Alleged Gere stalker fit to stand trial

A woman who allegedly phoned Richard Gere as many as 1,000 times over the last year was found fit for trial and held on £3,500 (€5,600) bail after being charged with stalking the actor.

Ursula Reichert-Habbishaw, 51, of Kassell, Germany, was arraigned in New York on charges of harassment, aggravated harassment and stalking.

Manhattan Criminal Court Judge Gregory Carro also issued a protection order for Gere. Reichert-Habbishaw faces up to a year in jail if convicted.

Assistant District Attorney Robert Wallack said the messages left on Gere’s voice mail by Reichert-Habbishaw since February 2001 include:

‘‘I want to be with you and share your life,’’ ‘‘I can take a pistol and kill myself,’’ ‘‘I will stay with you for all time’’ and ‘‘I will follow you.’’

Wallack said Reichert-Habbishaw, who is divorced and has four children aged 16 to 22, appeared at Gere’s Manhattan office at least six times and demanded to see him, apparently after travelling from her home in Germany.

She was arrested at his office on April 30.

Reichert-Habbishaw’s Legal Aid Society lawyer, Jennifer Blasser, said her client was in New York because she was trying to find a job here.

But Wallack told the judge that Reichert-Habbishaw always seemed to find her way to Gere’s office whenever she was in the city.