Romanian Anticorruption Prosecutors Arrest New Suspect In Football Graft Case

Pieca is manager of the company Pic, held by football club FC Arges financer and corruption suspect Cornel Penescu, but he is also the president of the FC Arges managing board.

Pieca was arrested under charges of accessory to bribery.

Legal sources said Gheorghita Pieca, as manager of Pic, allegedly took, on several occasions, sums from the store’s cash registry, giving them to store management members, including Liviu Facaleata. These people, in their turn, allegedly forwarded the sums to officials in football who were supposed to favor the FC Arges football team in games.

In the refereeing corruption trial, on April 14 anticorruption prosecutors arrested football club FC Arges financer Cornel Penescu, suspended Central Referee Committee president Gheorghe Constantin, PIC hypermarket general manager Liviu Facaleata, as well as the former director od the Arges County Consumer Protection Office, Cristian Libertatu. Cornel Penescu and Liviu Facaleata are charged with offering bribe, while Gheorghe Constantin and Cristian Libertatu are charged with taking bribe.

On May 11, the Arges Court decided to discontinue the arrest warrants, but anticorruption prosecutors appealed, and one day later the Pitesti Court of Appeals allowed the action, thus the defendants remained under arrest for at least 30 days.