IMPARȚIALITATE·INTEGRITATE·EFICIENȚĂ
June, 25th, 2009
No. 163/VIII/3
Press release
The prosecutors within the National Anticorruption Directorate – the Territorial Service Piteşti sent to trial the following defendants:
Penescu Gheorghe Cornel, under temporary custody, major stock holder at S.C. PIC S.A. Piteşti, and through this company, major shareholder at FOOTBALL CLUB ARGEŞ Piteşti, who was charged with three counts of giving bribe (two of them were committed through repeated acts and activities), with the offence of buying influence committed through repeated acts and activities and with the offence of initiating and constituting an organized crime group;
Făcăleaţă Liviu Ilie, under temporary custody, general director within S.C. PIC S.A. Piteşti, who was charged with two counts of complicity to giving bribe committed through repeated acts and activities, the offence of initiating and constituting an organized crime group, as well as the offence of possession, without authorization of substances classified in the category of drug precursors;
Libertatu Dan Cristian, under temporary custody, former director of the County Office for Consumers’ Protection Argeş, who was charged with the offence of taking bribe;
Constantin Gheorghe, under temporary custody, former president of the Central Commission of Referees within the Romanian Football Federation, who was charged with two counts of taking bribe and with the offence of initiating and constituting an organized crime group;
Savaniu Marcel, football referee in the A Division, who was charged with the offence of taking bribe;
Corpodean Sorin, football referee in the A Division, who was charged with the offence of taking bribe;
Bogaciu Dumitru Aurelian, football referee in the A Division, who was charged with the offence of taking bribe committed through repeated acts and activities;
Lică Marcel, federal observer and former vice-president of the Central Commission of Referees, who was charged with the offence of taking bribe;
Pieca Gheorghiţă, administrator of the company S.C. PIC S.A. and FOOTBALL CLUB ARGEŞ, who was charged with three counts of complicity to giving bribe committed through repeated acts and activities, complicity to buying influence committed through repeated acts and activities, as well as the offence of initiating and constituting an organized crime group;
Mincă Cristian, President of the FOOTBALL CLUB ARGEŞ Piteşti, who was charged with the offence of complicity to buying influence and the offence of initiating and constituting an organized crime group;
Prunea Florian, director at the International Relations within the Romanian Football Federation, who was charged with the offence of traffic of influence committed through repeated acts and activities;
Cîrstina Daniela, director within S.C. PIC S.A., who was charged with the offence of favoring the perpetrator committed through repeated acts and activities;
Dan Cristian Lucian, football referee in the A Division, who was charged with the offence of taking bribe;
Caia Sorin Cristian, football referee in the A Division, who was charged with the offence of taking bribe.
The indictment drawn up by the prosecutors stated the following facts:
During 2006 – April 2009, the defendants Penescu Gheorghe Cornel, Făcăleaţă Liviu Ilie, Mincă Cristian, Pieca Gheorghiţă and Gheorghe Constantin initiated and constituted an organized crime group who acted in a coordinated manner in order to commit several serious corruption offences aimed to obtaining financial or material benefits.
Thus, during September 2008 – December 2008, the defendants Penescu Gheorghe Cornel, Făcăleaţă Liviu Ilie and Pieca Gheorghiţă gave different amounts of money to the defendants Bogaciu Dumitru Aurelian (5,000 USD and 374 RON), Savaniu Marcel (3,000 USD), Lică Marcel (2,000 USD), Corpodean Sorin (15,000 USD), Dan Lucian (5,000 USD) and Caia Sorin Cristian (2,000 USD) so that these people, in their capacities as referees, respectively federal observers within the Romanian Football Federation would not properly fulfill their duty attributions, namely so that they would favor the team FC ARGEŞ PITEŞTI during its matches with UNIVERSITATEA CRAIOVA, SC SPORTING CLUB SA VASLUI, OŢELUL GALAŢI and GLORIA BUZĂU.
