In recent years,
\na series of Romanian MPs and local officials, including mayors of some big city
\nand heads of county councils, have swollen the ranks of the unemployed, losing
\ntheir seats as a result of prison sentences and ruling of incompatibility. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Today many
\nformer or current mayors are still fighting their cases in court, desperately
\ntrying to prove their innocence. Such is the case of the suspended mayor of
\nBucharest Sorin Oprescu, who was charged with bribe taking, abuse of office and
\nmoney laundering. He is now under house arrest, following a ruling by the Court
\nof Appeal on Thursday to switch prison detention to home arrest because of his
\nhealth problems. Some in the media have sarcastically commented that his frail
\nhealth has not prevented him from serving his term or from seeking a third, as
\nhe said he was planning to. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
The mayor of the
\ncity of Iasi Gheorghe Nichita has also had a run-in with the law. He is alleged
\nto have demanded and received undue benefits in exchange for awarding a
\n15-million-euro public contract. Oprescu and Nichita are just two names on a
\nlonger list of mayors who have been involved in corruption investigations.
\nCriminal cases have also started against the likes of Radu Mazare in Constanta,
\nIulian Badescu in Ploiesti, Tudor Pendiuc in Pitesti, Romeo Stavarache in Bacau
\nand Gheorghe Stefan in Piatra Neamt. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
This week, MP
\nand former regional development minister Elena Udrea needed her colleagues’
\nhelp to thwart a request for pre-trial arrest by the National Anticorruption
\nDirectorate. However, to prove that Romanian politics if full of paradox, MPs
\ndid approve the request for the start criminal investigations against Udrea and
\nfor her detention. Udrea is accused of receiving almost 4 million euros in
\nbribes from a businessman during her term as a minister to help him earn a
\ncontract with a state-owned energy company. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
With these
\ninvestigations, the National Anti-Corruption Directorate has become an example
\nof efficiency not just for institutions in the justice system, but for the
\nentire Romanian administration. <\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The fight against corruption continues in Romania.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":112,"featured_media":65893,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[37738],"tags":[28950],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-65892","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-today-in-the-news","tag-corruption"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n