“When we stop asking questions we will disappear as humans. We will be cyborgs!” – Mihai Pâlșu, 10 december 2014
Only four days before the end of 2006, at 9.44 GMT, the famous BBC transmitted the news: “The prosecutors of the National Anticorruption Directorate (DNA) decided Not to Prosecute (NUP-NPA) the officers involved in signing the contract with the company EADS regarding the implementation of the integrated system for the state borders of Romania.”
Daniel Morar gave NUP (non-prosecution) in the EADS file
But what didn’t BBC mention in the brief news governed by a NUP as big as the whole Europe? That, at that time, DNA was directed by Daniel Morar and the officers investigated by the prosecutors after a penal complaint made by the Minister of Interior, Vasile Blaga, were Toma Zaharia, Gheorghe Carp, Anton Gagiu, Mihai Bădescu and Mihai Tătuţ. However, in the news broadcasted worldwide, BBC reviewed that the contract signed between MAI and EADS for the securitization of over 3.000 kilometers of border, under the patronage of the prime-minister Adrian Năstase, was criticized by the opposition and, after renegotiation, the initial value of the contract was reduced. Obviously, BBC also pointed the conclusion of the DNA prosecutors subordinated to Daniel Morar: “The preliminary investigations in this case didn’t show law violations, which would have led to creating a prejudice against the Romanian state”. Earthshaking, isn’t it? Why did Daniel Morar accept to be compromised in the EADS Fraud? For the future position of judge at the Constitutional Court? No, because Morar showed us as clear as possible that he hadn’t wanted the “burial” of his career in the Elephants’ Cemetery in the Tony Greblă style! Why then?
Why DNA hasn’t called so far the generals Zaharia, Carp and Gagiu to hearings? It is intended to cover up the EADS file!
For those uninformed, I remind the fact that until 28 December 2006, the date of the NUP (non-prosecution) resolution set by DNA, the following financial operations were made: MAI made payments to EADS of over 90 million EUR; EADS paid commissions around 15 million EUR to Fujitsu Siemens, which, in its turn, paid 12 million EUR to the “bribing” company ProfiNet; as soon as it received the money, ProfiNet transferred about 12 million EUR to a bank account owned by Dinu Pescariu in Switzerland; finally, Pescariu transported the money in the tennis bag from Zurich to the pockets of the “interfaces” from Bucharest, Dorin Cocoş, Remus Truică etc.
Is it possible that DNA didn’t know about the money route? SRI, DGIPI or SIE didn’t inform Daniel Morar? We’ll dig deep into the trenches of this business and we will publish the information obtained on journalistic ways. But, meanwhile, let’s explain the pressure methods used by the generals Toma Zaharia, Gheorghe Carp and Anton Gagiu over the 40 members of the MAI negotiation team for the EADS contract.
At the reading desk, Toma Zaharia
In 2004, after an intense lobby with huge pecuniary interest made by a “big wise-guy” near the prime-minister Adrian Năstase, the Minister of Interior Ioan Rus received the task to order General Toma Zaharia to manage the signing of a contract with the company EADS for the securitization of the borders – 3.000 km. In fact, it was the moment of setting the basis for the MAI 2004 Organized Crime Group.
Obviously, the scam was well packed in a Substantiation Note referring to the obligations assumed towards EU, to Schengen and to the ordinance regarding procurements, which excluded the assignment of the contracts that affect the security and defense interests of the country through public tenders. This means that MAI was signing the border securitization contract by direct commitment with EADS. The price was already settled: 650 million EUR, with further right of supplementation up to 1 billion EUR.
It didn’t matter for the PSD leaders, Adrian Năstase and Ioan Rus, that EADS had never made a border securitization project. It only mattered the lobby of the “big wise-guy” and the greed of the governmental officials.
As a good performer, the general Toma Zaharia, the real head of MAI, before whom even the ministers took the right-standing position, founded the Project Management Unit (UMP) which had one theme: to negotiate and run the contract with EADS. Zaharia appointed Colonel Anton Gagiu as head of UMP. Zaharia promised Gagiu to make him general, if Gagiu didn’t move in front and respected his orders as a dog. And Toma kept his promises!
Immediately, the super-stared Anton Gagiu signed the contract for the acquisition of the feasibility study drawn up in a hurry by BearingPoint and the procurement note from a single source of SISF, purchase made from EADS. To avoid any doubt, the payment note of 650 million EUR was also proposed! What stood at the basis of this colossal value? Nothing concrete, nothing detailed, it hadn’t a justification in goods, services or works! The price was set only on the basis of general requirements that hardly arose from the feasibility study. The framework-contract was classified, at the beginning, precisely because of the flagrant form without content and paid with 650 million EUR of public money. It’s not like you expected that politicians like Adrian Năstase would bring money from home for the best of our country!
