intrepid at researching my roles as the Blickbild's research team. I know as much about Garmisch crime statistics as any of the real police officers there.
BB: Nobody is as intrepid as our reporters or research team, though you come very close. If you decide to give up acting, we could find a place for you at the Blickbild. (short pause) As has been reported, Tina Maze received death threats while she was in Garmisch. Julia Mancuso's Go-Pro camera is missing. Does this mean that nobody will be safe when the World Cup races are in Garmisch next season?
Dose: Garmisch is a very safe city. I believe that the ski racers will be safe here next season. 
BB: Let's start with the death threats against Tina Maze. Are there any prime suspects?
Dose: My fellow actors on Die Garmisch Cops and I have discussed Tina's death threats. We came up with two possibilities. The first is either Lindsey Vonn, someone close to her, or one of her sponsors. The second is a Yugoslavian nationalist who hates the fact that his or her former country has broken up.  
BB: Why would somebody who wants all of the former Yugoslavian countries to reunite into one country target Tina?
Dose: Tina is a national heroine and will be the first Slovenian to win a World Cup overall globe as well as smaller ones. Janica and Ivica Kostelic have won overall globes competing for Croatia. Someone who wants a united Yugoslavia would be upset to see skiers from breakaway countries keep winning globes that should be Yugoslavia's. Perhaps Tina's success this season was enough to make this person snap and want to threaten her with death. 
BB: That seems highly unlikely. Everyone I know from countries that were part of Yugoslavia are proud to be from their respective nations. None of them want to go back to being Yugoslavian. 
Dose: You are right. The more likely culprit would be someone who is associated with Lindsey Vonn. It could be a fan who doesn't like the fact that Tina Maze got over 2000 points instead of Lindsey. We are also looking into the possibility of the culprit being one of Vonn's family members or sponsors. 
BB: How can you say that you are looking into this crime when you are an actor who portrays a detective?
Dose: As I said before, my colleagues and I got together to discuss this crime. We are imagining that this is an episode of Die Garmisch Cops and are thinking about how to solve the crime accordingly.
BB: Okay. I'm not so sure about one of Lindsey's fans wanting Tina dead. Lindsey's fans directed a lot of hate toward Maria Hoefl-Riesch after she won the overall globe by 3 points over Lindsey two seasons ago, but never threatened her with death. 
Dose: That's because Maria wasn't close to breaking 2000 points or winning all 5 globes two seasons ago. Maria also did not break the record for number of podium finishes in a season by a woman. Tina did two out of those three things and it obviously made somebody very upset. I also don't think it was one of Lindsey's fans who made the death threats. If Tina were killed, she would be the first and only ski racer to win posthumous Crystal Globes. That is yet another record that Tina would take away from Lindsey. Lindsey's records and legacy are equally important to both Lindsey and her fans. The fans don't want to do anything which will take away from those things. 
BB: What about Lindsey herself making the threats? Tina took something which Lindsey felt was rightfully hers by earning over 2000 points this season and also having a good chance of earning all 5 crystal globes. Those were Lindsey's goals for this season. 
Dose: Lindsey was ruled out as a suspect because she is too busy making the rounds of all the talk shows in the States to discuss how unsafe the course in Schladming was and to show off her surgical scars. The last thing we heard, Lindsey said that she wouldn't even let her dog ski down the Planai. 
BB: But she does have a motive since she is planning to sue the country of Slovenia for her loss of records and legacy. Tina is a symbol of Slovenia. 
Dose: Lindsey has the motive, but doesn't have the means or opportunity. As I learned from playing a policeman and a detective on TV, you must have all three to be considered a prime suspect. 
BB: What about HEAD? Tina skis on Stoekli, which is a small brand compared to HEAD. I'm sure the people at HEAD are upset that a record-setting skier on an off-brand of skis doesn't want to switch to HEAD. 
Dose: HEAD is a prime suspect.  HEAD wanted its skis to be the ones to break the 2000 point barrier and also win all 5 globes in one season. HEAD has stated before that its goal was to take over the World Cup. An athlete setting records on Stoeckli skis is ruining HEAD's plans for total World Cup domination. HEAD has the motive and also the means and opportunity. After all, HEAD was one of Lindsey's sponsors who paid a Mafia hit man to convince the Austrian women to give their Schladming medals to her.
BB: What about one of Lindsey's family members? Her sister Laura is an aspiring writer who has been blogging about being on the World Cup tour. With Tina taking a lot of the glory that was supposed to be Lindsey's, Laura has nothing to write about anymore. She could be upset at Tina for giving her writer's block. 
Dose: Laura is a nice girl whose writing skills need work, but the other cast members of Die Garmisch Cops and I ruled her out. If she can't find the whole country of Slovenia on a map, the odds are even slimmer that she would be able to find the city of Garmisch-Partenkirchen. She also seems to have a hard time driving in Europe, which would make it highly unlikely that she could get there on her own to kill someone.
BB: So you are saying that HEAD is the number one suspect of Die Garmisch Cops?
Dose: Yes.
BB: (pulling out a map of Europe) Can you find Slovenia?
Dose: Of course I can! It's here (points to Slovenia).
BB: It's refreshing to see that someone knows where Slovenia is. (short pause) Now let's talk about Julia's missing Go-Pro camera. Do you have any leads on who took it?
Dose: Lindsey and Julia don't like each other. They had a big feud at the 2010 Olympics. One of Lindsey's fans could have taken the camera to get back at Julia for disliking their idol. There are a lot of US ski racing fans who love Lindsey but don't like Julia. But we are also not ruling out HEAD.
BB: I would think that HEAD is not a suspect because Julia just switched from Voeckl to HEAD. 
Dose: That is why I am one of Die Garmisch Cops and you are a reporter. Someone from HEAD could have taken the camera to deflect attention from Tina's death threats. While the police were scouring the city for Julia's camera, someone else that HEAD hired would have the chance to kill Tina. The two crimes just seem unrelated because one was a major death threat while the other was a simple camera theft.
BB: But HEAD's main Mafia enforcer, Vinnie "The Shark" Razzovelli, is currently in a New Jersey psychiatric hospital. 
Dose: HEAD has other hit men on its payroll. There are some Russian Mafia hit men who make Vinnie seem like a big wimp.
BB: Do you know how close the real police are to solving these crimes?
Dose: The German police are taking the death threats seriously and are providing Tina with extra security in Ofterschwang this weekend. Extra police officers have also been dispatched to ensure that nothing else of Julia's gets stolen. In the meantime, the police, Interpol, and the Schladming police chief's bloodhound Fido are doing what they can to find the people who made the death threats and stole the camera.
BB: Herr Dose, we at the Blickbild hope that either Die Garmisch Cops or the real police can find the perpetrators. All of us want the athletes to feel perfectly safe next year in Garmisch. 
Dose: We will find and arrest the people who made the death threats and stole the camera. Die Garmisch Cops always catch their suspects and arrest them. The real police do too, only it usually takes  them longer than 45 minutes to solve a crime. But the only thing any athlete coming to Garmisch has to fear next year is being hit by an illegal sidewalk cyclist.
BB: Right. Herr Dose, I want to thank you for your time. And that concludes another Boston Blickbild exclusive interview. 

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