Pardon the Interruption, BUT....

I'm in the midst of reviewing/uploading Copenhagen BUT I wanted to break from that to update on the apartment scammer situation:

We went to the police station on Friday and identified the thief. We had heard he had been caught, along with an accomplice (the supposed girlfriend/wife). But we hadn't heard much else.

We brought Greg along and justified it by saying it was an experience he wouldn't normally have (sorry Greg). The security was actually friendly and we were greeted by a very nice & quite attractive policewoman - double surprise. She gleefully told us more about Herr "Peter Berger".

• Though he told us he was Austrian & spoke with a slight Austrian accent, he is actually German
• He is not a petty criminal, but a "Grosse Criminal". He was on Germany's Most Wanted
• He has been thieving for at least 8 years all over Germany. He was caught in Cologne.
• Of course, Peter Berger is not his real name. He has over 20 aliases.
• Along with aliases, he has multiple girlfriends who were helping him set-up scams

So - basically he is a miserable sleezeball. While I hope he'd be in jail forever, the police woman helpful told us he will go away for "at least 5-6 years". Are you kidding? You said he was a major criminal for at least 8. But here in Germany people often only get 20 years for killing someone. Odd place to show sympathy Germs.

Also, the money is still in limbo. The police will be pursuing a criminal case, and it is up to us to find a lawyer and pursue a civil case to possibly gain back the money. We are going to ask around & see what our options are, but all in all, we're pleased. He's been caught! And while we definitely could have protected ourselves much, much better, this was a real life bad guy. We're sorry to come into contact with him, but happy that justice was actually served. How cool is that? Our lost faith in humanity has- at least partially- been restored.

We cannot despair of humanity, since we ourselves are human beings.
Albert Einstein

Success!