Dan Deșliu de pe aer", 1974). Starting in 1962 and particularly from 1970, he began to criticize the policies of the Romanian Communist Party, and as a result was placed under thorough surveillance by the Securitate secret police. In the 1980s, he turned toward open dissidence, repudiating his "revolutionary" past, quitting the party in 1980 and directly criticizing dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu, whom he accused of behaving as if he were "the owner of Romania". In March 1989, he sent an open letter to Radio Free Europe decrying the domestic situation in his country, prompting his placement under house arrest. An excellent swimmer,
Nicolae Matei as 57.5 ha woodlands. The estate was inherited by his male offspring, Virgiliu, but was expropriated in March 1949 after the rise to power of the communist regime. The Virgiliu's inheriter, Nicolae Matei, born in 1940, has partially recovered the Nicolae Matei's property and lives in Bogdăneşti, in the family's house. Eventually his offspring moved to Cork, Ireland where both his granddaughter Ruxandra Colan Petcu and his great-granddaughter Ioana Petcu-Colan have pursued careers as musicians. Nicolae Matei Nicolae Matei (1863–1933) was a Romanian politician who served as Deputy from 1905 to 1914 and as Senator from 1914 to 1933. He