‘Gives bad name to every refugee:’ Romanian man nabbed in Manitoba sentenced in Prairies theft ring

A Romanian man facing imminent deportation after becoming involved in a theft ring operating across the Prairies has stained the reputation of all refugees who come to Canada seeking a better life, a judge said.

“There are individuals who come to Canada on a regular basis in order to seek protection, that come here to be members of our society that add to our community,” Dauphin provincial court Judge Christina Cheater said at a recent sentencing hearing for 49-year-old Vasile Mazarache.

“Mr. Mazarache gives a bad name to every refugee who shows up on Canadian soil,” Cheater said.

Mazarache was one of three men arrested on April 17 after suspects walked out of a Dauphin Walmart with more than $3,000 worth of stolen electronics.

Court heard a store manager, who recognized the suspects as the same men who had stolen $9,000 worth of electronics from the store one month earlier, called 911 before following the men in his car to Riding Mountain National Park, where park wardens set up a roadblock near Audy Lake and the men were captured.

Mazarache was found with a “large stack” of $20 bills in his pocket, $1,040 cash in his wallet and $3,700 in international currency, Crown attorney Tim Chudy told court. From the trio’s Nissan Rogue, police seized a “significant amount” of Apple-brand electronics, including iPhones and tablets, as well as high-end clothing and cosmetics.

Police quickly linked Mazarache’s two co-accused, Florin Chelu and Remus Ion, and their vehicle, to a series of similar electronics heists in Saskatchewan and Alberta.

A day before their arrest at Riding Mountain, Mazarache, Chelu and Ion were in Flin Flon, where community members were dealing with raging forest fires and road closures. The trio used the opportunity to shoplift food from the town Co-op grocery store, court was told. That same day, Chelu allegedly stole $6,000 worth of electronics from the local Walmart.

Mazarache pleaded guilty to several counts of theft and possession of stolen property and was sentenced to six months in jail.

The sentence, which was jointly recommended by the Crown and defence, will trigger automatic deportation proceedings, with no avenue for appeal.

Mazarache was employed as a labourer in Romania but after receiving a pacemaker was unable to continue working in that capacity, his lawyer Myles Davis told court.

Mazarache came to Canada last February claiming refugee status, and after a short period in detention, met his two co-accused, who promised to help him find work, Davis said.

“They provided him a ride to Manitoba and that’s where he became involved in the crimes,” he said. “He regrets the decision he made while in Canada and he wants to return to Romania.”

Cheater said she took Mazarache’s claim he came to Canada looking for work “with a grain of salt.”

“I find it incredibly hard to believe that Mr. Mazarache, in a short period of time, became involved in a calculated, premeditated theft ring,” she said. “Their blatant crime wave across western Canada brought international attention to our small town.”

Cheater said she agreed with the joint recommendation “because it is appropriate and it will open the door for Mr. Mazarache to leave.”

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Dean Pritchard
Courts reporter

Dean Pritchard is courts reporter for the Free Press. He has covered the justice system since 1999, working for the Brandon Sun and Winnipeg Sun before joining the Free Press in 2019. Read more about Dean.

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