Nicolae Petru Iotcu, the former president of Arad County Council (CJ Arad), was sentenced to four years is prison, no parole, for influence peddling.

Timis Court also ruled the confiscation of RON 35,000 and EUR 10,000 from Iotcu. However, the decision of the court is not final and can be appealed, reports local Agerpres.

In the same case, Adrian Nedelciu, a former manager within CJ Arad, was sentenced to two years of probation, while Alin Mircea Patrascu, a former company manager, got one year, nine months and ten days of probation.

The National Anticorruption Department (DNA) sent Nicolae Petru Iotcu to court in 2015 after he was caught red-handed while receiving EUR 10,000 to facilitate the development of projects at Arad County Emergency Hospital. He had previously received RON 35,000 for the same purpose.

The investigators say that Iotcu, as president of CJ Arad, claimed EUR 40,000 from a company manager. In return, he promised to use his influence in a procedure organized by CJ Arad to award a EUR 1.6 million public contract for the provision of medical equipment for Arad County Emergency Hospital.

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Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com