The “Dagobert” case: from the first bomb to the telephone booth arrest

30 years after the arrest
The “Dagobert” case – from the first bomb to the arrest in the phone booth

June 13, 1992
A pipe bomb explodes in the porcelain department at Karstadt on Hamburg’s Mönckebergstrasse at one o’clock in the morning: millions in damages. The next day the first blackmail letter arrives. An unknown person demands one million marks and threatens further attacks. As requested, Karstadt signals its willingness to pay via a newspaper advertisement: “Dagobert greets his nephews.”

July 15, 1992
First handover attempt. Dagobert directs the money messenger to the federal highway 105 near Bad Doberan in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. At kilometer 79 there is a box hanging on a light pole. Inside: a pink bag for the million, printed with the cartoon image of Scrooge and the inscription “Duck Tales”. Also in the box: a metal device with magnets and a hook that can be folded down using a radio remote control. The money messenger should deliver the device and money bag to the last carriage of the Rostock train.Berlin hanging. At Neustrelitz, Dagobert triggers the folding mechanism by radio at 10:30 p.m. But the bag gets stuck, the police say. Scrooge escapes.

August 14, 1992
New attempt, old method. Dagobert lurks on the railway embankment in Reinbek near Hamburg and gives the signal for the money to be dropped at 5:02 p.m. Police officers pull the emergency brake, but before they can jump out, Scrooge grabs the bag and disappears into the crow forest. But all he steals are scraps of paper, a tracking device and a paint bomb. He leaves behind a Karstadt bicycle and a gray wig.

September 9, 1992
Scrooge takes revenge because he didn’t get any money. At 11:30 p.m. there is one in the car accessories department at Karstadt in Bremen Bomb goes off: millions in damage.

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Bombardier
Eleven money handovers failed – blackmailer “Dagobert” cannot be caught

6 hours ago

September 15, 1992
At Karstadt in Hanover, shortly before closing time, an explosive device exploded in a fabric cupboard in the household goods department so loudly that two customers complained of earache.

October 13, 1992
Once again a money drop from the train failed, this time on Heerstrasse in Berlin-Charlottenburg. Dagobert leaves behind an NVA night vision device and a CB radio connected to a voice recorder on the railway embankment.

October 29, 1992
Another money drop in Berlin-Charlottenburg. At 5:55 p.m., two Berlin MEK officers see Dagobert trying to get the money bag. He turns around and runs to you Bicycle. One of the officers tries to grab him, but slips on a dog pile. Even the second police officer can’t push Scrooge off his bike. The blackmailer pedals and escapes.

January 5, 1993
2,000 police officers are lurking in front of telephone booths in the city of Berlin because Dagobert – he almost always uses card phones in the city center – has once again announced a call to Karstadt. When he answers, the officers, on command, grab anyone who has a receiver in their hand. But this time of all times, Dagobert called from a cell in Neukölln that was not monitored. It is opposite the Walt Disney School. The money bag is dropped from the Berlin-Stralsund express train on Bornholmer Straße (Berlin-Pankow) at 6:37 p.m., but Dagobert escapes.

April 19, 1993
Dagobert guides the money messenger to a wooden box in a parking lot in Berlin-Britz, in which there is a note: “Put down the money, close the box, disappear!” The container is half filled with sand and is so heavy that one person cannot move it. So the police lie in wait. They have no idea that Dagobert made the box himself and placed it on an open drain. He opens it from below, lets the granules trickle out – the bag falls towards him. But instead of money there are only scraps of paper in it.

May 19, 1993
The blackmailer’s response – he is now demanding 1.4 million – took a month to arrive. After closing time, a bomb detonates in the radio and television department at Karstadt in Bielefeld.

September 1, 1993
The money messenger is directed by telephone to Lindenallee 28 in Berlin-Charlottenburg, where Dagobert has attached a metal mailbox (name plate: “DA GO”) to a house wall. Inside is a letter, a flashlight and a white pillowcase. The police call off the money handover. She traced Scrooge’s call – it came from the “Loretta” restaurant on Wannsee. 50 guests are checked – without results.

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Captured 30 years ago
This is what it was like to negotiate with Germany’s most famous blackmailer, “Dagobert.”

December 6, 1993
A pipe bomb explodes near Karstadt on Berlin’s Hermannsplatz.

January 15, 1994
New gully number. The money is to be placed in a drain shaft at Wolfensteindamm in Berlin-Steglitz. The money messenger allegedly misunderstands the instructions and grabs it next to it. Scrooge overhears the police’s involvement via a directional microphone and escapes into the sewers at 10 p.m.

January 22, 1994
Dagobert sends the money messenger to a disused railway track in Berlin-Charlottenburg. There he put a self-made rail vehicle in a box. The money messenger puts it on the track, puts the bag on it, presses a red start button – and off goes the mail. After 900 meters, however, the mini-cart hits a sleeper screw and tips over. Scrooge is sitting in his hiding place just 30 meters away. But he doesn’t risk getting the bag and runs away.

April 22, 1994
Arno Funke, known as the blackmailer Dagobert, is caught in a Berlin phone booth just as he is about to set a new handover date. He immediately identifies himself and seems relieved about his arrest.