Ciorogârla is a commune located in the western part of Bucharest, almost engulfed by the metropolis, situated just 10 kilometers from Chiajna. On the night of January 27 to 28, 2009, the most spectacular break-in since 1990 took place there, causing fear and a shock of proportions among the public opinion.
At that moment, a turning point emerged in society when it was realized that criminal groups involved in drug trafficking had managed to control representatives of the Romanian authorities, thus endangering the daily safety of citizens.
A gang of 17 people, led by Eugen Preda, a former high-performance athlete, broke into an arms depot located in a military unit in Ciorogârla, from where over 60 weapons were stolen, including 15 submachine guns, 40 revolvers, a machine gun with tripod, bayonets, binoculars, a veritable arsenal capable of starting a small war anywhere in the world.
Read here the other three articles from the series that show how political corruption, judicial corruption, and domestic violence led to the death of a 33-year-old woman.
Among the members of the group that carried out the heist in Ciorogârla were Alexandru Nicolae Iordan, 28 years old at that time, and his brother - Liviu Iordan.
11 years later, Alexandru Iordan would end the life of Marina Avram, his partner, following an exceptionally brutal and violent beating.
The attack on the military unit caused a strong emotion in Romania, the case being highly publicized.
Due to the seriousness of the situation and the large quantity of stolen weapons, law enforcement worked continuously and under pressure. The recovery of the weapons and the capture of the attackers took two months.
Following this theft, several senior officers were dismissed from their positions, and a number of soldiers were investigated.
After a two-and-a-half-year trial, Eugen Preda, the group's leader, and his deputy were sentenced to 15 years in prison. Another 6 involved individuals received 12-year prison sentences.
While Alexandru Iordan, his brother Liviu, and 8 other group members received three-year suspended sentences, accompanied by probation periods ranging from 5 to 6 years. They were in pre-trial detention from the time of arrest until the conclusion of the trial.
Eugen Preda, the group's leader, spent less than 5 years in prison, being released in 2017.
All the dirty deeds possible
If those involved in the massive arms theft had received punishments commensurate with the gravity and impact of their actions, taking into account the entire investigation conducted by DIICOT, then there were good chances that Marina Avram would be alive today.
According to the indictment drawn up by prosecutors, the weapons were stolen to be transferred to a drug trafficking network in Turkey, which supplied the group that Alexandru Iordan was part of with 124 kilograms of heroin over the course of a year.
But not only did the judges impose lenient sentences, but once released, the group members resumed their old activities of drug trafficking, extortion, and robbery.
“The Iordan family does all the dirty deeds possible to help the mayor,” explained Constanța Ivan, Marina Avram's mother, born in Chiajna, who had a good relationship with Mayor Mircea Minea until her daughter started seeing Alexandru Iordan.
“Alexandru's brother, Liviu, is the godson of Mayor Mircea Minea. Several constructions and lands are registered under his name,” Constanța Ivan claimed in an interview for Spotmedia.ro.
Liviu Iordan, a former convict for the theft of weapons from Ciorogârla, is employed by the Chiajna Town Hall, according to Constanța Ivan, lawyer Florin Stoicescu, and a wealth declaration submitted by the individual in April 2024, where he is listed as “Office Chief at Chiajna commune”. Several individuals interviewed claim that he actually manages a department within the Local Police, which is under the mayor's authority.
The connection between Lia Savonea, Mircea Minea, and the Iordan group is not direct. Neither the judge nor the mayor, to the extent they manage, expose the connection with the criminal networks operating in Chiajna, but there is always a common element, that of land transactions in the commune.
Land deals, the connecting element
The Iordan group members fulfill two important roles for Mayor Mircea Minea:
- As the enforcement arm, intervening when councilors or other political enemies of the mayor need to be persuaded to align with his political will, as was the case in the highly publicized situation involving councilor Constantin Ofițeru;
- As intermediaries, meaning owners on paper of lands and properties that actually belong to the mayor, documents that would raise suspicions of corruption if made public, according to statements by Constanța Ivan and judicial sources consulted for the writing of this article;
In Chiajna commune, there has been a demographic explosion. In the 1992 census, the recorded population was 8,000 inhabitants. In 2011, just over 14,000, and today, 43,500. The data only indicate the number of residents (registered address) in the three localities - Roșu, Dudu, and Chiajna, which form the commune.
For instance, Militari Residence, a huge residential complex comprising 105 blocks, 15,000 apartments housing around 25,000 people, is located in the commune.
However, few of those living there are on the municipality's records. Most have IDs from Bucharest, where they were born, or from other towns in the country, where they came from to make a living in the Capital.
If we add the dozens of residential neighborhoods and new buildings constructed on the commune's lands, there is a real possibility that over 100,000 people live in Chiajna. Real estate deals are the main activity of the political and criminal elite in the former small commune, attached to the Militari neighborhood.
Two councilors beaten and one murder in a 100-day period
Alexandru Iordan's violent past and frequent legal violations were well-known in Chiajna. Everyone feared him, but nothing happened to him because he was under the protection of Mayor Mircea Minea.
On December 23, 2019, a month before the bat and axe attack on county councilor Constantin Ofițeru, Alexandru Iordan and his associates attacked Claudiu Luca (PNL), a local councilor this time, in the meeting room of the Chiajna Town Hall.
