European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - September 19, 1980, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Friday september 19, 1980 the stars and stripes Pago 19 consumer watch by Mary Nell new a coms Leader talks about pricing commissary customers overseas often arc puzzled As to Why prices vary from store to store. It s the most frequent question asked according to col. Richard j. Toner who just took Over As head of the air Force commissaries of coms in Europe. He said he understands the confusion. With both the air Force and the army Selling at Cost it does t seem that prices should differ. But they  Why it s pretty much just a matter of two pricing methods the director of the 36-Usafe store system  air Force prices As the items come into the individual store warehouses and the merchandise retains the same Price until sold. The army however changes prices once a month marking All items on the shelves at the new  depending upon when the merchandise was purchased in the vs., it sometimes can be that the air Force is Selling for less at other times the army. Toner believes however that figured on a year s basis the prices in both store systems average out to the same. It s not just people who live within commuting distance of air Force and army stores though that Are hit by what they Sec As Price variances. Toner said that when military from outlying areas such As Turkey or Greece visit Germany or Lapland and walk though a store prices can com As a True Shock particularly when they reach the meat Market. The european beef sold in the . And Germany is considerably lower in Cost than that sold in the Mediterranean. That s because we have to ship in Frozen pre Cut . Beef for the latter area. There just in t an accept Able local source. This Means that the people Are paying practically twice the Price. Hamburger for example runs around $2 a  s goal is to do what is possible to help the people in those hardship areas. He understands their prob lems. His last assignment was As commander of hell Chi Kon air base in  May have left but i Haven t forgotten the people there he  move already being made to bring the Cost of meat Down is to introduce troop Issue ground beef on a test basis. It would sell for around $1.15 a Pound com pared to the $2 it now costs explained Toner. The troop Issue ground beef by mandate of Congress carries 20 percent soy protein and is used in dining Hall meals. Some people swear they can taste the difference frankly i can the  also is working on Purchase of larger Frozen cuts that can be broken Down in the local commissary Butcher shops. This he said should help reduce prices and also provide a greater availability of such cheaper cuts As pot  air Force stores that carry from 1,500 line items at the smaller to 5,000 at the larger Are located in far Flung places All the Way from Norway to the near East. This Means a Long pipeline for getting Stock to some of them. Seeing that the merchandise arrives fresh is a continual concern said Toner noting As example that there were problems in Etta Liz yeast to the azores before to Ose before Daf on the package. We solved that by shipping it in on Mac flights carrying produce. We also contacted the manufacturers and asked them to provide More frequent shipments of smaller  arc other ways that the air Force is trying to reduce prices for the More Distant from the source stores according to  has a filled milk Plant which provides half Gallons at around 57 cents compared to the whole milk sold for $1.38 in Northern Italy. There s an cafes bakery at Vicenza Italy. Now we re Flash freezing the bread and shipping it to Greece then returning with milk for the people in  Hope to find More ways to do such  he noted that living conditions in Turkey and Greece arc much less comfortable than in Germany and a Well stocked commissary can be a fantastic morale Booster. The military live on the Economy in Athens in apart ments that Are practically impossible to heat in the win Ter. It is a City that is densely crowded and the commis sary is right downtown with no parking area. In the summer it gets very hot and people have to Rush Home before the perishables  All makes grocery shopping a real Challenge. You can Tell that people put it off As Long As possible by the size of the purchases the average Sale comes to $90 there compared to $20  Toner was in Athens he introduced a Small Branch store on the base itself where people could pick up necessities on the Way Home. It was really appreciated he said. Now there arc plans in the works to open a regular shopping mall out of town. Charges of fraud have been brought against Belcher management consultants Bic and its director or. Josef Arman Belcher by one of its military investors Sandbank accounts have been ordered Frozen. The american investor claims to have lost $10,000. According to attorney Heinz Hupfer of Frankfurt his client was contacted by a Bic Salesman in 1979 and told glowing talks of the company s no fail returns for commod Ity investments. The company promised 15 percent interest after one year. After checking with three satisfied by investors one a military chaplain who had