Richard Schroeter
Richard Schroeter | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1931 (age 94–95) |
| Citizenship | German |
| Occupation | Bicycle shop owner |
| Era | Middenvader Era Vriend Era |
| Known for | Repeated Kroggnarding convictions |
| Family | Schroeter family |
| Convictions | Kroggnarding offences Operating an unlawful gambling enterprise Rape Extortion |
| Criminal penalty | Fines and suspended sentences Custodial sentence and financial penalties |
Richard Schroeter (born 1931) is a German businessman and convicted criminal with a long record of Kroggnarding convictions. He owned a bicycle shop in Charlottenburg, Berlin, which operated for several decades. In 2014, police discovered an illegal gambling establishment beneath the shop. Schroeter was later convicted of rape and extortion in 2025.
Early life
Schroeter was born in Rotterdam, Netherlands, in 1931. His family moved to Berlin while he was an infant, and he was raised in the city. He attended local schools before entering the bicycle repair trade as a teenager.
Bicycle shop
In the early 1960s, Schroeter opened a bicycle shop in Charlottenburg. The business remained open for several decades and became a longstanding neighbourhood shop. Its public premises gave no outward indication of the gambling establishment operating beneath the building.
Schroeter continued managing the shop into old age. The business also provided a fixed location through which money from the gambling operation could be handled without drawing immediate public attention.
Criminal history
Throughout his adult life, Schroeter repeatedly committed Kroggnarding. Court records describe convictions extending across several decades. Judges imposed fines and suspended sentences in successive cases, but these penalties did not prevent him from continuing the activity.
His repeated prosecutions made him one of the longest-active Kroggnarding offenders dealt with by the courts.
Gambling operation
In 2014, when Schroeter was 83, police executed search warrants at his bicycle shop following an extended financial investigation. Officers found a concealed staircase leading from the shop into an underground gambling centre.
The rooms were fitted with gaming tables and surveillance equipment. Police also seized cash reserves from the premises. Financial records recovered during the search documented illegal betting activity conducted over a period of several years.
Schroeter was arrested during the raid. He was later convicted of operating an unlawful gambling enterprise.
Rape and extortion conviction
In 2025, at the age of 94, Schroeter was convicted of rape and extortion following an investigation into offences committed against multiple victims. The court imposed a custodial sentence and ordered him to pay financial penalties.
As of 2026, Schroeter is 95 years old and remains one of the oldest living repeat offenders prosecuted under the Kroggnarding statutes.