A Romanian loan shark has been fatally stabbed outside his home in eastern Romania in what was apparently a revenge killing.
The attacker stabbed the victim in the neck and stomach on Thursday evening before fleeing in a car.
The suspected killer Armin Bălăucă, 28, known locally as Bitzy. was caught several hours after the stabbing and arrested, police said. Bitzy’s brother knew the deceased.
According to local reports, the deceased wanted to take possession of an apartment he owned in exchange for a loan he hadn’t paid back.
The brother buckled under the threats, fled to Austria where he apparently committed suicide.
The crime was revenge for his death. Bitzy waited for the victim outside the apartment building where he lived in the eastern port of Galati.
The 39-year-old victim was a well-known mobster called“Gabi the Boss” and a member of a local gang.
He gained notoriety in early 2000s after a fight he had with Marian Ivan , then the chief mobster in Galati. In 2008, he was stabbed to death by a rival mobster Newsweek.ro reported.
‘Gabi’ often went to the Netherlands where he bought cars to bring back to Romania, the outlet said.
He was sentenced to prison for pimping and illegal money lending. He was recently released
The area was full of local residents and children who were playing at the time, reports said.
Neighbors called 112 and the victim was transported to hospital. Medics were unable to resuscitate him. The suspect was caught several hours later.
Liliana Istrate, a prosecutor investigating the case said the suspect said there was a conflict between him and the victim over property. The victim was trying to gain ownership of an apartment owned by the aggressor’s brother, she told Antena3.ro.
Prosecutors at the Galati county are investigating the suspect on charges of homicide and disturbing public order.