invested $30,000 Hupfer s client decided to Deposit the $10,000. He was Given acknowledgement of the Deposit in a gust but Bic did not credit it until october said the attorney. In november he received an investment certification Complete with a fancy Wax Srul in reality How Ever the document was Only a statement of debt to the firm. Until now he has not heard where his $10,000 has been  on sept. 10, Hupfer went to the City prosecutor s office in Wuerzburg now investigating the cast for warrant to seize the contents of the Belcher office inert. He discovered that because of rent due the landlord already had been awarded office equipment left by the departed firm. The attorney then filed a decree against any Bank accounts held by Belcher or Bic. If accounts Are found in either name Hupfer s client will have fir to claim. I action against the firm by German authorities first began in May when Bic s files were seized and the company was ordered to Stop soliciting business. That move was directed by the Federal banking supervisory office  fuck Das Kre Ditc sen in West Berlin after former employees of the firm Leslie Wright who was listed As the company s economist in its promotion brochure and Tom pal sch who was Active in investment sales reported that the company was not properly registered in Germany and claimed there were irregularities in the operation. An account of the situation in stars and stripes brought a visit by Cam Butler listed by Bic As its senior investment consultant. Though Butler acknowledged the intervention by the German authorities he said Bic would continue its operations including Selling investments under the name of zeus International & investment co. Of Rotterdam which he claimed was registered in Panama. Tit firm then took out an and in Tot shopper s biweekly titled Belcher management consult arts Bic the other Side of the Story which indirectly accused stars and stripes of not properly informing its readers sad not giving the my space to Tell its Side. The Bucad ended by thanking the biweekly for providing the space unavailable in the publication that is so Good at pointing the Finger at  his search for Bic Bank accounts Hupfer recently contacted the shopper s biweekly staff. They too it seems would like to locate Belcher. He owes them Money for  s client began to have doubts about the firm col. Richard j. Tonar that s just one of the items on Toner s target list in his new Job. Also planned More attention paid to Public affairs that is keeping the customers informed. People have intelligent legitimate complaints that deserve answers he said noting that commissaries Aren t a privilege but an entitlement by Law and people should expect the highest standards possible. He also wants to do All he can to Cut Down on demur rage Cost payment on vans that due to unloading difficulties Aren t returned immediately to the shipping lines that own , vans Are held up at the store because of Lack of labor to unload or warehouse limitations or be cause several shipments have come in at one time and it s too much for the staff to handle. We want to investigate and see what can be done to solve such problems he said adding the Cost accrued does t affect the customer it comes out of department of defense funds but we All want to Cut Down on government  new commissaries and improvement of existing ones also Are in the works. Next month we re breaking ground for a new store at Sembach Ger Many. In late october or november a new commis sary will open in Canute in Germany. In 1982, we also Hope to have a new store in Spang Dalem  All told Toner said he is looking Forward to a Busy tour of duty in his new office and plans to keep in touch with the local communities by visiting stores As frequently As possible. In question when he was asked to Transfer his account to zeus. Puzzled he called the company and spoke with Butler who agreed to visit and explain the situation. After bearing what he termed incredible explanations for the company s difficulties he asked for return of us Deposit As soon As possible and was told. In front of witnesses said Hupfer that Matur ing deposits would have priority Bill thai be could expect hit Money Al teas by late july. To Date the Money has not be returned and neither Hupfer nor his client have been Able to Trace Belcher. I Hope that the freezing of Bank accounts will help us locate the Man himself said Hupfer noting that or. Lothar barn Reuther Bic s attorney also could not or would not provide an address where Belcher could be reached. When i asked him what commodities Bic was Deal ing in he told me Export of lamps and bras to Nigeria said Hupfer. Butler a retired major whose wife is a lieutenant stationed in Karlsruhe has represented Bic in Wuerzburg since sometime in june. Now however according to Hupfer Butler says be is no longer working with the firm. Investors who have questions about the current investigation May Contact the Wuerzburg City prosecutor s of fice at the courthouse in that City Otto Strasse 8700 Wuerzburg. The Case file number is a2 105js 7318/80. As the charges stand Bic is liable for a Fine of 50,000 Marks for not respecting German banking Laws