Udo Proksch
{{Short description|Austrian businessman and criminal}}
{{Infobox criminal
| name = Udo Proksch
| birth_date = {{birth date|1934|05|29|df=y}}
| birth_place = Rostock, Nazi Germany
| death_date = {{death date and age|2001|06|27|1934|05|29|df=y}}
| death_place = Graz, Austria
| resting_place = Heiligenstädter Friedhof, Döbling, Vienna
| nationality = Austrian
| occupation = Businessperson, designer, restaurateur
| known_for = planting a time bomb on the freighter Lucona in 1977 as part of an insurance fraud
| motive = Financial gain
| conviction = Murder (6 counts)
Attempted murder (6 counts)
| partners = several high-ranking politicians who were shareholders in Proksch's company
| wanted_since = 1988
| time_at_large = more than a year
| date = 23 January 1977
| locations = Indian Ocean
| targets =
| fatalities = 6
| injuries = 6
| weapons = Time bomb
| apprehended = 2 October 1989
| imprisoned = Graz-Karlau Prison{{cite news |last=Schödel |first=Helmut |date=26 April 1996 |title=Ein Besuch bei Udo Proksch, Österreichs prominentestem Häftling |url=http://www.zeit.de/1996/18/proksch.txt.19960426.xml |language=de |newspaper=Die Zeit |location=Hamburg |access-date=14 March 2015 }}
| footnotes =
| conviction_status = Deceased
| criminal_penalty = Life imprisonment
}}
Udo Proksch (29 May 1934 – 27 June 2001) was an Austrian businessman and industrialist. In 1991, he was convicted of the murder of six people as part of a major insurance fraud. Proksch died in prison.{{cite news |last=Brey |first=Thomas |date=28 June 2001 |title= Udo Proksch: Österreichs Paradehäftling ist tot|url=http://www.spiegel.de/panorama/udo-proksch-oesterreichs-paradehaeftling-ist-tot-a-142190.html |language=de |newspaper=Der Spiegel |location=Hamburg |access-date=14 March 2015 }}
''Lucona'' sinking
In 1977, the ship Lucona sank in the Indian Ocean, after an explosion, killing six people. Proksch, the owner of the cargo, also then owner of famous Viennese confectioners' Demel, claimed US$20 million from his insurance company, saying that the ship was carrying expensive uranium mining equipment. Fraud was suspected; but investigations were obstructed by powerful Austrian politicians who were friends of Proksch.[https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1989-03-15-8903260885-story.html "The Lucona Affair"], by R.C. Longworth, Chicago Tribune, March 15, 1989
In 1988, Proksch fled to the Philippines after Hans Pretterebner published a book about the scandal.{{cite news |last=Longworth |first=R. C. |date=March 15, 1989 |title=The Lucona Affair – The Cafe Czar Who Left A Cloud of Corruption in Decadent Old Vienna |url=http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1989-03-15/features/8903260885_1_viennese-austria-udo-proksch |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100725035328/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1989-03-15/features/8903260885_1_viennese-austria-udo-proksch |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 25, 2010 |newspaper=Chicago Tribune |location=Chicago |access-date=14 March 2015 }}
In 1989, he returned to Vienna incognito, but was recognized and arrested. In 1990, Lucona was located by American shipwreck hunter David Mearns, who discovered that the ship had been sunk by a time bomb.{{cite news |author=Shelsby, Ted |date=1996-07-29 |title=Local firm brings clues to surface Oceaneering operates equipment used at TWA crash site |work=The Baltimore Sun |url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/1996/07/29/local-firm-brings-clues-to-surface-oceaneering-operates-equipment-used-at-twa-crash-site-firehouse-readiness-expected-contract-with-navy-calls-for-action-within-four-hours/ |access-date=2013-10-25}}
On March 11, 1991, Proksch was sentenced to 20 years in prison. A year later, the sentence was increased to a lifelong term in prison. Several ex-ministers were also eventually convicted over their involvement. The ex-minister of foreign affairs was sentenced for forging documents authenticating the cargo. Two other ministers were dismissed for obstructing the investigations. The minister of defense Karl Lütgendorf, a shareholder in the Proksch firm, had given permission to deliver explosives to sabotage the ship; he killed himself when his role in the case became clear.{{cite web|url=http://www.nachrichten.at/nachrichten/politik/innenpolitik/Kreiskys-adeliger-Minister-Waffengeschaefte-und-ein-raetselhafter-Tod;art385,1520790|title=Kreiskys adeliger Minister, Waffengeschäfte und ein rätselhafter Tod|publisher=nachrichten.at|accessdate=6 January 2015}}
Proksch died on 27 June 2001, during heart surgery.{{cite web|url=https://www.theviennareview.at/archives/2011/udo-proksch-mad-genius-or-murderer-out-of-control|title=Udo Proksch: Mad Genius or Murderer – Out of Control | newspaper=The Vienna Review|date=1 April 2011|access-date=25 August 2024}}
File:Grab von Udo Proksch.jpg]]
Proksch was the first husband of the actress Daphne Wagner, daughter of Wieland Wagner, great-granddaughter of the composer Richard Wagner and great-great-granddaughter of Franz Liszt.
Works about Proksch and the ''Lucona'' case
- 1988: Hans Pretterebner publishes a book about the Lucona case, Der Fall Lucona.
- 1993: {{Ill|The Lucona Affair|de|Der Fall Lucona}}, a film about the Lucona case (starring David Suchet).
- 2004: The art group monochrom stages Udo 77, a musical about the life of Udo Proksch.
- 2010: A documentary about Proksch, entitled Udo Proksch: Out of Control and directed by Robert Dornhelm is released.
- 2023: Drain the Oceans (Season 6, Episode 6), television documentary by National Geographic.
See also
Notes and references
External links
- [http://www.netcyclo.com/places/polit/nations/austria/au-his16.htm Netcyclo: Austrian history 1983 onwards]
- [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0106854/ IMDb entry about 'Der Fall Lucona']
- [http://www.monochrom.at/udo77 Homepage of 'Udo 77'] (German language)
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Proksch, Udo}}
Category:Austrian mass murderers
Category:Austrian people convicted of murder
Category:Austrian people of German descent
Category:Austrian people who died in prison custody
Category:Austrian prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment
Category:People convicted of murder by Austria
Category:Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by Austria