Tuesday, July 29 2003: Former Securitate people – recent Drug Dealers

A flagrant action organized by the Police and Prosecutor’s Office reveled the implication still powerful of some people who worked for ex-Securitate companies in organized crime networks. Gheorghe Schioparlan and Cristinel Teddy Georgescu were sent to Court for drugs traffic, more precisely special quality cocaine. They have double citizenship, Australian-Romanian and they spent good years in Australia, before ’89.

Schioparlan and Georgescu weren’t at their first condemnation for drugs.

Schioparlan was closed to organized crime networks (Viagra pills traffic, cars and drugs traffic), but also worked from Australia with Securitate companies. All illegal businesses in witch he was involved are also very close to men involved in Ceausescu’s former secret service.

Caught in Act at Midnight

Gheorghe Schioparlan and Cristinel Teddy Georgescu were sent for trail at the beginning of July for drugs traffic and they risk around 20 years of jail. The accusation is based on an action of Anti-Drugs Department from IGP (General Police Department), together with Prosecutors of Anti-drugs and Organized Crime Combat Section. Police and Prosecutors operation involved an agent and an investigator work, both of them working undercover.

The whole action happened on June, 16 when the undercover police agent contacted Schioparlan by phone about an unpaid debt. The agent announced him that he has the money and he waits for him in Bucharest to make the payment. Gheorghe Schioparlan answered that he will come all the way from Craiova and he will contact him later. At 11 P.M., Schioparlan called again saying that he will be late. At that moment, the undercover agent asked him to bring also a half kilogram “of that white stuff“, referring to cocaine. The agent promised that he will pay 20.000 $ for the cocaine in two stages. The meeting place was established on a little street from Cotroceni, a few steps away from Parliament members houses Radu Vasile and Vadim Tudor.

The Cocaine Bag Route

Schioparlan hardly appeared around 2 o’clock in the night, when he called the Police agent to announce that he is going forward the meeting place in front of Cotroceni Complex, coming from 1 Mai Boulevard. Only a quarter of an hour after the phone discussion, Schioparlan appeared driving his personal car, a Ford Scorpio. He got down from the driver right side place, with a plastic bag in his hand. In the car remained 2 persons: his son and a friend from Pitesti. At that moment the Police men intervened and immobilized all three of them. The parcel from Schioparlan bag was examined by IGP laboratory – it contained half kilogram of cocaine with 70% purity.

Following Schioparlan’s son and car passenger-Eugen Florea declarations it was reconstituted the route of the cocaine bag: Schioparlan made a stop in his way at Pitesti entrance from where he took the other car passenger-Eugen Florea who came in Bucharest with an Audi car for sale. Both cars went straight to Docentilor Street in Bucharest, where Schioparlan met his Romanian-Australian friend, Cristinel Georgescu who gave him the plastic bag and then walked away with the Audi car. In that bag it was discovered later the cocaine.

Cotroceni Incursion

Schioparlan and Georgescu have their own different version of the story. The file witnesses that are the police agent, Schioparlan’s boy and Eugen Florea sustain the above mentioned story. Of course that Schioparlan car passenger claimed they didn’t know the bag contains cocaine, but both of them agree that Georgescu gave the bag to Schioparlan that night and he left directly to Cotroceni.

We discussed also with Cristinel Georgescu father who was hosting him in his villa from Docentilor Street. Georgescu senior said that the car brought from Pitesti was brought for him, but only to be borrowed. Georgescu doesn’t know anything about the whole business. His house was rummaged after the police raid. “I can not believe that my son is involved in something like this”, declared him.

Dealers with old reputation

Georgescu and Schioparlan are not at the first business of this kind. Together with the Police agent, they sold for the last month over 10.000 ecstasy pills, 2 kilograms of cannabis and another hundreds grams of cocaine. The agent says that Cristinel Georgescu is the one who procured the drugs and Schioparlan role was to find the clients. For the last month drugs, the faithful intermediary was a DJ from a discotheque in Bucharest who found his clients in discotheque

Cocaine and quality

Conform to the most recently report of American Institution DEA (Drugs Enforcement Administration) over the evolution of the cocaine distribution on the market, is revolved the fact that this drug purity decreased dramatically during the last years. Cocaine that came from South America in 1998 reached 86% purity average. For the last years, the purity reduced to 69% in 2001. The big demand for these drugs and also the expensive transport networks made the important traffickers to mix the drugs with other chemicals. On American market one kilogram of cocaine costs about 30.000 USD. Considered the geographical position of Romania compared with United States, the price and quality of Schioparlan cocaine are truly remarkable. A 70 % purity half a kilo for only 20.000 USD indicates fact that Schioparlan and Georgescu were indeed “the first hand” in the distribution networks, receiving products directly from abroad.

