Mayor Cosmin Andrei remains under judicial control. DNA prosecutors extended the measure by another 60 days

The prosecutors of the National Anticorruption Directorate – Suceava Territorial Service have extended the measure of judicial control, for another 60 days, in the case of the Botoșani mayor, Cosmin Ionuț Andrei (PSD), accused of acts of corruption.

The decision was taken as of today, when the measure instituted two months ago was to expire. Through the ordinance, investigators maintained all bans ordered in early February. In other words, Mayor Andrei is not allowed to communicate with eight people, witnesses heard in the file or employees of the Botoșani Taxes and Taxes Directorate, or with those who were part of the competition’s organizing committee. And if calendar days were to be calculated strictly, judicial control would be maintained until shortly before the day of the local elections. How these measures are respected is hard to say.

Accused of hiring a close relative to Taxes and Taxes

On February 2 this year, DNA prosecutors descended on Botoșani municipality where they organized two home searches, one of which was in the mayor’s office. Later, he was placed under judicial control for committing the crime of using, in any way, directly or indirectly, information that is not intended for publicity or allowing unauthorized persons access to this information, in order to obtain for himself or for another, money, goods, or other improper benefits.

According to the investigators, the mayor Cosmin Andrei would have defrauded a competition organized in the summer of 2021 at the Directorate of Taxes and Taxes, so that a person close to him (no – some have advanced the term mistress) to get the job for the reason. It is certain that the person for whom the competition was allegedly rigged was Cristina Geanina H., who, on that date, would have had a close relationship with the mayor Cosmin Andrei. Initially, three people registered for the contest, including Cristina Geanina H. One of the candidates was rejected due to an incomplete file, and the second one did not appear at the contest. Therefore, the only person who appeared before the examination board was close to the mayor.

Questions offered before the contest

A day before the date of the contest, the mayor Cosmin Andrei would have requested all the subjects, but also the correct answers. Later, they would have been sent to Cristina Geanina H. by the mayor Cosmin Andrei himself.

“Consulting the 10 questions related to the two variants of subjects proposed for solution to the candidate (xxx) and comparing them with the documents she received from the mayor of Botoșani, as it resulted from the tests administered in the case, it was established that she had received the subjects of the exam relating to both variants, so that any variant would have failed on the day of the exam, I or II, the candidate (xxx) was “covered”.

From the competition documents, it also follows that, both in the written test and in the interview test, each member of the committee gave the same score to the candidate (xxx). After taking the competition tests, the written one and the interview, according to announcement no. 4290/26.08.2021, the candidate with no. 3974/11.08.2021 was declared admitted, obtaining a score of 64 points in the written test, 100 points in the interview test, resulting in a final score of 164 points”the DNA prosecutors showed.

After the entire village was found out, DNA prosecutors requested all the documents related to the organization of the contest and tried to find out from the commission members how the contest was conducted. This is how it was discovered that on the day of the examination, the rules and procedures for organizing and conducting the contest were not respected at all, things being handled extremely casually. Therefore, the contest would have been a fiasco.

Facts recognized by the close of the mayor

Being interviewed by the DNA prosecutors, Cristina-Geanina H. confirmed receiving the subject variants from the mayor of the municipality, with whom she was in close relations. Thus, she admitted that before the day of the contest, the mayor would have given her some techno-edited documents, containing the variants of subjects that were to be given at the contest, meaning that she met him, in the city of Botoșani, in a place established by the two.

It is interesting that the one who contributed to proving the facts was the husband of Cristina Geanina H., who found the documents in the house and kept them, and when the investigation was initiated by the DNA, he handed over those sheets to the officers through an intermediary judicial police. This is how it happens that when they compared the documents related to the competition with the documents collected from the candidate’s husband, the investigators had the clear idea that the variants of exam subjects received by Cristina Geanina H. coincided with those proposed by the members of the competition committee. Incidentally, Cristina Geanina H.’s husband revealed that all the flowers on Mihai Eminescu Boulevard, between the Arts High School and the “Grigore Antipa” High School, were planted by the mayor also to do the so-called mistress a favor.

The mayor is not allowed to discuss with several subordinate employees

Through the judicial control, Mayor Cosmin Andrei was forbidden to contact the witnesses heard, including the employees of the City Hall or subordinate services who gave statements in the file. In this case, the situation is quite delicate because, by the nature of the position, the mayor can issue provisions, orders and other documents and must be careful not to violate the established measures.

The “Monitorul de Botoșani” reporters requested, at the beginning of last month, the communication of the measures instituted within the City Hall so that the prohibitions ordered by the anti-corruption prosecutors, through judicial control, are respected. The answer was sent only on March 29 of this year, when the people from the town hall communicated the fact that “The town hall of Botoșani was not designated as the authority to supervise compliance with the obligations of judicial control (…)”. In other words, the only person responsible for how the measures instituted by DNA prosecutors are respected or not is the mayor of the municipality, Cosmin Andrei.

It is interesting that immediately after learning about the DNA investigation, Mayor Andrei announced that he suspended himself from all positions held in the party. It’s just that, less than two months after this decision, Cosmin Andrei became the PSD candidate for the position of mayor of the municipality in the local elections of June 2012. Therefore, the self-suspension would have been more in the eyes of the world.

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