An Italian who organized the kidnapping of French businessman Louis Hazan told police he acted out of hatred of the head of the “Phonogram” record company–because he was Jewish.
Ugo Brunini, 35, who was arrested with four other men after 53-year-old Casablanca-born Hazan was found last week gagged and bound in a villa some 60 miles from Paris, also admitted he was responsible for a bomb attack made against the offices of the Phonogram company in October, 1975.
Brunini, now crippled as a result of a spinal disease, was reported to have said that he disliked Hazan. He told police that he knew the head of the “Phonogram” company was Jewish.
“I was pleased to learn that Hazan had been the victim of a swindle–an unidentified person had managed to cash a bad check for almost $1 million a few months ago–but then I grew bitter when I saw that he had surmounted this setback and that he was still as wealthy as before. I had then the idea of the attack,” Brunini was quoted as saying to police.
He said that he organized the kidnapping to extort more than $3 million from “Phonogram” and Hazan’s family. Brunini’s motives appeared somewhat different from those of his accomplices who told the police their action was mainly politically motivated. Nevertheless they all said they had acted out of hatred of Jews.
Daniel Moschini, who stormed the “Phonogram” building and seized Hazan with five other armed men on New Year’s Eve, said most of the ransom would have served to set up an extreme right-wing party. Moschini, who allegedly told police “we are all anti-Semites,” was also reported to have said: “We were determined to kidnap other Jewish personalities to obtain funds for our movement.”
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
