A 70-year-old American woman has been fined 1,000 Euros by the German Federal Police Service and she faces a criminal charge after she attempted to bribe a border guard because she had lost her passport while vacationing in Europe.
The unnamed woman was trying to fly from Munich to Washington DC after arriving in Germany on a connecting flight from the Greek capital Athens, but when she got to passport control, she realized she didn’t have her passport.
The woman was held at passport control as officials attempted to contact the airline to see if the woman’s passport had been found, but with the clock ticking and the flight departure time fast approaching, the woman allegedly offered the border guard a 100 Euro bribe to be able to proceed to her next flight without her passport.
“The fact that the federal police officer naturally rejected the offer did not impress the elderly woman,” the Bundespolizei said in a statement. Instead, the woman proceeded to slap a 100 Euro note on the counter in what police allege was an attempt to bribe the border guard.
In the end, Lufthansa flight LH414 to Wahington DC departed with at least one less passenger on Saturday after the woman was prevented from leaving Germany due to her lack of passport.
The Bundespolizei fined her 1,000 Euros as a security deposit pending a criminal complaint and the woman has been told to obtain a new travel document from the local U.S. Consulate.
The elderly woman clearly has bad judgment. Maybe she has mild cognitive impairment, which can be a precursor to dementia?
Bribes, if considered, are better done in not so direct way. Let them take it from a book, where it is acting as a bookmark.
Furthermore, she should re-trace where her passport might be. Checking in to the flight in Athens means that she probably had it there. Maybe in the seat pocket, maybe in her pocket or luggage. Maybe at the airport check in counter or kiosk.
At the end, her 1000 Euro fine and getting a lawyer will cost far more than if she just went with the flow, which might be to get a Laissez Passer, which is a document that replaces a passport and used for the journey home.
The Ugly American—
There’s a time and place for bribery and this absolutely wasn’t it. Bribing a German cop? What an idiot.
A roadside with a cop in Managua is more like it – good value can be had by making new “friends” that way.