The Public Prosecutor's Office has reduced the prison sentence it was seeking for the former auditor of the Arrecife City Council, Carlos Sáenz, from six years to one year within the framework of the alleged corruption plot of the Montecarlo case. The final report of the Prosecutor's Office has reflected the agreement reached between Sáenz's defense and the Public Prosecutor's Office, where two mitigating factors concur: confession and undue delays in the judicial process.
The Public Prosecutor's Office has maintained its request for prison sentences of between three and six years for the manager of Tunera Producciones, Eduardo Ferrer, the former Finance Councilor José Montelongo (PSOE), the former Culture and Neighborhoods Councilor Lorenzo Lemaur (PP), the former Finance Councilor Isabel Martinón (PNL); and the former Councilors of Festivities Eduardo Lasso (PIL) and Víctor Sanginés (PSOE).
In addition to the political representatives, the accusation extends to municipal workers Miguel Ángel Leal, Blas Cedrés, José Nieves, and Francisco Hernández.
Paid for Services Never Rendered
The Public Prosecutor's Office representative has maintained that, at least between 2009 and 2012, Sáenz and Ferrer carried out a series of actions so that the latter would obtain funds from the council, mainly with payments for services never rendered, others that violated public procurement regulations, and others that were made under the protection of plenary agreements.
The Prosecutor's Office argues that the municipal officials did not accredit compliance with the work nor did they hinder the amounts claimed by the company.
For her part, the City Council's lawyer has stated that this is not an isolated case and that "in Arrecife, it seems that a culture of impunity has taken hold." In this regard, she indicated that the revitalization project was an "artifice" for the diversion of public funds and assured that it was the businessman who set the "cultural agenda" of the municipality.
