Former Constanta mayor sentenced to six years and six months in jail

The Constanta Court sentenced former Constanta mayor Radu Mazare to six years and six months in jail for several abuse of office charges. The case targets the municipality’s sale of land plots in the Mamaia seaside resort at undervalued prices, causing a damage of some EUR 3 million to the Constanta City Hall. The court's decision is not final, however. Mazare reacted saying that he was dazed and dismayed by this “unjust sentence” after the Bucharest Court of Appeal had acquitted him of the same charges. He added that the whole land sale process was carried out legally by City Hall clerks and approved by the Local Council, based on independent valuations, and that he only signed the final papers, as required. Radu Mazare is currently in Madagascar, where he fled at the end of last year. Former Romanian mayor asks for political asylum in Madagascar editor@romania-insider.com