Former manager, employees of Bucharest thermal distribution company get jail time for taking bribes from German firm

A former director of the thermal energy distributor in Romanian capital Bucharest has been sentenced to six years in prison for corruption. Ion Dabela, former manager of the Thermal Distribution Company RADET, was jailed definitively without the option of parole. He took bribes of over EUR 100,000 from German company Preussag Rohrsanierung GmbH between 1998 and 2002, in exchange for his support regarding the revamping of thermal pipes in Bucharest by the German firm. He also asked for and received bribes from three Romanian companies in order to favor them in landing contracts with RADET, which is a state – owned company. The court also sentenced to three years in jail with parole another RADET employee, Mihai Radu Cucuiu, former technical director, while Liana Uzunov, former commercial director, got four years in jail. They had received bribes worth some EUR 15,000 from the same German company. A former manager within the Industry Ministry, Ion Fatu, was acquitted in the case. Valentin Gabriel Carali, a former officer with the Romanian Intelligence Service (SRI) also got four and a half years in jail. He had been directly involved with RADET, and convinced the company's management to accept the German company's technology and sign the contract. He received over EUR 50,0000 in bribes to do so. The case started in 2004, when the National Anti Corruption Direction sent the eight suspects to court. editor@romania-insider.com