{"id":34962,"date":"2023-05-31T13:25:49","date_gmt":"2023-05-31T11:25:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/riseproject.ro\/projects\/the-tate-brothers-split-the-money-they-make-from-gambling-with-an-organized-crime-syndicate\/"},"modified":"2023-05-31T13:25:49","modified_gmt":"2023-05-31T11:25:49","slug":"the-tate-brothers-split-the-money-they-make-from-gambling-with-an-organized-crime-syndicate","status":"publish","type":"projects","link":"https:\/\/www.riseproject.ro\/en\/projects\/the-tate-brothers-split-the-money-they-make-from-gambling-with-an-organized-crime-syndicate\/","title":{"rendered":"The Tate Brothers Split the Money They Make from Casinos with an Organized Crime Syndicate"},"content":{"rendered":"

We found six casinos off of which the brothers Andrew and Tristan Tate are making money in Romania.\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

The <\/b>Brits are linked with the largest organized crime brotherhood in Romania\u2019s recent history: the DMS Family<\/b>.\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

The members of the group have a rich criminal history: accusations for having planned assassinations, drug trafficking, loansharking, recovering debts, violent street fights, but also financial property frauds.\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The iron fist brotherhood<\/b><\/h2>\n

Last year, C\u0103t\u0103lin Bi\u021b\u0103, a chav from Pa\u0219cani, Ia\u0219i County, started making money off a few slot-machines at a Las Vegas gambling venue in Berceni, south Bucharest.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Bi\u021b\u0103 was not left to his own devices in Berceni, the headquarters of one of the most fearsome local organized crime groups \u2013 Clanul Sportivilor<\/span>. <\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The Bucharest group is also famous for the protection taxes it cashes in from businessmen who want to make money in their area. Some have been strangled, electrocuted, or sweated bullets with a gun to their head.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As such, Bi\u021b\u0103 was walking in a minefield.<\/span><\/p>\n

The last time when a Ia\u0219i county native got into a fight with Bucharest mobsters, a house exploded<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But Bi\u021b\u0103 was safe.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

His hammer-sized fist displays a tattoo that speaks to his status as a member of another group: the DMS Family.<\/span><\/p>\n

One month later, on December 1, 2022, Romania\u2019s national day, the controversial influencer Andrew Tate was celebrating his own birthday with a big fat contract.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Talisman Enterprises, the company he controlled, together with his brother Tristan, was going to make money in the same location as Bi\u021b\u0103.<\/span><\/p>\n

Both the mobster and the<\/span> Tate brothers were cashing in from slot-machines at the same Las Vegas casino.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Bi\u021b\u0103 and his wife have just been summoned by anti-mafia prosecutors<\/span> and accused of holding a key positions in the DMS organization<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n

A month prior to the Tate brothers\u2019 arrest, in November 2022, over 100 members of the group all over the country had been raided by prosecutors in the mega-case regarding the Las Vegas casinos. <\/span><\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t the Brits\u2019 first rodeo on the gambling market. Their house shows it, too \u2013 the place where they brought girls to exclusive parties, only to impress them and later put them to work on the internet. Their villa is covered in matte black metal slides and red LED lights. It looks just like the Las Vegas gambling venue, where they make money alongside Bi\u021b\u0103.<\/span><\/p>\n

RISE presents a first look at the Tate brothers\u2019 casinos and the businesses in which they partnered with Romania\u2019s most feared mobsters.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The DMS Family<\/b><\/h2>\n

A 2019 <\/span>l\u0103utari<\/span><\/i> party brought together <\/span>la cr\u00e8me de la cr\u00e8me <\/span><\/i>of Romanian organized crime landscape. <\/span>Manele<\/span><\/i> singer R\u0103zvan de la Pite\u0219ti was there, lining his pockets with cash. He sang whatever the mobsters desired.<\/span><\/p>\n

The loudest call during his performance came from \u0218pac, a dedication for \u201cthe light of his life,\u201d Box.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Both Box, aka Marian S\u00eerbu<\/span>, and Florin \u0218pac were on the payroll of Nu\u021bu C\u0103m\u0103taru (transl. The Loan Shark)<\/span> \u2013 an underworld leader who rules over organized crime in Bucharest\u2019s sector 5 and beyond<\/span>. \u201cA living legend,\u201d as the <\/span>l\u0103utari <\/span><\/i>sing his praises<\/span>. You can listen to him here in Romanian,<\/span> claiming a debt from a businessman who had borrowed money from him<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

At his orders, in September 2019, R\u0103zvan de la Pite\u0219ti delighted C\u0103m\u0103taru\u2019s lieutenants:<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Marian S\u00eerbu, aka Box, who has a fitting tattoo on his abdomen<\/span>, had just been released from prison<\/span>. He and \u0218pac had been best buddies for years.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Their current tattoos indicate they are now working for another group. They share a common marking \u2013 that of the DMS Family<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

So does Bi\u021b\u0103.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The family was also praised over the speakers at the christening party. \u0218pac yelled at the musician \u201cWe are a family! The DMS Family!\u201d<\/span> At the mobster\u2019s behest, the singer performed a rather unimaginative bit: \u201cEveryone should know! The DMS Family!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

There was another member of the DMS Family seated at the table \u2013 Costel Corduneanu. He\u2019s the head of the most violent clan in the Moldova region. He achieved a <\/span>vor v zakone<\/span><\/i> status. The Corduneanu clan has collected for dozens of crimes, from stabbing and blackmail to financial engineering and arson<\/span>. At least six soldiers of the Corduneanu clan were locked up by prosecutors in the Las Vegas mega-case.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Sitting next to Costel at the table, there was Lauren\u021biu Pletosu, his godson from Bra\u0219ov, across the Carpathian mountains<\/span>, another Las Vegas associate, who makes money off slot-machines in Bra\u0219ov.<\/span><\/p>\n

You can see him in these videos taken at a gym, where he attacked a local rival at knifepoint<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Corduneanu and Pletosu have known each other since at least 2001, when they attended kickboxing competitions together.<\/span> In their version of reality, Pletosu guards the citadel of Bra\u0219ov, where he once also owned the <\/span>Head and Tails<\/span> restaurant,<\/span> while Corduneanu watches over Ia\u0219i<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n

At another party with the same main characters, the host was the more famous <\/span>manele <\/span><\/i>star Florin Salam<\/span>. <\/span>Another Ia\u0219i mobster, also arrested by the anti-mafia prosecutors in the Las Vegas case, requested the following dedications:<\/span> \u201cFor Mih\u0103i\u021b\u0103 Polonezu (The Pole)! Thank you from the bottom of our hearts! The DMS Family! For \u0218pac! For our heart, Costel Corduneanu! \u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n