Nicolae Moromete, widely known as Maromet or Maromete (13 May 1912 – ?), was a Romanian communist activist, prison official, and Securitate officer, infamous for his role in political repression under the communist regime. He was born to a poor peasant family in the west of Muntenia, and was orphaned by World War I. He worked menial jobs and had only a primary-level education. As a teenager, he joined the Romanian Land Forces, eventually becoming skilled in handling field telephones. Returning to civilian life later in the interwar, he worked as a street sweeper and as a janitor in Bucharest. He was deployed with his army unit for most of World War II: he initially served on the Eastern Front, where he earned a medal; after the anti-fascist coup of 1944, he saw action against Nazi Germany.
During the mid-to-late 1940s, Moromete observed the ascent of the Romanian Communist Party, joined its ranks, and trained as a political commissar. Though interrupted by allegations of sexual misconduct, his own rise was confirmed in 1947–1948, when he entered the Securitate branches handling political prisoners. He became infamous during his time as warden of Jilava (1949–1952), when he introduced varied and widespread methods of torture, personally intervening in humiliating and beating up his captives; his criminal negligence possibly led to the deaths of various high-profile inmates, including Mircea Vulcănescu. Moromete applied similar methods as warden at Galați (1952–1954); here, he was subject to a formal investigation over claims that he had caused the deaths of many other prisoners, but the prosecutors dropped the case. In his defense, he stated allegations against other Securitate officials, suggesting that he had always been threatened by them not to show any mercy.
Still subject to formal warnings, Moromete was sent to work in a secondary position at Văcărești Prison. He was however fully reintegrated and, in 1956–1958, presided over the Chilia Veche labor camp, giving him control over large portions of the Danube Delta. The high death rate of such facilities, and additional revelations about his acts of cruelty, pushed the Securitate to investigate. He was quietly removed from active duty, then disappeared from public records—without ever having been put on trial. Prison survivors maintained a hope that he would eventually be captured, while conserving his image in works of literature and folklore. Several sources suggest that he was spotted working as a cinema usher, while one rumor has it that he was killed off by common criminals.
Biography Early life Nicolae Moromete was born to destitute farmers in Valea Ungureni, then part of Argeș County (currently in Olt County), on 13 May 1912. He was the youngest of five brothers. They were all orphaned soon after, when their mother Maria died (the father, Gheorghe, had already fallen in the campaigns of World War I). Diana Popa, "Nicolae Moromete, torționarul bâlbâit care a adus moarte pe unde a trecut. Delta Dunării era supranumită 'țara lui Maromet'", in Ziua de Constanța, 6 February 2025 The boy graduated from the village primary school. Though he later recalled that nobody had helped him during his stay there, he became the only one of his family who could even read and write.Lăcătușu, p. 116 He then worked in Valea Ungureni as a swineherd and day laborer.Lăcătușu, p. 116 Hostile accounts by his victims suggest that Moromete had a stutter.Gheorghe Marin, "Lungul drum al detenției politice: 9.I.1949 – 29.IV.1954", in Suflet Nou, Vol. XXIV, Issue 5, May 2016, p. 21"Biografia", pp. 52–54; Jelea, p. 171; Lăcătușu, p. 123 In such records, he is also described as a "Gypsy"Jelea, p. 171 or a GagauzSergiu Popescu, "Procesul comunismului. Iadul de la Midia", in România Liberă, 15 May 1991, p. 5 by birth. Former inmate Remus Radina suggests instead that he was a Romanian, though one who stood for "the very dregs and scum of this nation"."Biografia", p. 51 The "Moromete" surname, famously but coincidentally used throughout Marin Preda's 1950s novel, is Romanian, and geographically linked to areas of Muntenia and Oltenia.Cristinel Munteanu, "Itinerar lexical. Despre caracterul motivat al numelor proprii din opera literară", in Limba Română, Vol. XVIII, Issues 7–8, 2008, p. 74; Florian Saiu, "Moromete, povestea unui (supra)nume faimos", in Jurnalul Național, 17 April 2025 The warden was widely known as "Maromet" or "Maromete". Though officially registered as "Moromete" in the 1950s, he is believed by historians Mircea Stănescu and Dumitru Lăcătușu to have originally used the surname "Maromet".Lăcătușu, p. 116
In 1929, the young man went to Pitești, enlisting as a camp follower in the Romanian Land Forces (6th Artillery Regiment).Lăcătușu, p. 116 In 1934–1935, Moromete did his regular military service, with the 11th Transmissions Battalion in Bucharest.Lăcătușu, pp. 116–117Mihail Bumbeș, Dumitru Lăcătușu, "Maromet, portret de torționar. Unul dintre cei mai feroce criminali ai regimului comunist a fost Nicolae Moromete, intrat în memoria deținuților politici sub numele de Maromet", in Evenimentul Zilei, 28 November 2006, p. 18 Upon his honorable discharge, he failed to return home—and instead found a job as a street-sweeper.Lăcătușu, p. 117 He was sacked in 1937, after a dispute with a better-positioned colleague. By his own account, he had refused to pay up a bribe in order to keep his job.Lăcătușu, p. 117 The Bucharest city government allowed him back, and then promoted him to janitor."Biografia", pp. 50, 52; Lăcătușu, p. 117
