Beckenbauer, Lars
Born on a farm near Chemnitz on the Czechoslovakian border in
what was, at the time, the German Democratic Republic (East Germany).
Drafted into the East Germany Army, 1970. Specialized in bomb
disposal and demolitions. Assigned to East German Border Patrol,
1971-76. Arrested by the GDR State Security Service (Stasi) in
1976 under suspicion of involvement in several high-profile defections.
Released for lack of evidence and discharged from army in 1977.
Movements and activities from 1977-84 are unknown. The current
German government will neither confirm nor deny rumors that he
was a member of the 'Libellen', an underground group held responsible
for several bombings of East German governmental offices in and
around Berlin in the summer of 1981. Resurfaced in 1985 when
he was granted asylum by West Germany after a risky crossing
of the Baltic Sea in a small sailboat. Opened Pyrotechno GmbH,
a security consulting firm, in 1989. Since then has built his
reputation as Germany's leading expert on explosives and demolitions.
Married, 1995. Two children.
Beckenbauer had an encyclopedic knowledge of all types of
explosive devices. Years of working with bombs have made him
extremely meticulous. He never overlooks any detail of an operation
and leaves nothing to chance. In his relations with the rest
of the team, he is liable to be somewhat cold and distant, but
only because he is so completely focused on his job that he considers
personal interactions between team members to be a dangerous
distraction. |