Error processing SSI fileZetsche's wife focus of teen booze scandal
Case involving Chrysler CEO's spouse puts spotlight on parents hosting parties with underage drinking.
Gisela Zetsche has a Sept. 13 hearing at 48th District Court in Bloomfield Township. Here are excerpts from a report by the Bloomfield Township Police Department, which describe a June party at the home of then-Chrysler Group President Dieter Zetsche:
"We arrived at the scene and while standing on the roadway (approx. 50 yards away) a strong odor of intoxicants was detected."
"Upon identifying ourselves many of the minors ran into the residence, up the stairs, and out the front door."
"(Officers) were able to stop approx. 30 individuals and located approx. 10 more hiding in closets ..."
Free beer for teens
In June, Gisela Zetsche, wife of Dieter Zetsche, then-president of the Chrysler Group, was charged with allowing minors to drink alcohol at a party held at her Bloomfield Township home. Should police take a tough stance against parents who allow underage drinking at parties?
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BLOOMFIELD TOWNSHIP -- In June, word spread quickly among former and current athletes at the private Detroit Country Day School: A party with "free beer" was going to be held at the home of Dieter Zetsche, president and CEO of the Chrysler Group.
Some of the lacrosse and football players weren't surprised because Zetsche's wife, Gisela, had allowed them to drink at her Bloomfield Township home before, according to two students.
One of the occasions was an after-prom party held on April 2004 that was attended by several hundred students and lasted until 4 a.m., said three people who went to it.
At the latest party in June, attended by 100 youths, Gisela Zetsche was present but her husband was not, witnesses said. Police responding to a complaint charged her with allowing minors to drink alcohol.
The charge casts a spotlight on adults who allow minors to have alcohol in their homes as Metro Detroit law enforcement cracks down on underage drinking.
In Germany, where the Zetsches had lived, residents legally can begin drinking at 16. In the United States, the age minimum is 21.
"We pay more attention to this all the time," said Jeffrey Werner, chief of the Bloomfield Township Police Department. "Providing a place for underage people to drink is a rather serious offense."
In the June case, Gisela Zetsche, 55, is awaiting a hearing Sept. 13 at the 48th District Court in Bloomfield Township. The charge of allowing an open house party, which means allowing minors to have alcohol at one's home, is a misdemeanor punishable by up to a $500 fine and 90 days in jail.
Dieter Zetsche, who will become chairman of DaimlerChrysler AG, the fifth-largest automaker, on Jan. 1, declined to discuss the drinking allegations.
"I think it's adequate that you talked with the public relations department (of Chrysler)," he said from the front door of his home. "Let's just leave it at that, OK?"
Earlier, a spokesman for Chrysler had declined to discuss the issue, saying it was a personal matter. An attorney for Mrs. Zetsche couldn't be reached for comment.
Several parents of the 21 teens cited for underage drinking at the June party said they were upset with Mrs. Zetsche for allowing it to happen.
Michele Compton, executive director of the Oakland County chapter of MADD, withheld judgment on Zetsche but discounted any possible cultural confusion over drinking laws.
"We're not in another country. We're in the United States," she said. "It's amazing to me that parents would condone breaking the law."
Metro cops get tough
Metro Detroit law enforcement agencies have taken a tougher stance against underage drinking over the last few years.
The Oakland County Sheriff's Office searches for Saturday night parties where juveniles are drinking.
Wayne County Sheriff Warren Evans said he targets liquor stores that don't request proof of age by having undercover deputies buy alcohol there.
And the state of Michigan passed a law last year that gives jail time to minors repeatedly caught with alcohol.
Macomb County Sheriff Mark Hackel said he's amazed whenever he hears of parents throwing high school graduation parties with alcohol.
"I can't believe it," he said. "The liability alone. ... Kids will find it on their own, let alone parents allowing it."
In Bloomfield Township, eight to 10 adults a year are cited for allowing juveniles to drink alcohol, the police said.
