The Criminal Court number two of Las Palmas has sentenced former CC national deputy, José Carlos Mauricio Rodríguez, to one year and three months in prison and a fine totaling 2,400 euros, as the author of a crime of forgery in an official document.
The same ruling imposes sentences of six months in prison and a fine of 1,800 euros on the dean of the Faculty of Economics of the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Juan Manuel Benítez del Rosario, and his sentimental partner, the Cuban Mayra Despagne Díez, as confessed perpetrators of the same crime of forgery.
The sentence considers it proven that Mauricio, Benítez and Díaz committed the forgery between October 2013 and November 2014. Mauricio prepared a false employment contract in favor of Despaigne in a foundation that the former politician presided over at that time, so that she, a Cuban national, would be granted the pertinent residence and work permit in Spain.
According to the ruling, Benítez del Rosario was aware that without a job offer, all the requirements for obtaining that permit for his partner would not be met, and that is why he used his friendship with the former national deputy to make a simulated contract through the Centro de Estudios Canarios Foundation. It was signed by Mauricio and Despaigne on November 20, 2014, and the residence permit arrived on January 12, 2015.
The sentence, however, is subject to appeal before the Audiencia for José Carlos Mauricio, who did not recognize the facts that were imputed to him and declared himself innocent of all charges. The other two defendants confessed their guilt to benefit from a reduction in the sentence, so the ruling for them is final.