40 for Zaharia
The trick of General Toma Zaharia, the real patron of MAI at that date, was simple, as old as mankind and very often used by Bolsheviks and communists. Basically, if you want to keep the appearances of a serious commission, but which is easy to be handled, you should apply the following criteria:
- Interpretation of law as dictated by interest;
- Placing in the head of the troop an incompetent, servile, humble and easy to handle person. In our case, this role was masterfully interpreted by Anton Gagiu, who received the rank of general after he signed incriminating documents for him;
- Huge number of members – in our case 40;
- All areas, including those which are not directly related with the theme, to be represented by several individuals;
- The team should be composed of young people without experience, even slightly trained and with problems in the staff file, who receive a so-called second chance to remain in the ministry;
- The lack of a negotiation plan, a vision, technical criteria, but imposing a financial target: 650 million EUR.
The horror of this diabolic maneuver arranged by Toma Zaharia consists precisely in putting into practice the six criteria presented above. “In order to have a picture of the context, I am telling you that the meetings were held in a huge room, about 30 by 8 meters, a room with a table of U shape where 40 Romanians were sitting and … 5 Germans, close to whom was sitting Ghigea”, declared a member of the MAI commission.
Basically, due to the lack of a coherent plan of negotiation, they reached ridiculous situations where, in order to solve an item, they made committees and commanders inside the Romanian team, while EADS came with the same 5-6 members, headed by Thomas Hein, which had beside him the omnipresent Cătălin Cedric Ghigea.
The protection of Toma Zaharia
And there is also something interesting to point out: on the final documents only the general Toma Zaharia, as MAI superior, and Simona Cristina Panait, as general manager of SC COMICEX SA signed. But if you think that Toma is some sucker, you are wrong! At the basis of the contract with EADS stood the notes drawn by a variety of small specialized committees that negotiated separately, on specific issues, with the German specialists.
And general Zaharia specifically requested that these committees should issue notes full of signatures. Why? Because these signatures would give him the possibility to be relieved by the responsibility of signing the EADS contract, on the grounds that he couldn’t even respond jointly with the specialists, since it wasn’t his area of expertise! It remains to be seen if the judges accept such justification from the general Toma Zaharia.
First Violin: Cătălin Cedric Ghigea
Throughout the negotiations, the artisan of the links and connections between EADS and the MAI generals was a certain gentleman Cătălin Cedric Ghigea. You believe it or not, the lawyer Cătălin Ghigea was the first violin in the Machiavellian work called EADS, a symphony of the thieves, masterfully interpreted by the orchestra conducted by Toma Zaharia, for the welfare of the felons from the MAI 2004 Organized Crime Group, group governed by an endless transformation.
At the time of negotiating the contract, Cătălin Ghigea was the director of Midocar Consulting and … EADS consultant. After signing the contract, Ghigea was appointed head of EADS Romania., and later vice-president of EADS GmbH. For an unknown Romanian to become a great boss over Germans and French, it would mean that he brought great services to EADS, isn’t it?
Maybe this explains the deplorable way in which the MAI generals had presented in front of this Cătălin Ghigea. It was interesting to see the top-leaders of the Interior Ministry, the tyrant Zaharia, the troublemaker Carp or the lackey Gagiu, as they made bows and subordinated unequivocally to this gentleman Ghigea, who had no shyness to dictate what, how and how much to negotiate in order to rob the public money in favor of the greedy PSD wolves Năstase, Rus, Nica, the EADS patrons etc.
This is what one of the MAI specialists declared about Cătălin Ghigea: “From my information, Ghigea has been involved in the story of the contract long time before the negotiations started. These negotiations were based on a contract draft provided by EADS and the negotiation committee also tried to modify it a little bit in favor of the Romanian part. From my information, this contract had been drawn one night in Ghigea’s office on Calea Victoriei St., by Ghigea and a MAI lawyer, Adrian Pătraşcu, who was sent there at Toma Zaharia’s order. Obviously, the contract was made in a hurry, in order to give an apparently official form to a business in which, for the main actors at that time, it mattered too little what was written there”.
The traitor Emilia Costin
Here, I have to give you the following information which should give some thought to the DNA prosecutors: Ghigea wasn’t the only person who planted EADS in the MAI camp. No. Rather than risk a possible failure of the business, EADS also bought Mrs. Chief Cms. Emilia Costin, president of the negotiation and evaluation committee. After signing the contract, the MAI Officer Emilia Costin was employed as Security Officer at CASSIDIAN, a division of … EADS-AIRBUS Defence & Space.
At bugle, general Carp
For example, this is how the negotiation meetings took place: the Romanian part sat at the table with 40 MAI representatives; the EADS part only with 5 specialists, headed by Thomas Hein. Sorry! Six, with Ghigea, and seven, with Emilia Costin, infiltrated agent in the negotiating committee, as president!!!
When negotiations were reaching a hot spot, girded by the stubbornness of the young Romanians, Cătălin Ghigea gave a phone and, completely accidentally, the general Gheorghe Carp showed up in the room. Well, Carp issued elevating speeches, pigmented with reproaches addressed to the stubborn ones or he suggested, between the lines, that the ones who prevent or delay the negotiations are poorly trained and maybe it would be better to seek other jobs for them.