In nearby Beverly Hills, Clarkston, Orchard Lake and Keego Harbor, less than a half a dozen adults per community are cited a year, said Tom Ryan, an attorney who represents the communities.
Teens talk about prom party
Two teens said they drank beer at Mrs. Zetsche's home two or three times while she was present.
Matt Riley, 18, of Birmingham, said drinking occurred more than a year ago while Nate Lovett was living at the Zetsche home.
Lovett, now 19, was a friend of the Zetsches' son, Gregor, 19, and moved in with the family so he could finish high school. His father, a Baptist minister, had moved to Hawaii to lead a church there. The Lovetts could not be reached for comment.
Riley said they would drink while hanging out with Lovett, Gregor Zetsche and a small handful of friends.
One exception to the small gatherings occurred on the night of the Detroit Country Day prom in April 2004.
After the prom at the Fairlane Club in Dearborn, the students' limousines moved to the winding streets outside the Zetsche home. Several hundred youths attended the house party that featured a deejay.
Many of the teens were drinking alcohol, according to Frank Rhodes, 19, of Bloomfield Hills and two other youths who were there. The three teens said Gisela Zetsche was present.
Police say they've only been called to the residence once before, and it was only to report a dead goose.
Detroit County Day School officials could not be reached for comment.
Neighbors call police
On most evenings, the Upper Long Lake Estates subdivision in Bloomfield Township is a tree-laden refuge from the bustle of the city. It's quiet enough that crickets are easily heard and so dark that the stars are clearly seen.
But June 17 wasn't one of those nights.
The late-night silence of the neighborhood was broken by laughter and shouts erupting from behind the large gray-stone home of the Zetsches. The $4.6 million house sits on an acre of land fronting a private lake.
The police and four teens who were present gave the following account of what happened that night:
It was a birthday party for Lovett, the former house guest of the Zetsches. He had graduated from high school and moved to Hawaii but was staying at the Zetsche home once again while visiting friends in the area.
Zetsche's two sons were not at home, but her 17-year-old daughter, Nora, was present.
Lovett had been a popular football star at Detroit Country Day, and word of the party quickly spread from his friends to athletes at the school, where tuition is $20,000 a year, to other students there and students at other schools.
By midnight, 100 youths filled a patio next to a swimming pool that wrapped around the back of the home. Many were drinking beer from clear plastic cups.
Gisela Zetsche told the youths that they were free to sleep over if they wanted.
At 11:56 p.m., a neighbor called the township police to complain about the noise and that minors were drinking and tossing things at passing cars.
Two officers arrived at 12:37 a.m., later saying they could smell the alcohol from the roadway 50 yards away.
"The cops are coming," a youth yelled when the two officers walked into the back yard.
Most of the teens ran into the house, up the stairs and out the front door. They left behind a dozen cars, including a 2005 Saab, 2004 BMW and 2005 Volkswagen Jetta.
The officers stopped 30 kids and found 10 others hiding in closets throughout the 5,100-square-foot home. Two others were caught trying to drive away.
Plastic cups and empty beer cans littered the home and patio. An open bottle of margarita mix sat on the patio bar. Six empty bottles of hard liquor were in the house.
An unopened bottle of Black Label Scotch was in the home's bar. Two cases of Labatt Blue and one of Bud Light were in a hallway leading to the garage.
Mrs. Zetsche told the officers that she had purchased the beer for the birthday party, according to the report, but didn't know about the hard liquor. In Germany, residents can begin drinking beer at age 16 and liquor at 18.
The police administered Breathalyzer tests to the 42 youths, and half were found to be drinking. The 14 boys and seven girls were charged with minor in possession of alcohol, a misdemeanor punishable by up to a $500 fine and 90 days in jail.
Among the 21 people cited, six were 17, seven were 18, five were 19 and one was 20. The ages of two others couldn't be determined because they were among several files sealed by judges.
You can reach Francis X. Donnelly at (313) 223-4186 or fdonnelly@detnews.com.
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