Ionut Dolanescu Godson

Schioparlan is among others the godson and the good friend of the folk singer Ionut Dolanescu who sang for a long time in Australia under the name of Yannis Dolan. Being phone-contacted, he declared us that he didn’t know about Schioparlan problems:” I know Schioparlan for a long time; I met him in Australia, in my father house, during a music tour. He is a lover of traditional Romanian music.”

Ion Dolanescu, Member of Parliament didn’t want to comment too much his relation with Schioparlan:” I’ve known him since ’87, from Australia. Don’t try to involve me into this business. Everybody has his own ways”. We have to mention here that a year ago, we discussed also with Ionut Dolanescu about a problem that his wife had in Australia, problem related to drugs too. There was information that his wife was involved in an action of Australian Police, being under surveillance for having a big drugs quantity. She was arrested and investigated being let free after she paid a substantial bail. Sources from the Romanian community declared us that she managed to throw the drugs out of the car before the police could interfered. More than that, there were rumors about her connection with a well-known Romanian drug trafficker on Australian soil, nicknamed Fantomas.

Businesses with the Securitate

George Georgescu, Cristinel Teddy’s father, had installed in Australia long before his son.

In 1983, Georgescu senior associated in Melbourne with a local politician, Rod Atkinson, with who set up Argus Metal Marketing company and a traditional Romanian restaurant – Bucuresti. From his declarations, his businesses went perfectly between 1983 and 1986. In a strange way these businesses were realized also with Romania, where Argus MM opened also a subsidiary. In the company was coped also Schioparlan who knew the English language and was good at technical details for sustaining the company communication system.

Trade

At the beginning, the relations between them were warm Georgescu being the godfather of Schioparlan first daughter. But later on, the relationship between employees and Georgescu started to grow worse. He fired Schioparlan in ’85, because he tried to make illegal businesses with Securitate companies and together with the Romanian ambassador in Australia.

Schioparlan together with Cristache Ambassador went often to Constanta. Georgescu claims that he had to face powerful pressures to not traffic weapons and drugs through his company. Georgescu said the pressures came from Romania Ambassador because the Australian company carried large amount of used iron from Constanta to different world locations. The business was definitely buried in ’86. After all kinds of travels in Romania, Australia and United States, in ’96 Georgescu came back for good in Romania, in his villa from Docentilor Street.

Branch in Romania

This was version sustained by Georgescu. From independent sources we found out that Argus Metal Marketing was dealing with dirty businesses conducted from Bucharest. From our documents result that in 1984, Argus MM opened a subsidiary in Bucharest at Capsa Hotel that has relationships not only with all foreign trade Securitate companies, but also with Switzerland and Middle East. Its main activity was the transport of different iron and steel goods. At the company opening came also in Romania Rod Atkinson, politician and even a Mayor for a short time in Melbourne. Georgescu was appointed the general manager of Bucharest subsidiary. For this, the Australian company paid taxes of over 1.300 dollars per month. It is beyond our understanding how a politic emigrant as Georgescu could return in the country with a foreign citizenship and carry on businesses with Securitate companies, unless he was doing them big favors.

Illegal Things

At the same time, sources from Melbourne Romanian community, said that at Bucuresti Restaurant, the second business of Georgescu-Schioparlan group, gathered a lot of pilferers from that area in order to plan all sort of swindles. One of this was the spirits club through which the Australians were often fooled. Another business was to organize in the restaurant basement the illegal games, such as “barbut”.

In a discussion with Schioparlan he admitted that he had some illegal businesses in Australia but he let us understand the network was organized with Securitate approval. At the beginning of ‘80s he reached Australia leaving Japan. Schioparlan sustains that after ‘90 the networks torn, many Romanians who had problems in Australia came back home. As it could be seen from Police action on beginning of July, the network in which Schioparlan is involved still function very well, exactly in drugs field. From our sources the captured cocaine entered the country through Otopeni Airport.

