Having been transferred back to Germany, he came to the United States for a vacation with his wife and was seized as he waited for a departing flight in Miami. Why he risked arrest by traveling to the United States remains a mystery. Mr. Schmidt had been a Volkswagen employee since 1997 and was named general manager of the company’s engineering and environmental office in Auburn Hills, Mich., in 2013. Before imposing the sentence, Judge Cox admonished Mr. Schmidt for his actions and described him as a crucial figure in a wide-ranging plot. As an Italian citizen, he faces possible extradition — unlike five other executives indicted in the United States, all Germans based in their home country.

Source: New York Times December 06, 2017 21:08 UTC