Mircea and Vlad Cosma will be re-judged

The file of the Cosma family, in which Vlad Cosma (photo) and Mircea Cosma are tried, will be re-judged, the High Court of Cassation and Justice (ICCJ – Supreme Court) has decided on Monday.

In the first instance, the former president of the Prahova County Council, Mircea Cosma, was sentenced to eight years in prison, and his son, former Deputy Vlad Cosma, was sentenced to five years in prison. Mircea Cosma and Vlad Cosma are accused by the National Anticorruption Prosecutors (DNA) prosecutors of having received from the administrators of some companies about EUR 1 million for the award of contracts, in which the beneficiary was the County Council, of influence peddling, bribe taking and abuse of office, romaniatv.net reports.

The decision of the Supreme Court was taken by a majority vote.

At the latest hearing in this file on Monday, the DNA requested for Vlad Cosma a sentence of 4 years and 8 months in prison, while for his father, Mircea Cosma, the prosecutors demanded the first sentence of 8 years in prison. Also at the last hearings, Vlad Cosma has told the magistrates that he is not guilty. His father, the former president of the Prahova County Council, Mircea Cosma, claimed in tears he is innocent.

“I reject all allegations, Prahova County is jokingly named it is the 53rd US state due to the volume of investments that has led to the setting up of 11 industrial parks with 46,000 employees. I should have received a decoration for that,” Mircea Cosma said in court.

In his turn, former Deputy Vlad Cosma – who accused Ploiesti DNA prosecutors of having forged evidence in the files – has stated he is not afraid because the file is based on false evidence.

Former Deputy, Vlad Cosma, released Sunday evening a recording allegedly explaining how the evidence was forged by DNA Ploiesti, using the polygraph. Cosma charges the DNA of falsifying evidence with the polygraph. The former deputy said he was compelled to make a false statement during a polygraph test.

In early February, former PSD deputy Vlad Cosma released a new recording, allegedly featuring prosecutors Mircea Negulescu and Albert Savu dictating and practically drafting the statement that Vlad Cosma was supposed to give in the file on ex-PM Victor Ponta and Tony Blair.

“I remember how in 2016 Lucian Onea and Mircea Negulescu summoned me at DNA and told me that investigation started in a file targeting Ponta, Ghita and Blair. My part was to be the credible tool, that was supposed to mislead the judges in court, my role was to sign a statement. I told them I don’t know Blair, and if he met Ponta. They told me that I must sign if I don’t want to get in trouble. I signed, I think the rest of the file was built around my statement,” Vlad Cosma told Antena 3 TV private broadcaster.