Alena Zs led to court in Banská Bystrica, end of September 2018 (source: SITA)
The ex-mayor of the southern-Slovak town of Hurbanovo, László Basternák, has reappeared in connection with the more recent killing of journalist Ján Kuciak and his fiancée, Martina Kušnírová.
An international investigative media team is continuing Kuciak’s work. The website for which the murdered journalist was writing, Aktuality.sk, reported on October 11 – in cooperation with the Trend weekly – that one name involved in the murder case, Alena Zs., was also mentioned in the case of the mysterious murder of Hurbanovo ex-mayor and mayoral candidate, László Basternák, back in 2010.
"Deadly" election fight
In a fierce election fight, when his rival Roman Ostružlík promised to send him behind bars, Basternák was shot down in front of his house while his wife was present. His son ran out of the house and shot at the hitman. The man was injured and later found in an abandoned hut in the village of Gabčíkovo. Evidence proved his guilt and the assassin, Štefan Kaluz, who got shot in his arm, was sentenced to 25 years in prison.
The shooting from July 9, 2010 was the third attempt, this time successful, at killing Basternák.
During the investigation, two names surfaced: Alena Zs. and Zoltán A. However, they have never faced any criminal prosecution, despite knowing Ostružlík and supporting him in his smear election campaign. The mayoral candidate failed in the Hurbanovo election after Basternák died, paid the two for their financial investment in his campaign and left politics.
Currently, he says he regrets ever having entered politics, Aktuality.sk quoted him.
It is not clear who hired Kaluz, who first showed interest in testifying, but after being refused trial behind closed doors, remained silent. One of the traces leads to Alena Zs. Kaluz worked for a security company of a Bratislava gang member, so this trace cannot be excluded, either.
Police refuse to comment on the case, the website summed up.
