More executive prosecutions at Odessa City Hall

Only a few days ago I mentioned the arrest of Deputy Mayor Mykola Ilchenko for what I assumed at the time would be accepting bribes.

This would seem to be the case as he was arrested under Section 3 of Article 368 of the Criminal Code which to cut a long story short is used for those taking large scale bribes.

As stated the Odessa Mayor who was in Kyiv at the time, either by coincidence or by design (and whether his design or that of the police we will probably never know), subsequently made a statement supporting his subordinate claiming there was some mistake or misunderstanding.

Unfortunately for the Odessa Mayor, Deputy Mayors Chernenko and Orlov can now be added to that mistake or misunderstanding as they too will be arrested under the same section of the same Article when they can be found.

Orlov is apparently in Spain on holiday and Chernenko’s whereabouts are unknown.  So who is running Odessa with three Deputy Mayors absent?  Good question as according to Anna Osypchuk, media spokeswoman for Odessa City Hall, the Odessa Mayor is in Kyiv.

At a time of an obvious political crisis in Odessa City Hall, why is the Odessa Mayor in Kyiv?

When three of your Deputy Mayors are under investigation by the PGO (and you have to ask how many Deputy Mayors you need), is it possible that one should consider their position?  Should one stand by his colleagues and maintain faith in them whilst investigations get under way?  Should one sacrifice his subordinates, maneuver oneself into a position of driving force against corruption within the Odessa political elite in order to take some of the political plaudits for cleaning up City Hall?

It seems any answers you may have should be sent to the Odessa Mayor in……Kyiv.