Romania Pitesti Court Rejects Bribery Suspects’ Appeal, Remands Them Into Custody

The Court of Appeals on Friday discussed the defendants’ appeal against the Arges Court’s decision to reject their bids for release under judicial control.

 

Thus, the Court rejected the defendants’ appeal as ungrounded and also compelled them to pay legal costs.

 

The alleged culprits on Friday told the magistrates they are innocent and stressed that, if released, they would even work with the investigators to clear out all accusations.

 

The lawyers said in their pleas that their clients need to be investigated at large because Constantin underwent colon surgery one month ago, at a clinic in Vienna, and he needs treatment. Libertatu’s defenders, in turn, said he had a difficult family situation because his wife and one year old child are ill.

 

The lawyers of Arges football club financer Cornel Penescu, and those of the other people put under preventive arrest under charges of soliciting and offering bribe, submitted Tuesday in the Arges Court requests for their clients' temporary release, on probation.

 

The Arges Court issued last week the explanation for the preventive arrest of Penescu, Constantin, Libertatu and PIC store general manager Liviu Facaleata.

 

"A memory stick was found during the search performed at the PIC headquarters, in the office of Penescu Gheorghe Cornel, marked «kickback C.G.». Penescu Gheorghe Cornel gave defendant Constantin Gheorghe a large sum of money, in RON50 bills, in a white envelope," the court notes.

 

The court’s explanation reveals the National Anticorruption Department started investigating since September 2008 the fact that Penescu allegedly gave money to Constantin to appoint certain referees who would favor FC Arges in championship matches. This involves six games in the 2008-2009 season, for which bribes of sums worth between $2,000 and $15,000, cumulating $33,000.