Romania's Supreme Court gives an increased, definitive 7-year jail stretch to former senator Voicu, while in hospital

Former Romanian senator Cătălin Voicu has been definitively sentenced to seven years in prison by a panel of Supreme Court judges. The decision came yesterday (April 22 ) after prosecutors from Romania's anti-corruption directorate (DNA) had asked for an increase in his original jail sentence to nine years. Although the Supreme Court did not hand down a nine-year sentence, they did increase the sentence from the original five to six years given last year.

The former judge also convicted in the same case, Florin Costiniu, was given nine years of probation, instead of an original three to four-year suspended jail sentence. The Supreme Court upheld the original four-year jail sentence of businessman Marius Locic and the four-year suspended sentence of Costel Căşuneanu, but added nine years of probation. The decisions of the the Supreme Court are final, so both Voicu and Locic will now definitely serve jail time. Locic already turned himself in to the authorities to serve his sentence. Cătălin Voicu is currently being treated in Floreasca Hospital, Bucharest. Doctor Mircea Beuran told local news agency Mediafax that Voicu is being treated for rectal hemorrhaging and secondary anemia and that he also suffers from other medical conditions: obesity, diabetes and a heart condition. The four defendants were convicted last year, in June, on corruption charges, but since then the case has been through various appeals. Voicu has also reportedly suffered from heart problems and required medical attention. He was convicted on two charges: peddling influence and falsifying documents and was under preventative arrest between March 2010 and July 2011. Others involved in the case were also placed under preventative arrest, but for briefer spells. Judges have reportedly refused a request to subtract the time Voicu has already spent in custody from his sentence. Businessman Marius Locic, director of SC Locic Real Estate LLC, received a sentence of four years in prison for paying for influence, one year and two months for falsifying documents and one year and six months for forgery. Former President of the Civil Division of the Supreme Court Florin Costiniu was found guilty of complicity in peddling influence, for which he was given a suspended sentenced of three years imprisonment and probation period of six years. Businessman Costel Căşuneanu was sentenced to four years in prison for buying influence. Judges of the Supreme Court suspended the execution of the sentence for a period of seven years. Cătălin Voicu was a senator for the Social Democratic Party (PSD) who won seats in parliament between 2004 and 2008 and for the 2008 to 2012 term. Between 2000 and 2004, he has an adviser to former Romanian president Ion Iliescu. editor@romania-insider.com