Dundorf

[TheNick]

Small-Town Mayor Resigns After Getting Caught Drinking On The Job

April 5736

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Lukas Müntefering, the Mayor of Raderath-am-Hof (pictured), was caught drinking beer in his office.

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RADERATH-AM-HOF (Julstoch) - The usual quiet in the town of Raderath, Julstoch, was suddenly interrupted this morning, when the local mayor, Lukas Müntefering announced in the main square his resignation as mayor. The resignation, the Zeitung understands, comes after a week-long police investigation on whether the Mayor was drunk while working in his office, after several citizens reported the Mayor's 'erratic' behavior to the local police.

In the investigation, the Police discovered well over 30 cans of beer in a refrigerator hidden by a trap door. Only the Mayor, his wife, and his chief of staff had the key to the office and thus to the trapdoor. The investigation concluded the Mayor and the Chief of Staff would secretly introduce these cans and hide them in the trap door, and then, drink them until both became intoxicated. The wife reportedly had nothing to do with this scandal, and was described by local media as 'furious' towards her husband.

Julstoch, a conservative state, has strict laws on public drunkeness which are even more severe for public workers: no alchohol may be introduced inside public buildings and civil servants may not be intoxicated while on duty. A local police spokesperson said the Mayor and the Chief of Staff pleaded guilty and that they would each be fined 5,000 marks and banned from holding public office for three years. 

The Zeitung interviewed one of the citizens who reported the Mayor to the Police, 82-year-old Judith:

I was appalled when I went to the Mayor's office a few weeks ago to tell him about cutting the grass in the public parks, now that it's spring. There was no line in front of the office, but the door was closed and I could hear the Mayor and another person laughing and cheering. They went on for hours while I waited to be heard, only to be sent away by the Mayor himself after several hours, he even tried to mask his alcoholic breath with a mint! So I decided to visit my group of friends, two of whom told me they had a similar experience in the past months. They and I went to the local police to report this incident, because I am a good citizen of this town. I hope now to get a sober Mayor who cares about cutting the grass in the parks!