The trial of Operation Jable, the last piece to be judged within the framework of the Unión case, is maintained and will begin next Monday, April 17, in the Second Section of the Provincial Court of Las Palmas, in a total of eight days that would be held entirely in Gran Canaria and would conclude, if there are no changes, on May 31.
This case dates back to the beginning of the century and has been delayed almost eight years after the closure of the investigation. The case stems from the alleged rigging of the public tender through which the Arrecife City Council awarded the companies Urbaser and FCC works in exchange for alleged cash payments or in the form of "gifts" or presents.
As reported by the Provincial Court, the first session of the trial, which will begin at 9.30 am in the City of Justice of Las Palmas, will be responsible for resolving preliminary issues and there will be no interrogation of the accused, "although it is possible that agreements will be reached, or at least that possibility will be offered." In addition, it has added that the scheduled dates may vary and these changes will be announced in the public hearing itself.
The Court maintains the hearing despite the fact that, as La Voz reported, the defense lawyer of the former mayor of Arrecife, Isabel Déniz, one of the 15 accused, submitted a document to the Court in which she requested the suspension of the oral hearing for health reasons.
It should be remembered that Isabel Déniz's defense lawyer is José María Calero Martínez, who in a previous case defended the former president of the Cabildo de Lanzarote, Pedro San Ginés in the Montaña Roja case. In addition, he is the uncle of Ignacio Calatayud, charged in the San Ginés case.
In addition, on April 12, two senior Urbaser officials, Manuel de Andrés Martínez and Santiago Alonso, confessed to having committed bribery by bribing public representatives and officials to obtain tenders in favor of their company. Likewise, both have reported that they will collaborate with Justice and have paid a total of 220,000 euros as a fine.
In this last piece of the Unión case, Isabel Déniz remains as accused and faces the Public Prosecutor's request to sentence her to 13 years in prison and 52 years of disqualification, as well as a fine of 363,355 euros. The Prosecutor's Office accuses Déniz of intervening in the awards to the companies Urbaser and FCC and in the revisions of contracts. In exchange, she would have demanded "important" sums of money in cash.
In this line, Déniz would have received gifts and cash payments from Urbaser, a trip to Kenya with another investigated, the lawyer Felipe Fernández Camero, with their respective partners. In addition, 80,000 euros in cash, a living room furniture, a Rolex, a Loewe bag or tickets for the opera. In the same line, the former mayor of Arrecife would have received from the company FCC trips to Marrakech for her and eight members of her family.
Along with Déniz, the former secretary of the Arrecife City Council, Felipe Fernández Camero, remains as accused, who was in charge of legally advising the consistory and was part of the contracting table. The Prosecutor's Office is asking for 11 years and six months in prison for him, as well as 18 years of disqualification.
Another of the accused is the former president of the Cabildo de Lanzarote and founder of the Party of Independents of Lanzarote, Dimas Martín. The Public Prosecutor's Office requests 13 years in prison and 52 years of disqualification for Martín. In the case, the former directors of Urbaser Santiago Alonso and Manuel Andrés de Martínez also continue as accused, for whom the Prosecutor's Office is asking for 10 years and two months in prison, as well as five years of disqualification for each one. Likewise, other former senior officials of Urbaser such as Francisco José Martínez, Stephan Jean Antoine or Jacinco Álvarez continue to be investigated.
In addition, directors of FCC such as Enrique Astorga and Enrique José Hernández. As well as people related to the company Gamma Install: Manuel Jesús Isidro Spínola, Julio Romero, Daniel Hernández Caraballo or Rafael Antonio Corujo. As well as the former head of the Technical Office Rafael Arrocha and the former socialist secretary Miguel Ángel Leal.
To conclude, as participants for lucrative purposes remain the partners of Isabel Déniz and Dimas Martín.
