Romanian Mayor Pulls Plug on TV Investigation

TV sets in Navodari, a town on Romania's Black Sea coast, went black on Sunday night only minutes before the TV station Antena 3 was to start airing an investigation into the local authorities.

"We have clear evidence that the mayor ordered the cable to be literally cut throughout the town. At first I thought this was a joke, but in the end it proved true," journalist Alex Nedea, who made the investigation, said.

Four of the five cable TV providers in Navodari were affected. Only one company could air transmissions as its cables are buried underground, according to media reports.

Nedea's investigation shows how a summer camp in Navodari has become a ruin after a close friend of mayor Nicolae Matei bought it. Matei has refused to comment on the incident.

Matei is one of a new breed of Romanian local leaders who have maintained their political capital at local level despite being convicted of corruption.