Village mayor accused of heading criminal group

The mayor of a village in Calarasi district is accused of creating a criminal group to illicitly take over a scrap metal business. Lilian Cociu, prosecutor responsible for high-profile cases at the Prosecutor General's Office, has told a press conference on Friday that the mayor, a former police officer, created a criminal group formed of four other members, all of them athletes. Among them was Arcadie Bozari, a convicted racketeer known in the criminal circles as Arkasha. It is believed that the criminal group sought to gain control over a scrap metal business or, alternatively, obtain $50,000 in payoff money. The accused also allegedly ill-treated the owners and threatened them at gunpoint. Lilian Cociu said that, while none of the members confessed, the prosecutors possess sufficient evidence, including audio recordings of threats made by the accused, to bring them to justice. All the members of the group have been arrested. They face up to 15 years in prison. Prosecutor General Valeriu Zubco said the mayor in question was a member of the Democratic Party, stressing at the same time that political affiliation was irrelevant in this case.