Helga Glock v. Glock Et Al: A Soap Opera In 354 Pages

Helga Glock, former wife of Gaston Glock, Sr., has filed suit against him and his assorted companies. The suit was filed on Thursday in US District Court for the Northern District of Georgia. She is seeking $500 million plus punitive damages. In the suit, she accuses Gaston Sr. of theft, money laundering, and racketeering. She is invoking RICO as part of the suit.

Paul Barrett, author of  Glock: The Rise of America’s Gun, had an interview with Helga and the children from Gaston’s marriage to her. It was the first time they spoke out about Gaston Sr., the divorce, and his remarriage to his nurse Katherin. From the story we learn that Gaston, who came from a simple family, married up when he married Helga. She came from a prosperous Bavarian family and traded a good job in Munich to marry him. She was part of his company from the start taking care of the accounting while raising the three children and being a good Austrian “hausfrau”.

Prior to the divorce and Gaston Sr’s stroke, all the children and Helga were part of Glock. Gaston Jr. worked in IT, Robert in marketing, and Brigitte ran human resources. It all changed in 2010.

In 2010, Gaston Sr. issued a three-page handwritten letter dictating his “unconditional wishes for a reorganization of the Glock Group.” Helga and the children were to cease their “operational” roles, he declared. “I thank my wife, Helga, for her support and wish her a carefree and good life in her deserved retirement.” The letter instructed: “There will be no harassment, spying, stalking, violation of human dignity, or scheming toward me and my environment.” Gaston Sr. “guarantee[d] the agreed-upon payments to the beneficiaries for a lifetime.”

Mrs. Glock’s attorney, John Da Grosa Smith, is very familiar with Glock, Inc. He was the attorney for former Glock, Inc. (the US affiliate) CEO Paul Jannuzzo and secured the reversal of his conviction for embezzlement on appeal.

All I can say, it is going to be interesting. Glock lovers and haters alike will find tons of spicy details in the complaint below. My only fear is that the gun prohibitionists will also be combing it with a fine tooth comb to buttress their allegations against the firearms industry.