Trial of suspects turns into a judicial drama

VIENNA, Austria -- The judge knew it would be a tearful trial, so he ordered lawyers and victims' loved ones alike "to keep emotion out of the courtroom."

But in the struggle to assign blame for a cable-car fire that killed 155 skiers and snowboarders in the Alps, a defendant fainted in the courtroom and a key prosecution witness suffered a nervous breakdown.

On Monday, yet another sideshow disrupted the trial: New York-based lawyer Ed Fagan, representing American victims of the blaze, was forced to hand over his wristwatch and pocket change after failing to pay a fine for practicing law in Austria without a license.

Salzburg Judge Manfred Seiss then ordered another recess until March 10.

"The trial to me is a farce. It has no meaning and it's going to go on forever without any justice," said Steve Habblett of Sun City, Fla., a retired U.S. Army lieutenant colonel who lost his 35-year-old daughter and her family in the blaze.

Sixteen defendants -- cable-car operators, technicians and government officials -- are being tried for their roles in the Nov. 11, 2000, inferno 60 miles south of Salzburg.

The fire broke out as a car on a funicular train carried 161 skiers, snowboarders and a driver up the Kitzsteinhorn glacier through a tunnel. Only a few escaped, using ski poles and boots to break windows.

Most victims were from Austria and Germany. Eight were Americans. Others were from Japan, Slovenia, the Netherlands and the Czech Republic.

Monday's brief resumption of the trial, the first in more than two months, was typical of how suspense and sensation have spiced the proceedings since they began last June.

As uniformed gendarmes stood by, Seiss ordered Fagan to turn over his watch, two $20 bills and the coins in his pocket as partial payment for a $5,000 fine levied last year for practicing law in Austria without proper permits. The judge found Fagan in default of that fine in October.

Fagan has been shuttling between Salzburg and New York, where he is seeking several billion dollars' worth of compensation for the families of American and other victims in a separate U.S. trial alleging gross negligence in the deaths.

Insisting he was merely observing and not practicing law, Fagan told The Associated Press he planned to sue Austrian authorities both in Austria and in the United States "for interfering with the rights of the victims."

"This whole trial is in my opinion the most outrageous example of injustice that I've seen in a long time," Fagan said. "For the families, it's horrible. They'll never get justice because of all the problems that have gone on."

Before recessing the trial, Seiss appointed a new court expert for the prosecution. The former expert, Anton Muhr, suffered a nervous breakdown last year under relentless cross-examination.

The prosecution had built its case around Muhr's theory that a defective and illegally installed space heater caused the deadly fire.

Previously, investigators said the blaze started when the heater caused hydraulic brake oil in nearby pipes to overheat and drip onto the plastic-coated floor, setting it afire.

But eight expert witnesses have testified the fire also could have been caused by a cable overheating. The lead prosecutor, Eva Danniger-Soriat, said "a mosaic of mistakes" led to the disaster.

Because of uncertainty over the cause of the blaze, and the need to brief the new expert on the case, Seiss has said he doesn't expect a verdict until spring -- at the earliest.

"It's like a circus," said Ursula Geiger of Germany, whose 14-year-old son died.

"We can't understand this," she said. "We feel like no one is really interested to know the truth. At least the Republic of Austria doesn't seem interested. I'm very angry that it's taking so long. It hurts very much."