How Costel Corduneanu became, from a high performance athlete, in Romania’s most feared underworld. His clan, built on the model of the rockets of the former USSR | News, News Romania | Freedom

At the end of January this year, 24 of the 27 members of the Corduneanu clan tried in an organized crime case escaped, after the facts were prescribed, classified or not proven, Hotnews wrote, citing Adevărul. , At that time.

The people of Cordun had been accused of organizing at the level and carrying out “vast criminal activity, ranging from blackmail, theft, real estate or banking crimes, fraud.”

Costel Corduneanu, the head of the clan, did not escape sentence at the time, but was not sent to prison for “blackmail, robbery, real estate or banking crimes, fraud” but because he spied on his ex-wife. Specifically, he paid a hacker to “break” his laptop to find out if he was video chatting.

He turned himself in to the police in Iași on January 30, 2020, in order to execute the three years in prison to which he had been sentenced. The other day, however, he was released on parole. It ran seven months and a little.

He says he wants to start a “legal business”

Shortly after his release, Corduneanu spoke about his time behind bars with journalists from the Bună Ziua Iași newspaper.

I never said that I was not wrong. I admitted my mistakes. I was imprisoned, and after my release it was found that the fact for which I was imprisoned does not exist. (…) It means that I was judged by my name, by Corduneanu, not by the fact.

Costel Corduneanu:

“I want to get out of this world. I was an athlete, I did beautiful things. I was wrong, I paid for my mistakes. I don’t want to anymore! I’ve had enough! I want to do legal business, not have to deal with anything. (…) People say that we are a clan, that we are part of the mafia and I don’t know what. We are not a clan, we are a family. We don’t kill anyone. In fact, we also react when they provoke us, but that’s all, “said the leader of the group. of the underworld by BZI.

The rise of Costel Corduneanu

Costel Corduneanu was born into a family with 11 children and entered the wrestling section of the Nicolina Sports Club in Iaşi as a child.

“He was naturally gifted with the physical skills necessary to perform in this sport, but without courage and bravery, you are already defeated,” said Gheorghe Broşteanu, his coach, according to the Adevărul daily.

Corduneanu was a cadet world champion and participated in two editions of the Olympic Games, where he ranked ninth – Barcelona, ​​1992, respectively 14th place – Atlanta, 1996. In 1996, his brother, Gheorghe, also participated in the Olympic Games in Atlanta. Corduneanu, who was seventh in wrestling, 48 kg category.

Here is Corduneanu during a competition:

During this period, the current head of Corduneni became friends with prominent Romanian sports personalities: fencer Laura Badea, boxers Francisc Vaştag and Leonard Doroftei.

He gave up his sports career for money

In theory, Costel Corduneanu was on the “right side of the law” for a time: being a wrestling champion, he was hired at the rank of non-commissioned officer at the Steaua and Dinamo Brasov clubs, from which he retired in 2002.

Basically the Corduneni clan “operating” since the early 90s, Costel was, most likely, a noncommissioned officer in Steaua and Dinamo, and part of the criminal group. The former coach also explains why: lack of money. Costel no longer wanted to be poor.

“Because the money earned in the battles in the country was very little, Costel fought for teams from Switzerland and Germany, from September to December, and still managed. In the end, the material deficiencies turned out to be too great and Costel he took this path ”, revealed the Corduneanu coach to the Adevărul newspaper.

The Corduneanu Clan Bases

The Corduneni clan began to take root in 1992. Initially, the group included only 7 brothers from the Corduneanu family, but before long, the number of members increased. The network expanded not only outside the family, but also outside the country, reaching people from Italy, France, Germany or Poland.

Soon, in the countries where they operated, members of the clan began to commit increasingly reckless robberies and act “mob-style”: threats, beatings, human trafficking, drugs, weapons.

The Corduneni clan, modeled after the rockets of the former USSR

A 1994 episode focuses on Costel Corduneanu. At the time, Costel was still a high-performance athlete. Along with several former athletes, including Giani Gogol, Ioan Pandeli, Călin Ștefan, and Corneliu Ignat, Corduneanu robbed two families from a Polish city.

The researchers said they were organized on the model of rocket groups in the former USSR. An article in Ziarul de Iași also describes how to operate: the gang members were armed to the teeth with ninja swords, knives, metal sticks, nunceakuri, and electric shock devices.

Boxer Giani Gogol said he was a victim of the Corduneni clan, not its accomplices, and told local press how the group acted.

“Costel Corduneanu asked me to go to Poland to help him solve a problem. From what I understand, he had a conflict with a group of Romanians. There is mourning there, the gangs fight to remove children who know how to steal,” explained Giani Gogol, according to Ziarul de Iași.

The “lieutenants” tattooed the name of the clan leader

In 2002, Costel Corduneanu married Alina Bogdan and changed her name to Constantin Bogdan. Then he gradually became the boss of the mafia-like network, initially structured on the principle of belonging to the family.

The watchwords in the underworld are obedience and respect. Vasile Călin, a former Corduneanu, had Constantin Bogdan’s name – “COSTEL” tattooed on his chest.

Over time, the leader of the group began to avoid his direct participation in the shares, becoming a negotiator.

The clan, “educated” in various areas, from acts of violence to trafficking of live meat and real estate

The most important case of the Corduneanu clan was investigated in 2010. At that time, the Corduneans were accused of organizing in theaters and carrying out “vast criminal activity, ranging from blackmail, theft, real estate or banking crimes, fraud, etc. ” .

The network of thieves in Europe alone, spread over 30 countries, would have contributed hundreds of thousands of euros to the clan, according to prosecutors.

But after 10 years, the magistrates of the Cluj Court of Appeal decided to acquit 24 of the 27 thieves, claiming that the facts had expired or that there was insufficient evidence. Only three members of the Corduneanu clan were convicted, but the sentences were very small.

In 2015, in a report by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (Consortium of research centers, media and journalists operating in Eastern Europe, the Caucasus, Central Asia and Central America), the Corduneanu clan is considered a clan. crime in northern Romania ”.

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