Each time, general Carp reminded the assistance that the prime-minister Adrian Năstase follows the events with most attention. In fact, Ghigea and the MAI generals only wanted that the document was rapidly signed and assumed. Carp permanently told the committee that Romania was helped in this way. Nobody seemed interested of the content, of what they signed. A few times, the general Carp wasn’t available at Ghigea’s calls. Then, the general Toma Zaharia appeared in front of the committee, exposing the same stories. As a rule, the generals Zaharia or Carp showed up at the opening of the negotiation meetings and after an elevating introduction speech they disappeared rapidly, letting Gagiu to chair the debates. When there were fervent discussions, Carp showed up, shouting like a madman to the committee members.
Carp’s Attack
In order to understand the atmosphere of negotiating the EADS contract, I am offering you for reading a story that one officer of the MAI committee reported to us, episode that highlights the methods used by General Gheorghe Carp, in order to kneel the young specialists who were having … ideas.
As our source explained to us, one of the committee members had several objections, he moved in front. “Following the prolonged discussions between the representatives of the both parties, General Gheorghe Carp showed up in the negotiation room, to hold another motivating message. After Carp finished his elevating speech, with great nervousness, he looked around the room and stopped watching at the young carping located somewhere in the back of the 30 meters long hall. From where I was standing, close to the chair table, where general Carp was, I hardly distinguished the silhouette of the colleague.
– You, the one with the cream jacket, holding your head with the hands, you don’t understand anything. You have no idea what I’m talking here. What is your name? cried Carp.
The young man told his name and, ironically, also told the general that he understood very well what was discussed in the room. After a moment of general amazement, Carp started to scream at the “cream jacket”. The general’s words were flying with the Mach 3 speed. From the whistled words resulted that the ministry was giving him bread, that he should be aware of his role in the committee and if it didn’t suit him, the general would help him to find another job… We were all astonished by the shouts of the general, even the Germans remained speechless.
A unique fact happened then: while Carp was asking Gagiu which was the position of the “cream jacket” and was giving him orders to throw him out of the committee, the young man started to explain calmly what articles of law were broken. Strangely, Carp has listened for 10 minutes what “the cream jacket” said, then left the room nervously. However, he screamed near the door “I will check if the things are like this!” At the first break, general Carp reappeared and he started to brush the “cream jacket”, a sign that the young man was right” (…) “But do you know which was the real effect that gave us many thoughts and scared us terribly? A few days after, ‘the cream jacket’ was eliminated from the negotiation table and a disciplinary investigation was opened over him!”, explained a member of the MAI committee.
The Secret Services and EADS
Basically, excepting the six criteria, the General Toma Zaharia put together a team that worked in an environment of military seriousness and fairness, but served the interests of the MAI 2004 Organized Crime Group. And when some young people had bursts of intelligence, they were immediately anesthetized by generals Zaharia, Gagiu, but especially by the brawler Carp.
Is it possible that DGIPI, directed by Virgil “Fox” Ardelean, didn’t smell anything, didn’t understand the cheap trick planned by Toma Zaharia? Hasn’t anybody from SRI, SIE or DGIA observed that the members of the negotiation committee of the biggest MAI contract are innocent kids, easy to be manipulated due to the lack of experience? Or maybe Ghigea wasn’t on his own head, in front of the negotiation table?
Well, ladies and gentlemen taxpayers, I ASSURE you that the main Romanian secret services, DGIPI, SRI, SIE and DGIA had one “undercover agent” in the MAI committee. Where do I have this information? Because ALL the services listed above were legally called to provide consultancy to the MAI commission!
N.B.: For example, from DGIPI side, the officer Cristinel Ungureanu participated to the negotiation meetings and signed the official documents.
Six questions:
- Was Cătălin Ghigea the spy planted by any Romanian secret service in the EADS Fraud?
- Did Virgil Ardelean, the chief of DGIPI, know about the betrayal of the negotiation commission chair, Officer Emilia Costin?
- Why hasn’t DNA called, so far, the generals Zaharia, Carp and Gagiu for hearings?
- Why hasn’t DNA called, so far, for hearings, the members of the negotiation committee, headed by President Emilia Costin, but also Simona Panait, the director of COMICEX?
- DNA delays this file. Why?
- Whom do the prosecutors of Codruţa Kovesi want to protect?
P.S. ATTENTION! It is intended to cover-up the EADS Fraud. The motive? Due to a state strategy reason, in order not to disturb the relationship between Romania and Germany. Basically, it is intended to carbon copy the method through which it was buried the scandal of purchasing British frigates by the Romanian Military Navy from the company BAE Systems, which had bought them as scrap from the British Defense Ministry, only for 200.000 pounds. Who was the main beneficiary from covering-up a business of 116 million pounds? Lord William Bach, the Minister of Defense at that time!
Material published by Mihai Pâlşu in the national newspaper Puterea on the 10th of February 2015 – Translation by M. T.