On September 3rd 2007, the defendant Penescu Gheorghe Cornel gave the amount of 20,000 RON to the defendant Gheorghe Constantin, so that, using his capacity as President of the Central Commission of Referees, the latter would delegate certain referees, requested by the financer of this team, Penescu Gheorghe Cornel, for the matches played by FC ARGEŞ PITEŞTI in the competition season 2007 – 2008. The amount given as bribe was put at the disposal of the defendant Penescu Gheorghe Cornel by the defendant Pieca Gheorghiţă, in his capacity as administrator of SC PIC SA, the latter being aware of the destination of the money.
It is also worth mentioning that during December 14th 2008 – March 12th 2009, the defendants Penescu Gheorghe Cornel and Pieca Gheorghiţă gave the amount of 290,000 RON in two installments to the defendant Constantin Gheorghe, president of the Central Commission of Referees within the Romanian Football Federation, so that he would delegate certain referees preferred by the defendant Penescu Gheorghe Cornel for the matches played by FC ARGEŞ PITEŞTI SA in the competition season 2008-2009 and also to promote in the A Division of Referees a referee who was under the protection of Penescu Gheorghe Cornel.
In the same case, during September 30th 2008 – November 3rd 2008, the defendant Penescu Gheorghe Cornel, with the help of the defendants Mincă Cristian and Pieca Gheorghiţă, gave the total amount of 14,000 USD to the defendant Prunea Florian, director at the International Relations within the Romanian Football Federation, considering that the latter used his real influence on the members of the Disciplinary and Appeals Committee of the Romanian Football Federation for Penescu Cornel Gheorghe not be penalized or to be punished with a reduced fine in two cases dealing with disciplinary proceedings provided under Article. 52 paragraph 1 letter b and art.52 paragraph 5 of the Disciplinary Regulations of the Romanian Football Federation, concerning the offensive behavior, and defamatory statements which damage the image of football.
On April 13th 2009, during the search carried out at the home of the defendant Făcăleaţă Liviu Ilie, 190 ampoules of 5 milliliters each of ephedrine were found, this being a substance in the category of drug precursors, for which the defendant didn’t have a legal authorization.
On April 13th 2009, during the search carried out by the judicial police officers from D.N.A. at the headquarters of S.C. PIC S.A, the defendant Cîrstina Daniela stole documents and filled in payment dispositions and purchasing bordereaux in order to justify the amounts withdrawn by the defendant Penescu Gheorghe Cornel, thus trying to hinder the finding out of the truth.
The defendants Savaniu Marcel and Corpodean Sorin were taken under temporary custody during the investigation, subsequently being released under judicial control.
The defendants Bogaciu Dumitru Aurelian, Lică Marcel, Pieca Gheorghiţă, Mincă Cristian, Prunea Florian and Cîrstina Daniela are sent to trial with the preventive measures of compelling them not to leave their residence town.
In order to recover the amounts representing the object of the corruption offences allegedly committed by the defendants, the prosecutors ordered the seizing of the assets belonging to the defendants Penescu Gheorghe Cornel, Pieca Gheorghiţă, Făcăleaţă Liviu Ilie, Constantin Gheorghe, Corpodean Sorin, Bogaciu Dumitru Aurelian, Savaniu Marcel, Lică Marcel, Caia Sorin Cristian, Dan Cristian Lucian, Mincă Cristian, Prunea Florian, Libertatu Dan Cristian.
The file was sent to Argeş Tribunal.
It is worth mentioning that according to the Criminal Procedure Code, this is the final stage of the criminal investigation when the indictment is sent to the court for the trial and this situation cannot, in any way, infringe the principle of presumption of innocence.
In a separate file, disjoint from the current case, the prosecutors will continue the criminal investigation regarding the corruption offences which result from the criminal investigation acts carried out in connection with the competition seasons 2006 – 2007 and 2007 – 2008 or for other offences which are related to the corruption offences.
THE INFORMATION AND PUBLIC RELATIONS OFFICE