Former customs worker accuses trade union leader of bribe taking
A former customs worker at Giurgiu border crossing point, Marius Ungureanu, has paid the Sed Lex leader Vasile Marica about 2,500 euros per month between 1997 and 2002. Vasile Marica denies these accusations.
16 Februarie 2011, 10:11
During the press conference organized by the the Police and Customs Officers Trade Union "Pro Lex", former customs worker Marius Ungureanu denounced himself in this bribery case.
He claims he collected sums of money and offered the Sed Lex union leader about 2,000 – 2,500 euros per month, for six years.
In his opinion, Vasile Marica is the one who created and the main beneficiary of the bribing system. The former customs worker also stated that the main bribe collecting tools were head of customs and shift foremen.
He also said that Marica demanded the head of the National Customs Authority to hire people in exchange for "keeping quiet", otherwise he would launch union protests and would get the media involved.
Pro Lex president Vasile Lincu, who organized the press conference, also stated that the customs corruption scheme, shaped by the media as a chess board, had been in place ever since the time when the National Customs Authority was headed by Nini Sapunaru.
The fore-mentioned authority has suffered changes over the years, showing that bribe was taken when authorizing customs commissioners companies according to customs procedures, but also when effectuating further customs controls or when using monitoring services.
President Traian Băsescu declared in an interview offered to the daily România Liberă, with concern to the situation at the customs, that he was afraid that ‘the queen is one of the trade union leaders’, but he pointed that it could not be a fact until the arrested ones confess.
Traian Băsescu argued, based on the information obtained from the secret services, that no money transfer transactions on behalf of politicians were discovered.
Sed Lex leader denies the accusations
Sed Lex president Vasile Marica denied all accusations brought by Marius Ungureanu, in a phone call made to a Romanian television, stating that the former customs worker had no evidence against him.
"I know him well, he was the largest cigarette smuggler. He tried to contact me several times but he ended up getting himself fired by Nini Săpunaru. He puts the blame on me, when it comes to his arrestment", Vasile Marica stated.
Vasile Marica takes this personally and states that Marius Ungureanu will take responsibility for "everything that has happened".
The recently operations at the customs led to the arrest of several customs workers, as well as the dismissal of the head of the National Customs Authority Radu Traian Mărginean, as per vice-president Emil Boc’s request.
Translated by: Mihaela Grigoraş
MA Student, MTTLC, Bucharest University
