UPDATE: Dan Diaconescu was sentenced Wednesday by the Court of Appeal to five years and six months in prison to serve for the blackmailing of Ion Mot, former mayor of the Zarand commune and of businessman Paul Peter Ţârdea .
The Court of Appeal decided that, in addition to imprisonment sentence to serve, the PP-DD founder is also banned from conducting any activity in the media, as an additional penalty for a period of five years after serving his sentence for five years and six months.
The magistrates decided in the case of the OTV founder that the time he spent in custody, ie from 22 to 25 June 2010 shall be deducted from the overall penalty to serve.
Doru Pârv, former OTV program producer has been convicted in the same case file to a penalty of four years to serve, he is also banned from conducting any activity in the mass-media for a period of five years after he served his sentence.
Dan Diaconescu learns today if he is convicted in the case in which he is accused of blackmail. The High Court of Cassation and Justice will deliver its final decision after the court had sentenced him earlier 3 years in jail. Prosecutors have asked the Supreme Court to increase this penalty.
In the first instance, Dan Diaconescu was sentenced to three years in prison in the case he is accused of allegedly having threatened a mayor of a commune in Arad county that he would make public certain information and had allegedly extorted him. The mayor had to give Dan Diaconescu 200 thousand euros not to make any compromising disclosures about him. 4 years ago he was taken into custody for 29 days in this case, but he was subsequently released.
Dan Diaconescu entered the public life as a journalist, but later acceded into politics. He ran for a seat in Parliament in the same constituency as Victor Ponta, being defeated by the latter.
3 years ago, he was declared the winner of the majority stake held by the Ministry with the Oltchim chemical plant. Dan Diaconescu has not paid in time to become the owner of the plant, so that, after several days of televised circus, and bags money showed on TV, the tender was canceled.
As a journalist, his show ratings grew especially after the death of lawyer Elodia Ghinescu. On the OTV, his talk-show "Dan Diaconescu Live" has reached impressive audience. There were, however, less pleasant moments. During a program broadcast he was put into a trash dumpster by Tolea Ciumac, who was angry that he had accused him of having kidnapped his ex-wife Magda Ciumac.
Now, the TV producer could go to jail. Prosecutors have asked for an increase of the 3 years penalty on charges of threat and blackmail.