Former head of Constanta County Council sentenced to six years in prison

Bucharest Court sentenced Nicusor Constantinescu, the former president of Constanta County Council, to six years in prison for abuse of power. He is accused of failing to issue or extend building permits for wind farms. However, the decision is not final and can be appealed, reports local Mediafax. The investigation in this case began in 2014. According to the National Anticorruption Department (DNA), although the courts ordered through several final judgments that the Constanta County Council president should issue the documents, he refused to execute the decisions. Later on, another court ruling said that Nicusor Constantinescu should pay a civil fine for each day of delay, but he continued not to fulfill the obligations imposed by the court. This is not the first time when Nicusor Constantinescu has problems with the law. In late-October 2015, Constanta Court sentenced him to three years and a half in prison for abuse of office. According to the prosecutors, between 2009 and 2013, Constantinescu underfinanced the County Military Centre in Constanta. That decision is not final either. Nicusor Constantinescu used to be one of the most influential local leaders of the Social Democratic Party (PSD), one of the so-called "local barrons". However, he has lost much of his influence due to the many corruption scandals in recent years. In 2014, he even became a wanted person through the Interpol system after he left the country during an investigation and didn't return. He claimed that he was in the US to have surgery and later returned to Romania after being held in Turkey. Former Constanta Council president found in Turkey, to face arrest in Romania Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com