Tony Jacobs

Retired Crown prosecutor loses bid to clear his name over Woolworths Nazi racism fiasco

A retired Crown prosecutor has waged a bizarre appeal in the Supreme Court after he was penalised over a Woolworths elevator fiasco – in which he gave a German food volunteer a Nazi salute and said “Heil Hitler”.

RETIRED Principal Crown Counsel Tony Jacobs has waged a bizarre appeal in the Supreme Court after he was penalised over a Woolworths elevator fiasco – in which he gave a German food volunteer a Nazi salute and said “Heil Hitler”.

Mr Jacobs spent decades working for Tasmania’s Director of Public Prosecutions, retiring just two years ago as the state’s most senior Crown prosecutor.

But Mr Jacobs himself became the subject of legal proceedings earlier this year, when the Tasmanian Civil and Administrative Tribunal ordered Mr Jacobs pay Helping Hands volunteer Tim Seidenspinner $500 for the “distress and humiliation” he suffered at the Wellington Centre during February 2021.

It’s not the first time Mr Jacobs has found himself in hot water over alleged racist comments – in 2011 a case against him was dismissed over claims he said to his former Iranian neighbour: “I will see you in court Mr Ayatollah”.

In the more recent Woolworths case, Mr Jacobs’ racist comment and gestures occurred after the lift stopped and a pregnant woman attempted to get in, but Mr Seidenspinner pointed to signage showing it was full due to Covid restrictions.

Read the article by Amber Wilson in the Mercury.