Frankfurt/Main (dpa/lhe) - In the process of the voted-out Frankfurt mayor Peter Feldmann (SPD), who is suspected of corruption, the former HR manager of the Arbeiterwohlfahrt (Awo) Frankfurt testified. Before the Frankfurt district court on Wednesday there was little new information that concerned the ex-OB himself, but all sorts of insights into the management of the former leadership of the social association, against which investigations are also underway.

"It was just that management made the decision and I accepted it," the 68-year-old witness said of his former superiors. From his experience with the former managing director and his wife, who was appointed as a special representative of the management, he can say "that everything was possible at Awo". Things didn't always go according to comprehensible rules, which he would have liked.

It was the same with the hiring of Feldmann's partner at the time and later wife. He was told to prepare for hiring. There were also requirements for the amount of salary and a company car. In the later employment contract, the classification was corrected by hand by the management. "She had no previous experience, nor relevant professional experience," he said of the managerial position for the young professional. It was not the only such case at the then Frankfurt Awo: "People were hired for which there was not necessarily a technical reason." Instead, personal friendships and proximity to the SPD played a role.

The public prosecutor accuses Feldmann of accepting donations and other benefits from the Arbeiterwohlfahrt (Awo). In return, he wanted to benevolently consider the interests of the social association. Feldmann has so far denied the allegations. The 64-year-old was voted out of office on November 6th and has been out of office since last Friday.

The case against Feldmann is linked to the Awo scandal involving allegations of fraud amounting to millions of euros against former management officials of the association in Frankfurt and Wiesbaden.