Elche Court sentences former mayor of Santa Pola to six and a half years in prison

Section XI of the Elche-based Court sentenced Miguel Zaragoza, the former mayor of Santa Pola, to six and a half years in prison for malfeasance in conjunction with fraud (two years) and bribery (four and a half years) in the Gran Alacant Clinic case, following a complaint alleging labour patronage in favour of Popular Party members and his own sister, as well as exempting the company from the fee. Zaragoza is not the only person convicted; the ruling also finds the former Personnel Councillor, Jorge Perelló, and the clinic’s two managers, Fernando GS and Manuel RB, guilty and sentences them to the same prison terms for the same crimes, despite the fact that the latter two are considered necessary collaborators. The four must jointly and severally compensate the Santa Pola City Council for €109,371. The Gran Alacant Clinic has already paid €13,022. Pilar ZF, the councillor’s sister and partner, received a two-year and three-month prison sentence for being an accessory to bribery. The facility was also barred from obtaining any subsidies or tax breaks for the next four years. Three individuals were found not guilty: former councillor Loreto Cascales, Francisco Martín, and Antonio MG. The proceedings began with a complaint filed by the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office, and the City Council withdrew the accusations. It has taken more than a year to impose the penalty since the trial concluded.

The defendants Fernando G. S and Manuel RB worked as doctors in a private clinic in Gran Alacant on Avenida Escandinavia, according to the verdict. The former has worked there since 1989, while the latter had been a contractor since 2004. According to the verdict, the clinic “operated on municipal premises without paying any rent, nor did they pay for water, electricity, etc.” According to the ruling, after winning the elections in 2003, Zaragoza, who was mayor until 2015, approached the clinic and stated that “since they had been enjoying free use of the municipal premises, they should contribute to the hiring of an administrative assistant to provide services in the Social Security clinic that was to be opened in the same building and that Servasa was demanding from the City Council.” The councilman informed Fernando GS that the clinic’s administrative concession would be conditional on the appointment of an administrative assistant.

The granting process started the same month, with just Clínica Gran Alacant participating. The clinic was founded in March 2005 “in order to be eligible to participate in the award process.” It was controlled by defendants Manuel RB and Fernando GS, who served as administrator and attorney, respectively. On March 13th, 2006, the ten-year concession was granted. According to the agreement, the clinic would pay €10,920 per year, which may be countered or decreased by offering a medical service to manage temporary sick leave for municipal employees. The cost had to be paid in full for the first year, then in six-month payments. ” Despite knowing that they were in violation of the concession contract’s provisions, neither the mayor nor the Personnel Councillor “demanded compliance.” The clinic received three requests between 2008 and 2009 for noncompliance with the sick leave follow-up service. Without receiving a thorough response, Zaragoza and Perelló summoned the clinic’s administration to produce additional evidence because “they weren’t covering the fee, (…) going so far as to call them fools” during that meeting.

In August, the company abandoned the premises but left a consulting room available for a few hours per week, “which was not notified to the City Council.” The mayor and councillor decided “by mutual agreement” not to submit additional sick leave documents to the clinic due to “the concessionaire’s blatant failure to fulfil its obligation to monitor sick leave.” In 2012, the clinic’s floor space was lowered from 132 to 74 square metres, the cost was reduced to €6,176, and the sick leave monitoring service was replaced by a medical examination service. This alteration was implemented “with full awareness that the procedure was being followed de facto without proof in the file of a cause of public interest , without a hearing from the interested party, and without approval by the plenary session.” However, the fee was not paid.

The services now encompassed emergency treatment as well as general medicine. “This clause was breached by the concessionaire with the approval of the political leaders.” According to the verdict, the clinic was required to carry out improvement works totalling 10,842 euros, which the City Council paid to pass on to the concessionaire, but the money “was never claimed.” According to the verdict, the necessity to hire an administrative assistant “responded to the deliberate desire” of Zaragoza and Perelló to use their position to ensure that the clinic hired persons of their choice, which was completely supported by the concessionaire in exchange for not paying. “Those selected to work as assistants “were recruited because of their affinity or closeness to stated political leaders.”

Antonio MG succeeded Francisco MM, who had left the clinic on leave to join the PP’s 2011 candidate list and been elected councillor. The verdict stated that these two were unaware of the “false pact” between the politicians and the clinic. Therefore, they receive an acquittal. The third was Pilar ZF, a “politician’s sister and partner.” According to the decision, she “took advantage of her family relationship and stopped showing up to work without justification, knowing that she would face no negative consequences.” Despite not attending to work, she continued to receive her entire income from the clinic, which was agreed upon by the concessionaire in exchange for not having to execute her remaining contractual responsibilities.” City Hall employees filled her absence. Loreto Cascale, Gran Alacant’s councillor, was acquitted because she was unaware of the agreements reached by the now-convicted individuals.