Anti-corruption prosecutors open criminal case against Sector 3 mayor

The National Anti-corruption Directorate (DNA) has opened a criminal probe against Bucharest Sector 3 mayor Robert Negoita, in a case in which he is accused of abuse of office over the sanitation contract concluded with waste service provider ROSAL Group, the DNA reports on Monday.

Bucharest Sector 3 mayor Sorin Robert Negoita is being probed for two instances of seriously consequential abuse of office with receipt of undue benefits and for inciting abuse of office with undue benefits with particularly serious consequences.

Also under investigation in the same case are:

* Octavian Ghetu, executive director of the Sector 3 Mayor's Office Economic Directorate, for triple complicity in seriously consequential abuse of office with receipt of undue benefits, complicity in inciting abuse of office with undue benefits with particularly serious consequences, and forgery;

* George Alexandru Manciu, at the time of the crimes head of the Sector 3 Mayor's Office Public Utilities Directorate, for double complicity in seriously consequential abuse of office with undue benefits;

* Irina Gina Soroceanu, executive director with the Investments and Procurement Department of the Sector 3 Mayor's Office, for double complicity in seriously consequential abuse of office with undue benefits;

* Florentina Pencea, at the time of the crimes executive director of the Sector 3 Mayor's Office Legal Department, for double complicity in seriously consequential abuse of office with receipt of undue benefits;

* Mihaita Marius, at the time of the crimes secretary with the Sector 3 Mayor's Office, for abuse of office;

* Elena Petrescu, Sector 3 deputy mayor at the time of the deeds, for usurpation of office with particularly serious consequences;

* the representative of SC ROSAL GRUP SA, for double complicity in seriously consequential abuse of office with receipt of undue benefits;

* Mirela Chetreanu, external public auditor, for forgery;

* SC ROSAL GRUP SA, for double complicity in seriously consequential abuse of office whereby the civil servants obtain undue benefits for self or others.

DNA argues that the crimes under investigation were committed over the interval 2000 - 2018, when 54 addendums to a sanitation contract between the Sector 3 Mayor's Office and ROSAL GRUP were signed, by which the contract was either extended or its value was increased. According to the investigators, instead of organizing a public tender, the initial sanitation contract concluded in 1999 with ROSAL GRUP SA was successively extended (although the waste service provider was no longer licensed for Sector 3 since 2013) through additional documents that also provided for the increase of sanitation fees.

DNA states that the incriminated deeds caused the Sector 3 Mayor's Office a total damage of 578,446,818 RON, resulting also in undue benefits for SC Rosal Grup SA. AGERPRES