Pressone: A former chief of an anti-drug, retired policeman, invited as an expert on TV and radio, plagiarized both doctoral theses

Cătălin Țone, a retired policeman, who is currently remunerated by the National Anti-Doping Agency, subordinated to the Government of Romania, now constantly invited as a TV & and radio shows on drug trafficking and consumption, has plagiarized into two doctoral works, shows a Presson investigation.

According to the quoted source, Țone, former head of the Anti -Drug Service in the Capital Police and permanently invited in the TV studios as an expert in combating drug trafficking and consumption, obtained two doctor titles, in 2011, at a distance of only 36 days: one from the “Al. I. Cuza” Police Academy, the other at the National University “Carol I”.

The two doctoral theses “have an identical content of over 40%, self -plagiarized text, and over 70% plagiarized text – and do not include any original research corpus, an indispensable legal condition for obtaining a doctor title”, according to Pressone, who studied the two scientific works and published their transcribed content.

The central theme of both works is the same: drug trafficking and consumption, the field in which Țone worked as a policeman for almost two decades, occupying exclusively leadership positions.

In addition to the high percentage of identical content and the identity of many footnotes, in the two theses are the same writing mistakes, including the word “Exxperitis”.

“The case could enter the history of the academic fraud in Romania as illustration of the way in which two military universities-which have acquired their national notoriety through an endless series of plagiarism-granted almost simultaneously doctor titles for two doctoral theses based on almost identical content and, in addition, plagiarized in a proportion,” Sărcan and Luiza Popovici.

After retiring at the age of 48, the double doctor Cătălin Țone started his speaker career and guest on TV & Radio on subjects related to drug trafficking and use, according to the quoted source.

Cătălin Țone transmitted in writing to the Presson editor, in a text of over six pages, that he “has evidence that this journalistic investigation is initiated and supported by a group of people involved in promoting the recreational legalization of cannabis”.

Also, the retired policeman threatened to sue Presson and request moral damages if “in the articles published by me, you will use terms such as” plagiarism “,” academic fraud “and others similar”.

Pressone wrote that on Monday he shows the evidence that the “two theses have 40% identical content”, and on Tuesday “will show that both doctoral theses of Cătălin Țone, currently a senior adviser relieved by the National Anti-Doping Agency, are plagiarized in proportion of over 70% of other authors.”