In the 1980s, a brutal pimp war raged in Hamburg. An important witness is professional killer Werner Pinzner. After his arrest, he gives full testimony, but then causes a bloodbath.
by Ada from the blankets
July 29, 1986:At the Hamburg police headquarters, contract killer Werner "Mucki" Pinzner pulls out a gun during the interrogation and points it at the investigating public prosecutor, his wife and finally at himself. All three die. "St. Pauli killer" Pinzner had been arrested a good three months earlier, on April 15, 1986, and has been in custody ever since. After the bloodbath, Hamburg's judiciary and police came under criticism. Two senators have to vacate their posts.
70s:The old big names in the neighborhood are losing influence
The milieu in St. Pauli had changed long before the spectacular act. Until the mid-1970s, Wilfried "Frieda" Schulz pulled the strings in the neighborhood. The so-called godfather of St. Pauli has built up a powerful empire and is respected as a governor on the Reeperbahn. If someone causes trouble, Schulz convenes an informal court and passes verdicts. The harshest punishment is the St. Pauli ban - usually ruin for the convicted person. Because with the ban, any shares in the amusement district are also invalid.
The new pimp gangs are called GmbH and Nutella
At the end of the 1970s, Schulz lost influence. Two pimp organizations are spreading in St. Pauli:the GmbH - the name is based on the initials of the members - and the so-called Nutella gang. The troupe of young men owes this name to their older rivals. They smile at the boys and say they should eat more Nutella bread to get big and strong.
Civilian investigator Waldemar Paulsen after arresting a prostitute in the early 1980s.Former police officer Waldemar Paulsen knows all the big names in the neighborhood personally. From 1972 he worked as a civil investigator in the area of pimping and prostitution in St. Pauli. He witnessed how the limited liability company built up an empire with hundreds of prostitutes in no time at all:"They all had endless cash. The money just gushed out of their pockets," says Paulsen. Michael "the beautiful Mischa" Luchting - the M of GmbH - for example, only wore tailored suits back then, drove his Rolls-Royce up and down the Reeperbahn. Paulsen almost goes into raptures:"A smart guy who had both men and women at his feet".
The uncomfortable civilian investigator Paulsen is soon a thorn in the side of the successful pimps. The GmbH wants to get rid of Paulsen with an intrigue. The plan:They want to spread the word that the policeman, known everywhere as the red fox, is having a prostitute hired for him. But Paulsen gets the plan and is able to thwart the insidious plan.
Drugs trigger a bloody pimp war
Civil investigator Waldemar Paulsen (l.) And his colleague - known as the quick - knew all the big names in the neighborhood.In the early 1980s, cocaine came into play. For the pimps, it's not just a new source of income. "There were too many drugs in circulation and the pricks also hit each other, became completely unpredictable and careless," says Paulsen. With addiction, some dig their own grave. Established people in the milieu make the drugs "unacceptable" for their business partners. They are ousted:"The beautiful Mischa", the former brothel boss from the GmbH clique, is deposed. Shortly afterwards he is found hanged in a forest in the Lüneburg Heath.
1981:First contract killing in the "crack"
The GmbH will soon be broken up. Peter N., known as "Wiener Peter", now sets the tone in St. Pauli. When the first contract killing happened in the famous "Ritze" pub on September 28, 1981, "Wiener Peter" was sitting next to the victim, his partner "Chinese Fritz". It's not clear who killed him, but according to Paulsen there are many indications that "Wiener Peter" hired the killer himself because his coke-addicted partner wanted out of the business. With the violent death, a bloody pimp war begins in St. Pauli.
The fronts between the gangs harden. At the time, the man who would later make headlines as the St. Pauli killer was serving a ten-year sentence for a fatal robbery. In the JVA Fuhlsbüttel, better known as Santa Fu, Werner "Mucki" Pinzner gets acquainted with drugs. Cocaine becomes his constant companion. Out of jail he made his first contacts in the red light district.
Pinzner makes a name for himself in prison
An Arminius revolver - with such a weapon Pinzner committed all his contract killings.Pinzner commits his first murder while on leave in July 1984. He got himself a gun and shot an ex-brothel operator in Kiel who was blackmailing people in the milieu. After his return, he deposits the weapon in a locker in the prison. When Pinzner was released shortly thereafter for good behavior, his reputation as an unscrupulous guy of a tougher caliber had already spread in the milieu.
Four murders in nine months
Four more murders follow within nine months. The client is always the powerful pimp boss "Wiener Peter". Pinzner always shoots with a .38 caliber Arminius revolver. No hitman would use the same weapon more than once. Pinzner, on the other hand, leaves his business card at every crime scene.
He is slowly becoming a danger for his "business partners" too. He rakes in a lot for the contract killings, but wants more, including shares in brothels. After all, Pinzner is too great a risk for his client and his accomplices. They decide to get rid of the St. Pauli killer forever.
15. April 1986:Pinzner is arrested
But before they can implement their murder plan, on April 15, 1986, the police have a SEK unit approach Pinzner's Hamburg-Barmbek apartment and arrest the serial killer. In detention, his safety is a priority:the killer must be protected because he is an important witness against the string pullers who hired him. Even after his arrest, Pinzner remains a danger for many bigwigs.
His wife Jutta and his lawyer Isolde O. are at his side. His defense attorney provides Pinzner with messages and drugs. His attorney also markets him to the press. After all, it is she who becomes his accomplice in his big departure.
A lawyer as an accomplice
During detention, Pinzner testifies extensively and confesses to the five murders. At the same time he prepares everything for his "exitus triumphalis". His last interrogation date is July 29, 1986. Pinzner says he wants to give details of another murder. His lawyer and his wife Jutta are privy to his true plans for the interrogation. The lawyer procures a revolver and the wife smuggles it into the interrogation room in the police headquarters at Berliner Tor. The investigating public prosecutor, Wolfgang Bistry, meets the two women in the corridor and gallantly opens the security gate. Nobody controls the two. Repacking in the toilet:The hidden Smith &Wesson revolver goes into a handbag.
In addition to Jutta Pinzner and the lawyer, the public prosecutor Bistry, a typist and two unarmed police officers are sitting in the interrogation room. After the legal briefing, Bistry asked the accused to tell the details he had promised:"Well then, shoot away." Pinzner takes up arms and shoots Bistry, his own wife, who knelt before him, and then himself.
Shortly thereafter, Pinzner's murder accomplices and his client "Wiener Peter" were arrested. He gets life imprisonment. After serving his sentence, he was released in 2001. The milieu in St. Pauli has changed fundamentally since the 1980s. Today completely different gangs are in charge in St. Pauli.