Once again, I can’t condemn or blame the young gondolier for the accident. Vogel’s wife made it very clear–and she was there–that the gondolier is not at fault. I also can’t say that he’s not an expert oarsman. He does have a license and therefore went through all the necessary requirements and time (years) on a gondola. We still need to understand when he used the illegal substances; from what I’ve heard it wasn’t that same day, but we’ll have to wait for the court to explain and clarify that. If he did use on that very same day then he’ll have to face the consequences. I agree there are a few too many ‘rotten apples’ who cast a very dark shade on those who abide by the rules. However, I can assure you that in 26 years of marriage my gondolier has never earned 5000 euro in one day! That’s physically impossible. And believe me when I say there are those who are trying to ‘clean up’ the various problems, but as most situations go when you’re dealing with a large group of individuals and city bureaucracy, it’s not easy nor very quick. I can’t say much more here, but the gondoliers themselves are asking for overall tighter controls.