Bucharest district mayor detained at Otopeni Airport – sources / Mayor Piedone was taken under escort to anticorruption directorate for hearings in a new criminal investigation

The mayor of Bucharest District 5 was detained at the Otopeni Airport of the Romanian capital city on Friday morning, judicial sources told G4Media.ro. Mayor Cristian Popescu-Piedone was taken under escort to the DNA, the national anticorruption directorate, for hearings in a new case.

According to G4Media.ro sources, Piedone was due to fly to Germany. It is unclear at this point whether this is the same plane for which a bomb alert was announced earlier this morning. The plane was due to take off at six o’clock.

UPDATE 11.09 According to G4Media.ro sources, the final destination of the mayor of the fifth sector was Italy, in Germany he was only going to make a stopover.

The Bucharest Court of Appeal is expected to pronounce on 3 May the final sentence in the „Colectiv” case, in which the former mayor of Bucharest District 4, currently Mayor of District 5 Cristian Popescu-Piedone was sentenced in first instance to 8 years and 6 months in prison for abuse of office in connection with the tragedy that killed 64 people.