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29 September 2004
AMSTERDAM — The expelled president of the Amsterdam Hells Angels has admitted that real estate tycoon Willem Endstra approached him to “do something ” to top criminal Willem Holleeder, it was reported Wednesday.
A lawyer for “Big Willem” van Boxtel also said that Endstra had put up a lot of money, but the disgraced Hells Angel had rejected the offer, newspaper De Volkskrant reported.
It was reported last week that Big Willem had been contracted by Endstra to kill Holleeder, made famous for the 1983 kidnapping of beer magnate Freddie Heineken. The contract was valued at EUR 1 million.
Big Willem was expelled from the Hells Angels when the Amsterdam club got wind of his alleged willingness to carry out the murder. But Big Willem’s lawyer claims that he rejected the contract.
“He said that he wanted nothing to do with it and left. He never undertook anything further as a result of the request,” the lawyer said.
The expelled club president is now considering legal action against the Amsterdam Hells Angels’ lawyer, Vincent Kraal, who claimed last week that Big Willem had admitted to the gang that he had planned to murder Holleeder.
Kraal alleged the plan was to bomb the Hells Angels clubhouse in Amsterdam, where Holleeder often visits. The chance that other gang members might have been caught in the explosion prompted the club to expel its president.
Big Willem and two other suspects were arrested, but they were released earlier this week due to lack of evidence. The prosecution has appealed against the decision to free them.
Co-accused Willem P. has made another claim about the meeting with Endstra. His lawyer claims that Endstra and Big Willem were approached by the Criminal Intelligence Unit of the Amsterdam police and told they were on a death list.
P. knew Endstra for some 20 years and arranged a meeting between Endstra and Big Willem. The real estate tycoon allegedly said at that meeting that he would pay a EUR 1 million if Holleeder was no longer around. Big Willem replied that “it was not his cup of tea”.
But P. claims that Endstra — who was often referred to as the “banker of the underworld” before being shot down in Amsterdam in May — never specifically asked Big Willem to murder Holleeder.
[Copyright Expatica News 2004]
Subject: Dutch news