Moromete was again drafted in 1941, when the Romanian Kingdom, governed by Ion Antonescu, had formed an alliance with Nazi Germany. As such, Moromete served with distinction on the Eastern Front. Returning to 11th Transmissions Battalion, Moromete operated field telephones in the siege of Odessa, the Crimean campaign, and the defense of the Don Bend.Lăcătușu, p. 117 For his courage under fire, he received a "Valor and Faith" medal.Lăcătușu, pp. 117–118 During wartime, Moromete liked to boast that he had fought in skirmishes with the Soviet partisans, but his battalion commander, Colonel Săceanu, and a fellow soldier both clarified during a 1952 inquest that no such fighting had taken place. Săceanu additionally recalled that Moromete used to depict himself as a Holocaust perpetrator, claiming to have killed several Soviet Jews—lining them up so that four or five of them could be shot with a single bullet; Săceanu himself did not believe that this was true.Lăcătușu, pp. 118–119
According to a testimony provided by another fellow soldier, "Maromet" was persuaded by Soviet propaganda that the war was useless, and suggested that they collectively surrender to the Red Army. While he sees the claim as doubtful, Lăcătușu argues that it speaks to the quickly changing loyalties of the rural and urban underclass.Lăcătușu, p. 118 Eventually, the anti-fascist coup of August 1944 saw Romania engaged alongside the Allies, and Moromete serving against both Germany and Nazified Hungary. In late 1944, he and his unit reached Budapest.Lăcătușu, p. 118 The Soviet occupation of Romania, meanwhile, facilitated the rise of the Romanian Communist Party (PCR, later PMR). LăcătușuLăcătușu, pp. 120, 122, 131 and journalist Diana Popa both describe Moromete as one in a class of natural-born communist torturers, attracted into the movement, and its violent side, by the promise of social recognition. Discharged from the army as a corporal and returning to work as a janitor,Lăcătușu, p. 118 he joined the PCR in 1945, being one of the first city-hall employees to make that move.Lăcătușu, p. 120 His recruitment was arranged by Boris Rancev, who believed that Moromete would help him confront the Yellow Sector's "inimical elements", grouped around a former mayor, Alex Iorgulescu.Lăcătușu, p. 120
Moromete graduated from a school for political commissars, and in short time, was named secretary of the PCR Yellow-Sector chapter.Lăcătușu, pp. 121, 122 Upon infiltrating the local administrative apparatus, he intercepted letters that a mayoral clerk had sent to the British Embassy, and presented them to Rancev.Lăcătușu, p. 121 In 1946, the PCR's mayoral sections came to be supervised by the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MAI), itself led by communist Teohari Georgescu. Sent in to assist in the process, Coman Stoilescu found that Moromete was "attached to the working-class struggle", but was also alarmed by one act of brutality: Moromete had arrested a suspected profiteer, whom he then paraded around town with a sign tied to his neck.Lăcătușu, p. 121 In 1947, he was assigned commissar in the Corps of Municipal Guards. His activity had been poorly rated by PCR superiors, who accused him of immorality in office. More specifically, he allegedly promised advancement to cleaning ladies, in exchange for sex.Lăcătușu, p. 121 The PCR leadership had him removed, and he was forced to undergo retraining at a party venue in Constanța.Lăcătușu, pp. 121–122 He was then made ideological instructor of the prison guards, subordinate to the MAI—with this, he began his involvement with the penal system. By 1948, he was a salaried head guard at Văcărești Prison.Lăcătușu, p. 122 In March 1949, as the communist regime was taking hold and mass imprisonments of political opponents began, he was made first-level guard of Jilava Prison.Lăcătușu, pp. 122, 128 He was then promoted to commander of the guard.
Jilava warden
Holding the rank of Securitate captain, Moromete became warden of Jilava in May 1949.Jelea, p. 170 As "Maromete Nicolae", on 23 August 1949 he also received the Star of the People's Republic for his outstanding services to the Securitate."Lista celor decorați cu Ordinul «Steaua Republicii Populare Române»", in România Liberă, 23 August 1949, p. 7. See also Jelea, p. 64 During his tenure, he was assisted by officers Alexandru Vișinescu and Traian Ivănică,Lăcătușu, p. 123 as well as by others (known only as Fătu, Geamănu, Gutman, and Sabău).Jelea, pp. 113, 120, 133, 171, 244 As head of this hierarchy, Moromete was ordered by the PMR and the Prison Directorate to decrease living standards, to apply corporal punishments, and to prevent prisoners from receiving mail. He himself acknowledged this in an explanatory memorandum of 1955. Various reports suggest that he applied himself to such tasks with unusual zeal, personally beating his inmates and addressing them with profanities."Biografia", pp. 50–51; Ciuceanu, pp. 289–291
Jilava inmate Constantin Cesianu recalls that all new prisoners were made to run the gauntlet, which was Moromete's way of introducing himself and his team.Lăcătușu, p. 123 Other forms of corporal punishment followed them throughout their prison experience. Gabriel Țepelea of the opposition National Peasants' Party reported having been tied to a punishment bench that Moromete and his subordinates carried around with them. They would use maces on their victims, only setting them free when they were crying in pain. As Țepelea recounts, Dimitrie Bejan, a Romanian Orthodox priest, confounded Moromete by quietly enduring the ordeal.Cristina Chirvasie, "Să se știe și să nu se uite. Părintele Dimitrie Bejan, Martir și Mărturisitor", in Memoria. Revista Gândirii Arestate, Issue 121, 2022, p. 64 Moromete's speech impediment made him hard to understand at times, but he tried to obtain his victims' undivided attention by carrying around a hoe handle, with which he bludgeoned those who did not respond in time."Biografia", pp. 52–53 In several instances, he lined the inmates up and jumped over them on horseback.Jelea, p. 171