The Polanski-UBS Connection

Let's start the week with a conspiracy theory of mine, shall we?

Roman Polanski, though wildly talented, is a low-life scumbag. He drugged and raped a 13-year old girl in 1977. For those inclined to doubt that, or to buy into the justifications of his many high-profile apologists, I would direct you to the victim's testimony HERE. Whoopi Goldberg's despicable sentiments notwithstanding, you can see that it was in fact "rape-rape".

Be that as it may, the timing of his arrest in Switzerland on September 26 is exceedingly curious. Polanski has lived in France since fleeing his sentencing for the rape in the late 70's. This is not surprising because the French would give Jeffrey Dahmer a pass if he could deliver an oscar to Gerard Depardieu. In this time Polanski has moved freely about Europe and most of the world, collecting awards and what-not, even directing several American movies and winning an oscar for The Pianist.

His movements in Switzerland are even more curious. In the past 30 years, he's been in and through Switzerland dozens of times. He even owns a chalet in Gstaad, according to Blick, a Swiss newspaper. So why, all of a sudden, do the Swiss lay hands on him when he's about to be given a high-profile award? What is different now than all those dozens of times he's been in Switzerland before?

UBS, that's what.

Now the Swiss are holding Polanski and trying to decide whether or not to extradite. Europe's highest-profile American fugitive has either become a bargaining chip, or a good faith payment to prove that the Swiss government is now toeing the U.S. line. Since the details of the UBS settlement (and I use UBS as a blanket term to cover the whole Swiss-U.S. tax settlement) have yet to be announced, I'm inclined to believe they're using poor Roman for leverage.

Which is both ironic and good news for some that may be caught in the IRS net. I have a feeling the Swiss are dangling Polanski (a real criminal) in front of the Department of Justice to get them to ease up on Swiss bank account holders (non-criminals, according to sovereign Swiss law). Since no one knows the details of the settlement, neither side has to lose face if they can come to an agreement.

I might be wrong, but I don't think so. The timing of the arrest is too convenient. Polanski gets snatched on his first visit back to Switzerland since the settlement was announced? Way too convenient. In any case, he's pretty much screwed.

Karma, as they say, is a bitch.