Mircea Minea (PNL), then a member of ALDE, a party led by Călin Popescu Tăriceanu, used Alexandru Iordan to intimidate his political adversaries, in order to secure the votes needed to appoint a trusted person as vice mayor.
Over a 30-day period, Alexandru Iordan, Marina Avram's partner, was involved in two instances of political violence for which he was not apprehended by the police, despite authorities being aware of his extremely aggressive behavior and criminal record.
Exactly two months after Alexandru Iordan, together with his associates, attacked another liberal politician, this time Constantin Ofițeru, a county councilor, in the middle of the street, Marina Avram lost her life at the Bucharest University Hospital following an extraordinarily cruel beating, according to the forensic report, administered by her partner, Alexandru Iordan.
Marina, forced to break the law
In mid-August 2020, Constanța Ivan learned from the prosecutor in charge that her daughter's killer could be released from pre-trial detention due to the fact that the indictment was not ready, and the start of the trial kept being postponed.
Alexandru Iordan, arrested on March 22, 2020, was set to be released on September 22, 2020 if by that date the trial in the case of Marina Avram's killing had not begun.
According to Romanian legislation, pre-trial detention lasts for 30 days. It can be extended with the approval of the judge for rights and freedoms, but not for more than 6 months, in the situation where the criminal trial has not started.
The danger of Alexandru Iordan being released was real, and in desperation, Constanța Ivan sent several memoranda to the General Prosecutor's Office and CSM.
HOSTAGE. Marina Avram, due to her relationship with Alexandru Iordan, fell into a trap, being forced to provide an alibi for her partner while he committed acts of violence - Photo source: Marina Avram's personal archive
"On March 18, 2020, my daughter, Avram Marina Cătălina, born on May 16, 1986, was brutally beaten by her former partner, Iordan Nicolae Alexandru, as a result of which my daughter ended up at the Bucharest University Hospital, where doctors found that she had broken ribs… a ruptured spleen, and a hematoma the size of half a brain. The doctors notified the police authorities and performed surgery…," wrote Constanța Ivan in a message addressed to Bogdan Licu, the then Deputy General Prosecutor.
"Following surgical interventions on the chest and head, the doctors informed us that, unfortunately, nothing more could be done for the girl, the chances are zero, she was intubated and mechanically ventilated until March 22, 2020, when she lost the battle for her life and passed away," Marina's mother further wrote.
In that memorandum, Constanța Ivan describes the violence of Alexandru Iordan, who at that time was still in pre-trial detention for the killing of his partner.
The woman also describes the episode in which county councilor Constantin Ofițeru was assaulted by Alexandru Iordan and his associates, showing that the latter forced her daughter to commit an illegality, forcing her to give a false testimony to the investigative authorities.
"…Alexandru Iordan lied, telling the police that his girlfriend, meaning my daughter, was in the car with him when they fought on the street," wrote Constanța Ivan in the memorandum to CSM.
"…he forced my daughter to say she was a witness to this incident," Marina's mother added.
Constanța Ivan receives no response from Bogdan Licu, today a judge at the CCR, one of those who do not support the special pensions reform for magistrates, but receives at least two from CSM, one in 2020, the other the following year.
From one judicial failure to another, until death
From this correspondence, it emerges that the CSM members knew and discussed the case of Marina Avram's killing since they responded to the respective memoranda and sent messages and documents to judicial institutions and involved parties.
A year before, Lia Savonea was the President of CSM, a position held only by the Council's judges section members, having the greatest influence within the organization at that time.
It is hard to believe that such a high-profile case, happening right in the commune where she lived and still lives today, escaped her attention.
VIDEO. Constanța Ivan talks about the problems she faced with the authorities trying to protect Alexandru Iordan - Video source: Spotmedia.ro
"…I contacted a law firm to remove my daughter from this case, as we are not people who have problems with the law…," Constanța Ivan further wrote in the message addressed to Prosecutor Bogdan Licu.
"…Alexandru Iordan did not allow the lawyer hired by me to represent her, saying he was talking to his uncle, Ion Iordan, to hire another lawyer to represent her," Marina's mother added.
"…I realized that Alexandru Iordan was scared and no longer had control over my daughter, and that is why he refused. Subsequently, my daughter, frightened by the situation that she could be arrested for perjury, decided to break up…," Constanța Ivan added.
The breakup triggers repeated fits of rage by Alexandru Iordan, who repeatedly beats Marina Avram until she dies from the violent blows administered by her partner.
From the situation presented by Marina's mother to the judicial authorities, scared by the trial delay, it also emerges that the young woman became a hostage following the violent confrontation between the political factions in Chiajna.
And in these confrontations, the main character is Mayor Mircea Minea, at that time a member of ALDE, today in PNL, who used pressure groups to destroy his political opponents.
There were numerous situations where the police, prosecutors, and judges could have detained, arrested, and sentenced Alexandru Iordan to long prison terms, a violent man with a criminal record who repeatedly broke the law, being involved in arms theft and drug trafficking.
Due to corruption, the authorities missed every opportunity to act according to the duties regulated by law and instead, in exchange for not insignificant amounts of money paid by taxpayers for citizens' safety, they failed to act.
Thus, from one failure to another, we reached the point where a 33-year-old woman was beaten to death by Alexandru Iordan. Even now, at the eleventh hour, representatives of the justice system hesitate to fulfill their duties responsibly.