Millionaire Denies Murdering Gay Lover
These pair were the most brutal master franchisees in Australia where their gutter style has been the subject of a number of submissions to the franchising Inquiry in Australia.
Perth millionaire Gerardus Gerrit Heijne has pleaded not guilty in the WA Supreme Court to the wilful murder of his lover Frank Cianciosi. Mr Heijne made a brief court appearance via video link from Hakea Prison this morning. He has been accused of wilfully murdering Mr Cianciosi in their luxury East Perth apartment on January 3.
The two men were the master franchisees of poultry giant Lenard’s and were well known in Perth’s social and business circles. Mr Heijne will stand trial in May, with the trial is expected to last three weeks.
Justice Peter Blaxell remanded him in custody until his next appearance date on February 12 for a status conference.
The judge referred the matter for voluntary case conferencing for the purpose of narrowing the issues at trial. - Australia's TheWest.com.au
Lenards’ franchisees in Western Australia were jubilant at losing 2 for the price of 1 but those in the rest of Australia were not exactly cheering. The Australian chicken franchisor [I’m not joking – his name is Lenard Poulter] condoned behaviour almost as bad as that of these two vermin in every state. And then he took over the Western state and decided that since he could no longer sell a franchise he would throw everything [including the contributions from franchisees] behind a new company operation.
What does “voluntary case conferencing for the purpose of narrowing the issues at trial” mean? Are we talking 20 years in jail plus $50 for double parking? Seriously, this guy took 24 hours to find his lawyer and then he handed himself in. Given Heijne's reputation it does sound plausible that his boyfriend tripped - numerous times.
Re: Millionaire denies murdering gay lover
And the Directors of Lenard's continue to refuse to accept any responsibility, let alone acknowledge what was happening to franchisees in the West under Heijne's control despite numerous letters and verbal complaints from their franchisees over many years. Their refusal to act led to years of torment for their franchisees. Heijne even had the temerity to openly agree that he had the power to make or break a franchisee. One can only hope the current Inquiry will bring about a recommendation for this Franchisor to be fully investigated.
For Aussie readers: "one powerball......!"(I will have them in Court so fast)
Re: Re: Millionaire denies murdering gay lover
As an ex- WA Lenards franchisee, I have felt the wrath of Gerritt first hand, who closed our store before we could sell, after owning and running a successful franchise for nearly 15 years, forcing us into bankruptcy.
Although I am still very bitter and only 2 years into the bankruptcy, I believe Gerrit was a hard working man who had a genuine passion for his business, and many of Gerrit's actions were made with good intentions, stemming from his management style of "hard but fair." Unfortunatley, Gerrits take on "fair" is vastly different to that of his colleagues and franchisees.
In my opinion, the problems faced, and torment endured by my family and fellow franchisees are too large to be caused by just one man. I agree, the directors refused to act, and therefore should be investigated in line with this franchisor.
Mate, give me a chance and I'll join you in taking them to court.
Re: Re: Re: Millionaire denies murdering gay lover
Would love to have a chat with you. I walked from my WA store in 2005 without renewing my Agreement for reasons I will not go into here. I together with a few other ex-franchisees would also like to start court action and get the ACCC to carry out a thorough 'in-depth' investigation into this franchisor. Unfortunately the ACCC have been as useless as tits on a bull, as evidenced by their bungled investigation into BD, but after the last Inquiry they may just decide to pull their finger out, as many politicians will be looking at their performance. We are a determined lot who want to see laws changed so that what has happened to us will not happen to anyone in the future and we want fair recompense for what Lenard's and Gerrit have put us through over many years.
May I also suggest you visit your Federal Member of Parliament before the next sitting starts in 2009. It is imperative Lenard's ex-franchisees speak out and put in reports to the ACCC and their Federal Politicians. There are many who have suffered but are either too scared or don't want to relive the nightmare. This is understandable - but we need to get our stories out there.