Two gypsy fortune tellers sentenced to probation for blackmail in Romania

It looks like the witches in Romania haven’t found a spell that could keep them safe from the law yet, as two of the most famous local gypsy fortune tellers were sentenced to probation for blackmailing several people, on Thursday. The Bucharest Court of Appeal ruled three-year suspended sentences against Roxana Lider and Rada Minca, better known as witches Vanessa and Melissa, in a case in which they were accused of blackmailing several people, including local actress and singer Oana Zavoranu, with curses. The decision is final, according to local Agerpres. Prosecutors say that Vanessa and Melissa advertised themselves as witches and fortunetellers in the media, offering their witchcraft services to people who needed them. Moreover, by keeping an eye on the tabloid press, the two so-called witches were identifying wealthy public personalities who had various problems. They would call those people and tell them that their problems were the result of spells ordered by their enemies. Then, they would ask their victims for several goods or personal objects to start magic rituals to break the curses. At first they would ask for items such as clothing items, dolls, and even knives. Arguing that the rituals were difficult, the so-called witches would then ask their clients for valuable items such as jewelry, cars, and even large amounts of money. In 2011, Oana Zavoranu had just split up with her ex-husband, famous Romanian singer Pepe, when she decided to go to these witches. They told her that all the bad things in her life happened because her mother had put a spell on her. They managed to convince Oana Zavoranu to give them a Porsche Cayman car and other valuable posessions. The Court ruled that the two witches now have to pay EUR 10,000 to Oana Zavoranu, as moral damages. The trial of another witch started recently at the Pitesti Court. Georgeta Dragomir, better known as witch Maria, currently stands trial for deceit, as she had asked a woman to give her a total of some RON 75,000 (EUR 16,000). In return, she promised the victim that she would make a spell so that her husband would not cheat on her, and to get rid of all her enemies. Besides money, the witch demanded and received from the woman products such as salami, cheese, bread, cans of caviar, pastries, sweets, beer, and coffee. The reason? All these products were ingredients in the spells, reports local Adevarul. Another unbelievable fact is that witch Maria convinced the woman to put EUR 10,000 in a bucket with herbs and coal and throw it in the Arges river, as that was the devil’s wish. The woman did what the witch told her, but changed her mind quickly and tried to find the money in the river. However, the money was gone and, from that moment, the alleged witch stopped answering her phone calls. That’s the moment when the woman alerted the police. Romanians are religious but superstitious people. While 96% of Romanians say they believe in God, about a third also believe in the Evil Eye (Deochi), a quarter believe in curses, and a quarter believe in witchcraft,