The trial for the illegal license of Costa Roja has been adjourned for sentencing 17 years after the former mayor of Yaiza, José Francisco Reyes, granted that permit to build more than 1,000 homes, 228 commercial premises and 2,559 parking spaces at the entrance to Playa Blanca.
The hearing was held this Tuesday in the Criminal Court number 3 of Arrecife in which the three defendants, José Francisco Reyes, Vicente Bartolomé and Antonio Lorenzo, and two experts have testified. In the course of the same, the two accusations, Cabildo and the private one, adhered to the Prosecutor's Office's request, which only asks for a sentence of three years and three months of disqualification for each one -which currently would not have practical effects-, as well as a fine of 3,960 euros.
The events occurred in 2006 when Reyes granted a license to the businessman Luis Lleó to build more than 1,000 homes, 228 commercial premises and 2,559 parking spaces at the entrance to Playa Blanca.
The City Council did not even request mandatory reports from the Cabildo and the Government of the Canary Islands and hid that license, which was finally revealed by La Voz in February 2007. From then on there were numerous warnings from the Island Corporation, but the three defendants continued with the execution file, which also ended up being approved.
Finally, after the Cabildo went to the courts, it managed to adopt precautionary measures, which prevented the execution of this macro-project.
The businessman who received that license, Luis Lleó, was also investigated in the case, although his indictment was finally dismissed, as no “sufficient evidence” of the payment of a bribe was found. However, Lleó was convicted of bribery in the Unión case, which began with an attempted bribe linked to this same plot.
