Ex-minister gets 6 years

BUCHAREST, Romania — A court has handed a former Romanian tourism minister a six-year sentence for bribery and abuse of office connected to a boxing gala that she organized. The High Court of Cassation and Justice sentenced Elena Udrea Tuesday for the 2011 gala, which featured a fight between Romanian-Canadian boxer Lucian Bute and Jean-Paul Mendy of France. Prosecutors said Udrea, tourism minister from 2008-2012, illegally sponsored the gala with ministry funds, taking a 10 per cent commission from each contract. Former chairman of Romania’s Boxing Federation Rudel Obreja received a five-year sentence for tax evasion. Udrea’s assistant received three years for complicity to bribery. The ruling is not final and Udrea denies wrongdoing. Udrea gained notoriety due to her close relationship to former president Traian Basescu.