Mayor of Jucu commune arrested for bribery in Nokia Village affair

Mayor of Jucu commune arrested for bribery in Nokia Village affair
published in issue 3986 page 7 at 2007-08-01
 
 

The mayor of the Jucu commune, Petre Costea (PD) was arrested on Saturday in a bribe case of EUR 13,000 in connection with the purchasing of a number of plots in the area where the Nokia  industrial park is going to be, ‘Cotidianul’ daily informs. The prosecutors from the Anti-Corruption organized a set up and caught the mayor when he was taking the bribe from businessman Adrian Munteanu, a local councilor in the Cluj commune of Savadisla, near Jucu. Muntean wanted to buy several parcels of land (160 hectares) in Jucu. He had signed selling-purchasing pre-agreements with the people who were claiming the property.
 
The Nokia investment in Jucu increased the price of land so the investigators believe that Mayor Coste had also increased the bribe in order for him to sign the papers recognizing the ownership of the land. In 2006, the mayor allegedly received EUR 3,000 but afterwards he wanted EUR 18,000.
 
The maximum punishment Coste is facing if found guilty is 15 years of imprisonment. Estate specialists say that the price of land in that area had grown to EUR 20-40/sq m when the future Nokia facility with an investment of EUR 200 M had been announced.
 
The Prefect of Cluj announced, yesterday that he would suspend Petre Coste as Mayor of Jucu commune, Cluj County, Realitatea TV reports. Officials for PD Cluj had initially announced in a news release that a decision on Coste would be made only after he is found guilty “under a final Court ruling.”
 
 
Source:
http://www.nineoclock.ro/index.php