Retracted confessions threaten corruption trial
Judges asked not to admit police phone tap evidence
ANOTHER of the massive Brugal trials – investigating alleged corruption between politicians and businesspeople in Alicante province – is also on the verge of collapse.
Last month all 34 suspects, including ex-mayors of Orihuela Mónica Lorente and José Manuel Medina, were acquitted of rigging the tender for the municipal rubbish collection and street cleaning contract, because most of the evidence obtained from police phone taps was ruled inadmissible. Now the case alleging that two ex-mayors of Alicante, Sonia Castedo and Luis Díaz Alperi modified the Town Plan (PGOU) between 2007 and 2010 to suit the interests of construction magnate Enrique Ortiz in return for bribes, is facing the same problem.
This is because the accusations against them were based on the content of conversations recorded by the National Police for the Orihuela case.
Even though in April Sr Ortiz reached a plea bargain with the prosecution service, for which he confessed in exchange for a reduced sentence of just two years and a €1.6 million fine, he asked to retract this after the verdict of the first trial was revealed. On Tuesday, the three judges of the provincial court hearing this case dismissed the arguments of the anticorruption prosecutor that Sr Ortiz’s confession was ‘irrevocable’.
They took just 10 minutes to rule that he was entitled to take this completely unprecedented action and defend his innocence instead.
The prosecutor alleges that the ex-mayors accepted bribes, including various quantities of cash, a Mini Cooper car and expenses-paid trips to Andorra, Ibiza and Crete.
He is calling for Sra Castedo to be given 10 years in prison, and Sr Alperi 10 years and two months for disclosing privileged information, bribery and influence peddling; and for Sr Ortiz to be given eight years in prison for influence peddling and bribery.
Also facing trial in the case are Elche-based constructor Ramón Salvador; the partners of law firm Salvetti Abogados, Javier Gutiérrez and José Luis Castedo (the ex-mayoress’ brother); and three people connected to Sr Ortiz’s company: his brother, Virgilio Ortiz, Santiago Bernáldez and Pablo Rico. Only Sr Salvador has ratified the confession he made in return for a reduced sentence of three months and a €14,500 fine, while Virgilio Ortiz and Sr Bernáldez also retracted theirs.
Sra Castedo’s defence then asked the judges not to admit the police phone tap evidence against her, or any of the subsequent decrees of the court that investigated the case, on the grounds that due process had not been followed.
The trial will continue on July 7 when the rest of the accused will be able to present their preliminary arguments.