Prison sentences for five defendants
The Provincial Court of Alicante has handed down sentences against five people for crimes of administrative misconduct and fraud against the public administration, in the case known as Aguas de Calpe, linked to the award of works to renovate the municipality's water network in 2004. The ruling, made public on Thursday, brings to an end a case that has dragged on for twenty years.
The prison sentences range from seven to eleven months. Juan Roselló Martínez, a former PP councillor and provincial deputy, and his brother-in-law Francisco Artacho Tellado received eleven months in prison, the same sentence imposed on Francisco Zorrilla Soriano and José Alberto Mut Noguera, both responsible for running Aguas de Calpe, for a crime of administrative misconduct combined with fraud. Jesús Lara Santamaría, sole administrator of Obras Hidráulicas de Levante SL, was sentenced to seven months for fraud against the public administration.
Damages and acquittal on fraud charge
The court also requires the five convicted to jointly and severally pay compensation of close to €430,000 to Calp Town Council, although it acquits them of the fraud charge that the Public Prosecutor's Office had also demanded. The sentences imposed were reduced by the application of a highly qualified mitigating factor, as the court found there to have been excessive procedural delays accumulated over two decades of proceedings.
An award without competition
According to the ruling, the fraud consisted of directly awarding the works to Obras Hidráulicas de Levante SL, a company linked to the then-councillor's brother-in-law, without allowing other companies to compete, which caused a cost overrun that the judgment places at over one million euros. The court notes that this company had no experience in civil works, as it had previously been involved in mail and advertising distribution, and had changed its name and purpose barely a month before being awarded the contract, in February 2004.
The project, with a global budget of €4,721,100 excluding VAT, had initially been assigned to Aguas de Calpe, a company 40% owned by the Town Council, whose award was approved by the municipal council on 17 March 2004. The ruling clarifies that this initial award does not in itself constitute a criminal act. Financing of the work was to be provided by means of a quarterly tariff adjustment to be applied over five years.
In its ruling, the court described the conduct of those convicted as a "blatant, flagrant and glaring illegality". The sentence is not final and may be appealed by cassation to the Supreme Court.
