Former swimming fed chief Gyarfas, Portik sentenced to prison in 90s murder case
A Budapest court on Thursday sentenced Tamas Gyarfas, the former head of Hungary's swimming federation, to seven years in a maximum security prison and Tamas Portik, the one-time head of an oil company involved in illicit deals in the nineties, to life in prison for their involvement in the murder of Hungarian media mogul Janos Fenyo in 1998.
Gyarfas, a media businessman, was found guilty of complicity to commit murder, while Portik was convicted of instigating the murder. The Budapest Municipal Court banned both defendants for ten years from participating in public affairs.
Judge Peter Pota said the earliest Gyarfas could be released on parole was after serving four-fifths of his sentence. Portik could be eligible for parole in 20 years’ time at the earliest, he added.
According to the verdict, Gyarfas commissioned Portik and Peter Tasnadi, current convicts in connection with other cases, to kill Fenyo, his business rival. Portik hired Slovak criminal Jozef Rohac to carry out the murder, who then killed Fenyo on February 11, 1998.
