A notorious gangster known as Nutzu the Pawnbroker has been indicted for heading a gang charged with attempted murder, kidnapping, blackmail and illegally possessing weapons, but the public seems to be more interested in his pets: four lions and two bears.
Press reports, not confirmed by authorities have claimed that Ion Balint — his real name — use the lions to intimidate rivals and victims.
When he rode away from prison on a black stallion in 2010, Balint played up that fearsome image.
“You said I fed men to the lions?” Balint can be heard saying on a tape. “Why don’t you come over and I’ll give you some lions!”
Authorities won’t speculate about why Balint kept lions and bears, as well as thoroughbred horses and canaries, at his high-walled and heavily guarded estate in the poorest part of Bucharest.
“Many untruths are being reported,” Balint’s son-in-law Marius Vlad said, referring to other rumours of a torture chamber. Police removed the animals from the house.AP
