A violent criminal wanted in Italy for inflicting shocking abuse on vulnerable residents at a care facility has been found in Britain running a flooring firm after years on the run. Romanian Radu Gancean, 39, came to this country while facing prosecution in Italy and set up his company here six years ago, laying new floors in people’s homes.
Now he faces extradition to serve a five-year jail sentence for dishing out violent beatings and cruelty on his terrified victims at the L’Alveare (Beehive) of Torchianga, on the outskirts of Perugia, in the Umbria region of central Italy.
Care home branded a ‘concentration camp’
The remote care facility, which was shut down following the scandal, was branded a “concentration camp” by victims – who suffered with disabilities and mental health problems. A female resident had her wrist broken and nose squeezed so hard by Gancean that it bled.
Gancean, who was nicknamed “Bulldog” for his sadistic methods, was finally tracked down in Britain by officers from the National Crime Agency in June. He is currently in custody while facing extradition proceedings at Westminster Magistrates Court.
Five-year sentence on appeal
The fugitive was one of 10 staff at the L’Alveare home jailed on appeal in April 2024 for their part in systematic beatings and cruelty that shocked the Italian nation.
Gancean was handed a five-year jail sentence by a judge at the Appeal Court in Perugia in 2024 for “offences of Ill treatment and false imprisonment to care home residents.”
It was the stiffest punishment issued to any of the convicted care workers. He has four years and 11 months left to serve. But Gancean left the country before he was convicted and has been a wanted man ever since.
Arrest in Northampton
He is understood to have initially returned to his home town in Vulcan, Romania, before he was finally arrested at the three-bed house he shares with his wife in Northampton on June 17 following a request from the Italian government.
The Home Office declined to answer questions on how Gancean was able to gain entry into Britain. Its spokesperson said: “We do not routinely comment on individual cases.”
However, the Express can reveal that Gancean has been running a flooring business, RBG Diverse Ltd, since September 2020, indicating he has been in Britain for at least six years.
Customers across the Midlands, who invited him into their homes, had no idea about his shameful past and the risk he posed. He was praised as “polite” and “professional” in online reviews from satisfied clients.
Hidden cameras captured abuse
Italian police began a criminal investigation into the abuse claims at the L’Alveare home in 2016 after an anonymous compliant. Detectives planted hidden cameras inside the facility to gather more evidence of physical and mental torture.
Shocking footage of terrified residents being beaten with sticks, locked in rooms and enduring degrading treatment was captured. Patients had their arms twisted behind their backs, were thrown on the floor, pulled by their hair and ears, locked in rooms and left without meals.
Some victims even claimed they had their mouths covered with duct tape and forced to brush their teeth in an outdoor fountain during their ordeals.
Gancean was viewed by prosecutors as one of the main enforcers of the abuse which took place between 2014 and 2016.
He was accused of tying patients by their hands and feet, leaving them on the ground in a part of the centre known as the “horse field”. Gancean is also said to have poured water over an elderly woman’s face after she fell asleep in the home’s canteen.
“Such punishments were carried out as a form of punishment or as a tool of control against the guests,” said Sergio Sottani, Perugia’s Attorney General.
Gancean is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates Court on Wednesday.
