UNA CU NATURA
The assassination attempt at Râul Alb did not fall from the sky like an unfortunate accident on a random Sunday in May 2015. When pieced together, the events leading up to the attempted murder resemble a diabolical scenario, orchestrated mafia-style.
The media lynching erupted just as the business we had been working on for years was finally taking shape. We had gone through all the required stages: feasibility studies, public debate, and obtaining environmental permits. Even though the agitators knew from official responses that the projects were legally approved and environmentally compliant, they escalated their media attacks through a campaign of defamation and harassment that began in 2014 and continues to this day (video 4.1).
In autumn 2014, we informed authorities that we had begun construction on the two micro-hydropower plants (MHCs), for which we held all legally obtained permits and authorizations. By the end of that year, I learned that members of the NGO Efectul Fluture, Călin Dejeu and Roxana Pencea Brădățan, had started bombarding authorities with complaints in an attempt to block the Râul Alb investments. That’s when I decided to halt construction until all institutional inspections were complete.
“Only the NGO's version was ever publicized by the so-called 'eco press'—never the actual situation as reflected in the documents submitted to the authorities,”
— said Georgeta Barabaș, Director of APM Hunedoara.
From November 2014, Călin Dejeu began showing up at Râul Alb. He knew full well that construction had stopped. Furthermore, the “biologist” from Cluj found a local informant, Luca Sălășan, who admitted during hearings that he monitored the site at Dejeu’s request. Sălășan passed by the area 7–8 times, reporting that the site remained unchanged.
So why didn’t they stop when they saw we had halted construction?
As explained in Episode 3, the answer came in March 2015, when a friend of Dejeu’s approached me, offering to take over the project or buy it altogether. This friend had already built two MHCs in Cugir and one in Baru Mare—projects you never heard about from Dejeu’s activist group, because no complaints were ever filed against them.
Since I refused their proposal, Dejeu escalated the lynching campaign with a wave of defamatory articles. Former USR Senator Mihai Goțiu, Dejeu’s cousin, was also pulled into the manipulation game to stir up national outrage. On March 9, 2015, Goțiu posted on Facebook:
“LET’S DO THIS! Micro-hydropower plants have now taken over the Dinosaur Park in Hațeg, one of Romania’s last wild floodplains. For half a year, a Cluj-based biologist named Călin Dejeu has been pestering the authorities with complaints, gathering signatures, and even alerting the international community. Sign the petition and spread the word. They need to know we’re watching them (and not just watching).” (doc.1)
"And not just watching"? Well, two months later, on May 24, 2015, one of these "activists" attempted murder.
To sabotage our project, the following joined the “environmentalist” group:
Alin Andrioni, Luca Sălășan, Vasile Leordean, Sara Leordean, and Dacian Muntean—forming the local team. Andrioni was already notorious in the area for harassing public figures.
Before the attempted murder on May 24, 2015, Andrioni had already made headlines in local press for his repeated scandals. He typically targeted individuals who stood in the way of his interests, looking for any reason to compromise them. One example comes from Ziarul Hunedoreanului, which detailed how he harassed Densuș Mayor Traian Bugari:
“Alin Andrioni followed the mayor to his home, accusing him of misusing the town hall vehicle for personal purposes. Eventually, the mayor lost his temper and threatened Andrioni with a pitchfork. Bugari later expressed regret, saying:
‘I lost my cool, but I couldn’t take it anymore. I’ve been provoked multiple times by this individual, even during town council meetings.’”
Andrioni, known locally as “The Hațeg Justice Crusader”, ran multiple times for mayor and parliament, always losing disastrously—and not without controversy. Every campaign he joined ended in scandal, usually started by him (article 1).
His public stunts, posted on his YouTube channel (May 11, 2015) (video 2), and sites like cioaravopsita.ro (doc.2), speak volumes about his thirst for public notoriety and electoral capital.
On March 28, 2015, Andrioni descended on the Râul Alb project site together with Mihai Goțiu, Florin Delinescu, Dacian Munteanu, and Laura Vesa. He instigated his group on social media to mobilize and block the project:
“Hațeg Geopark: green light for destroying protected nature! I love Țara Hațegului for real, unlike others... only for their gain! United, we can block this project!”
— Alin Andrioni (doc.3)
Goțiu continued his attacks, calling me a violent mafioso in articles and Facebook posts. Călin Dejeu added:
“This valley is patrolled mafia-style by the company owner and ‘volunteers’ with clubs and dogs. I’ve filed a criminal complaint for illegal deforestation. Authorities do nothing.”
Romania Curată received photos from two young “activists” who claimed to be assaulted while trying to hike into the area. They accused a local councilor and two others of blocking them. (art. 2.)
On April 27, 2015, Goțiu published another article in romaniacurata.ro, asserting that the Râul Alb MHCs would “destroy the future of Romania”:
“This is a textbook example of how our country’s future is being shredded by petty interests, ignorance, and blatant violations of national and EU environmental laws... including illegal logging and near-dynamiting of one of Romania’s last untouched rivers.”
The comment section reveals the tone of incitement:
Mariana (April 27, 2015, 13:50): “Correct! When do we hit the streets? May 3rd?”
Mariana (13:59): “Thanks, Mihai Goțiu! What can be done with these signatures? Let’s gather more than 50 people to storm the construction site—until a scandal breaks out. The rivers and mountains belong to all of us. Let’s take them back. The scandal will be aired on Nașu TV.”
Corneliu Zeana (18:05): “We must oppose this anti-nature project with everything we have!”
This article was the “trigger” that unleashed a new wave of hate online. People rallied to come in large numbers to our Râul Alb site and cause disruption.
The # propaganda campaign adopted the slogan:
“We’re taking our country back” – a remake of the 1990s “We’re not selling our country” slogan.
Just like back then, the phrase served to distract from the real looting.
This time, the slogan fed civic terrorism, and it worked:
Several teams of provocateurs repeatedly came to Râul Alb to harass us systematically.
Their methods were textbook #Rezist tactics:
Film the target,
Provoke them,
Edit and distribute manipulated footage on social media to portray the victim negatively.
Later, the so-called “aggressions” and “massive deforestation” were proven false.
No illegal logging.
No dynamited riverbanks.
Even the logs referenced by the accusers were legally harvested by local forest associations and the town hall, based on authorized cutting documents (doc.4).
On May 24, 2015, the day of the assassination attempt, the same strategy was used:
The “eco-activists” had cameras in three locations, filming before we even arrived at the site.
When I stopped the ATV, one of the agitators—Vasile Leordean—punched the windshield and began provoking violence without any clear reason.
This is evident in their own footage.