Schioparlan and Georgescu met in Australia

Even if in the first moments of investigation from Romania, Schioparlan said that he doesn’t know Georgescu, although they are good friends for over 20 years. They know each other even since 1981, from Australia where at that time they were fresh new emigrants. Both of them were convicted for drugs traffic. They served the sentence of 4 years, being in jail at Melbourne. At that moment, Schioparlan ran a hotel in Melbourne –George Hotel, the center of drugs transactions in that area.

Romanians Fame

Romanians drugs traffickers from Australia reached the top of police statistics as efficiency during ‘80-‘90s. Different materials referring to that period underline the efficiency of Romanian networks organized by persons close to Securitate structures. From time to time, in the middle of Romanian community from Australia had started different scandals, in which the Romanian Officials or even Priests accused of implication into drugs traffic and organized crime networks.

Recently Reprieved

Conform to an agreement between Romania and Australia, at the end of ’70s, in Australia were sent over 10.000 Romanian workers to labor at railways from North continent. Most of them were ex-delinquents of common law, with penalties to 5 years in the country being just reprieved. The following year they spread through Australia. More than that, ex-personnel of Securitate who had activated at that time in Australia declared us that the official Ceausescu tour at the middle of years ’80 from Australia was sponsored by the smuggled activities coordinated by his secret police on the Australian territory, including the drugs traffic.

The “Viagra” Business

In 1997, Gheorghe Schioparlan and Anton Pusztai lawyer, a Hungarian settled in Australia, started to sell Viagra pills on Internet. The whole business happened through Schioparlan company, Romsoft from the little Australian town Geelong. The business grown fast because the clients who appealed at Schioparlan company services remained anonymous and they were forced to pass over an embarrassing medical control, consultation being made at the distance. At the end of ’97 the business moved on the Australian island Norfolk where the goods are free of taxes and in this way a new company started: Norfolk Men’s Clinic.

After less than a year, the business crossed the Australian borders and reached United States where it was opened a new branch of Norfolk Men’s Clinic in Clanton, Alabama State. For the local clients it was used here an American doctor who undersigned the prescriptions for the medicines. But according to American Justice Ministry he had restricted rights regarding the consultations. To eliminate the occurred problem, Schioparlan came up with the idea of opening a Romanian cover company where it was much easier to find an attested doctor. The doctor offered to give Internet online consultations, without examining the patient, just on a formulary base filled in by the patient.

So, in autumn ’98, Schioparlan and Pusztai came in Bucharest, where together with their new partner, Florin Calapod (ex-Securitate employee and former chief of the Minister of Interior Secret Service) and also a military doctor with colonel rank, set up the business details. At Schioparlan initiative is opened in Romania Norkolk SRL company with headquarter at Sexy Club in Bucharest. Schioparlan retried out of the business in 2000 summer, when he found out that on Pusztai name FBI was emitted an arrest warrant for illegal sell of Viagra pills on the American territory. Pusztai hide himself in Romania till the beginning of 2001 when he left to Germany where he was arrested. The case was concluded in United States, where Pusztai received a jail penalty and it was settled a prejudice of millions dollars. It has to be point out the fact that Pusztai’s son declares that his father came in and out of the country through Otopeni Airport protocol area, without being checked even if it was emitted an international warrant for his arrest.

Schioparlan companies

For the time being, Gheorghe Schioparlan appeared as shareholder of two Romanian companies: Norfolk SRL and Company Costin Marculescu SRL. The first one, a company with consulting activities in businesses and management, it has also as shareholders the ex Secret Service chief Florin Calapod and Elena Necula. The second company deals with “other services for enterprises” and benefits of the same shareholders and also the actor Costin Marculescu who owns 55% of the registered capital.

Cars Traffic towards Moldova Republic

In January 2001, Schioparlan announced the police that his BMW 730 was stolen. The car was insured for 1, 4 milliards ROL, amount of money following to be recuperated from the insurance company. The police men discovered that Schioparlan entered in complicity with the members of a luxury cars thieves network. With the owners mandate they took the car in Moldova Republic where these were sold and changed the identity. When they received the keys and the guarantee that the cars were alienated, the owners complained against their robbery and the insurance companies compensated them. Schioparlan was arrested with charges of deceitful declarations and fraud attempt. In the first phase his lawyer was the not active colonel Ion Soricica, ex-chief of Traffic Police Brigade Bucharest.

Stefan Candea, stefancandea@crji.org
Sorin Ozon, sorinozon@crji.org