13.06.2014 Daily Mail: Rroma-palaces in Rumania accused to be built with criminal funds

Reilly (2014) reports the Rroma-palaces in Hunedoara, a city in central Romania. The magnificent buildings are said to be built almost exclusively with money from criminal activities. The same applies to the sports cars of the homeowners, who are also said to be paid for with criminal funds acquired in Great Britain. Reilly unmistakeably mixes political views on delinquent migrants with racist prejudices against Rroma. That there are also Rroma who successfully emerged from the system change, and made their money by clever trading activities in post-socialist capitalism, remains completely unmentioned. Instead, all owners of the magnificent buildings are accused to be part of criminal organizations. The Rroma palaces are now threatened by demolition due to lacking building permits: “Gaudy palaces suspected of being built by Romany criminal masterminds on the back of criminal gang activities in the UK and other European countries are facing demolition. Authorities in Hunedoara, a city in central-western Romania, are threatening to tear down the so-called ‘gypsy palaces’ dotting the region because all were built illegally, and many of them are safety hazards. Police believe most were constructed on the back of illicit criminal enterprises abroad.” As Reilly herself notes, the finding that the palaces were built with illegal funds are based on presumptions. Based on assumptions, one should not publish articles that put other people in the pillory.