The Iași underworld figure, found shot in the forest, has died / The family gave consent for organ harvesting

Viorel Marian Oarză, a former professional boxer and a well-known figure in Iași’s underworld, died after being shot in the head on September 15 in a forest in Holboca commune, Iași County. The man had been hospitalized in critical condition at the Iași Neurosurgery Hospital, in a grade IV coma.

His family agreed to disconnect him from the life-support machines and to donate his organs. His son announced his death in a message posted on Facebook.

Oarză was found injured in the forest in Rusenii Noi after arriving there in a car with a friend. The friend heard a gunshot and found him gravely wounded. A pistol was found next to the victim and taken for forensic examination. Initial findings indicated a suicide attempt, but the investigation, coordinated by a prosecutor from the Prosecutor’s Office attached to the Iași Tribunal, is ongoing.

The former boxer was also known in Italy, where the press linked him to the “Brigada” group and attributed the nickname “Il Padrino” to him. In Romania, his name appeared in several criminal cases. In 2024, he received a final conviction in Iași after assaulting members of a jury at a boxing match.