The work had actually been completed and the tenants were ready to move to the new building in Blumberg in the Black Forest – right on the Swiss border. But then everything turned out differently.
The responsible contractor sat down in an excavator a week ago and destroyed his work. A video showed how brutally the man proceeded (Blick reported). He tore up the facade with a shovel, punched big holes in the walls and ripped balconies out of their anchorages. Damage: 500,000 euros.
But why the whole thing? What is behind the demolition of the excavator? Now the building contractor from the Palatinate is commenting on it. His name: Matija Petrovic (47). “I acted out of sheer desperation. It was a kind of cry for help. I couldn’t help it, ”says the building contractor to Blick.
“I panicked and only saw red”
According to his own statements, open invoices were not paid to him. «And not just a little. In total, it is about 2.5 million euros, ”said the father of two children. For the nursing home alone, which is also in Blumberg, he would still be waiting for more than a million euros today. Then there were the bills for the new building. “The running costs have increased and I just didn’t get any money myself. In turn, I had to pay my suppliers, employees and the tax, ”he explains.
Again and again he asked that the outstanding bills be paid. But nothing happened. When the new building was finished and the tenants wanted to move in for the next few days, the developer company said that the dispute could be resolved in court.
Petrovic to look: “That would have cost me money again. I panicked, just saw red. And then I got into the excavator and destroyed what I built myself. ” After the action, he turned himself in to the police. “Of course, what I did was wrong.”
«I wanted to move in on Saturday»: Tenants stunned after the excavator freaked out(01:23)
“The work was all paid for as agreed”
Ingo Fangerow (51) angry that unpaid bills should be behind the excavator madness. “I beg your pardon? Unpaid bills? Unbelievable to say something like that. We paid for everything, ”said the manager of the developer shortly after the demolition.
That Petrovic continues to claim that bills are open makes him angry again. “That’s just not true. And we won’t let that sit on us either. The work was all paid for as agreed, ”explains the construction manager. In addition, they have nothing to do with the construction of the nursing home, emphasizes Fangerow. He could not understand why this is being discussed.
Now prison threatens
Matija Petrovic just shakes her head: “Then why should I have done something like that? Rent an excavator and destroy the house when everything is supposedly all right? ” It was difficult for him to destroy his work. Now he regrets his digger freaking out. «I would particularly like to apologize to the tenants who are suffering from this. I am sorry.” The holes that the excavator tore in the new building have now been covered. Now the contractor is being investigated. Prison threatens.
Police spokesman explains: That is why the excavator driver was not arrested(00:28)