Romanian chief of border police dismissed after convicted mayor flees country
Romania’s chief of the Border Police, Victor Ștefan Ivașcu, was dismissed after the mayor of Baia Mare, Cătălin Cherecheș, fled the country through the Petea Border Crossing using the documents of a relative. The chief of the Maramureș County Police was also dismissed, and the leadership of the Police Academy was changed.
In all, six chiefs from the Border Police, Romanian Police, and DIPI (the secret service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs) are leaving their positions after the scandals regarding corruption in customs and the escape of convicted mayor Cătălin Cherecheș. In a press release, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, MAI, argues that these changes were made to "support the restoration of a high level of managerial and professional efficiency, as well as the trust of citizens in the law and authorities."
The ministry's Control Body will also conduct an audit at the Territorial Inspectorate Sighetul Marmației of the Border Police and at the Maramureș County Police Inspectorate, including at the Petea Border Crossing Point.
The change in the leadership of the Border Police, involving Victor Ștefan Ivașcu, comes after the mayor of Baia Mare, Cătălin Cherecheș, fled Romania on Friday morning, November 24. The mayor, who left the country through the Petea Border Crossing on Friday at 7:49 AM, used a different identity at the border crossing into Hungary. The border officer who verified Cherecheș is under investigation by a disciplinary committee.
Mayor Cătălin Cherecheș of Baia Mare was definitively sentenced to five years in prison for bribery and subsequently placed on a national wanted list by the Romanian Police. He is reportedly in Italy, according to Digi24 sources, with his mother and wife.
There are many well-known convicts who have fled to Italy and either stayed there or were extradited. It is worth mentioning that the mayor of Baia Mare was under judicial control, a measure established by judges, so he was not allowed to leave the country without the court's permission.
(Photo source: Inquam Photos | Ovidiu Micsik)
