Alternativa Ciudadana filed a complaint with the Prosecutor's Office this Monday against the advisor of the Arrecife City Council, José Domingo Hernández (PSOE), whom they accuse of billing the Consistory in recent years around 500,000 euros "violating the legal regulations established for contracting with public entities."
This complaint also extends to eight other people, including politicians and workers, who they consider responsible for these contracts. Alternativa has preferred not to give the names of these people, until the Prosecutor's Office speaks and says if there is a crime. However, it would affect both the current government group, as well as the previous one headed by Cándido Reguera and the one presided over by Enrique Pérez Parrilla.
The formation considers that these nine people could have committed alleged crimes of omission of duty to prosecute crimes, prevarication, bribery, embezzlement, influence peddling and negotiation and activities prohibited to public officials.
Councilors Domingo García and Blanca Blancas have stated in a press conference that José Domingo Hernández created the companies Musilan Producciones S.L. and Producciones Calarasi S.L. "with the sole purpose of contracting with the Arrecife City Council." "He dedicated himself to billing for various commercial matters such as street, musical and electricity shows. In most cases, the contracts were awarded through verbal contracts, a fact expressly prohibited by law," these two councilors have warned.
In this sense, they have indicated that the City Council made the payments "through invoices that were presented for collection and were paid without any prior control by the control bodies of the City Council." "This was done without contracts to protect the award of the service," they insisted.
"The exclusivity of the services"
But, in addition, Alternativa Ciudadana has assured that there was also another way of proceeding and that was to "award contracts through the negotiated procedure without publicity and without giving the possibility to other companies." In this way, according to this party, Hernández's companies were granted "the practical exclusivity of these services."
For Alternativa, the "extreme seriousness" of the situation is increased by the fact that during "a time of that period of service" to the Arrecife City Council, Hernández was in turn a public worker with a contract as temporary staff of confidence, "a fact that is perfectly classified as an activity prohibited to officials in article 144 of the Penal Code."
The two companies and their billing
The formation has detailed several invoices and has indicated that one of the companies, Musilan Producciones S.L., billed between 2006 and 2009 the amount of 323,095 euros "in payments recognized by the Treasury, without any recognized contracts of any kind between the company and the Arrecife City Council." "It can be seen how different invoices are passed for collection for the same service," the two councilors have pointed out, who have warned that this was done to "divide the cost of the service into two invoices."
On the other hand, Alternativa points out in its complaint to the Prosecutor's Office that José Domingo Hernández, as the sole owner of Producciones Calarasi S.L., billed the City Council from 2010, when the Municipal Tourist Market was created. When this activity was launched, initiatives began to be carried out by Hernández "without any type of public tender or contract."
"Everything was done through verbal agreements. The services provided were paid with simple invoices that were passed for collection, again without any prior control," they stated during the press conference, in which they pointed out that in February 2011 a minor contract was signed and another in June 2012. "These activities meant a total cost of 135,859 euros for the City Council," the councilors stated.
Detailed invoices
In this sense, they have detailed several invoices such as the one of June 3, 2011 for the donkey rides that were offered in this Tourist Market and also for the exhibition of several goats for a total of 4,700 euros. There is also an invoice for the performance of parrandas on February 7, 2013 for a value of 5,020 euros. Likewise, according to Alternativa, there is another one of February 10, 2012 for placing inflatables that amounts to 2,770 euros.
And they have also detailed another one that "draws their attention of January 15, 2011 and for a value of 8,400 euros as rental of Christmas light motifs. "This company had nothing to do with electrical issues. It is not known if this work was carried out," they have insisted. Likewise, they have indicated that for the concert that Hernández organized of Chayanne in Arrecife, he billed the City Council 7,220 euros as tickets. "Did the Corporation go to the concert with tickets paid with public money?" they have asked.
Likewise, Alternativa Ciudadana has indicated that months after José Domingo Hernández created Producciones Calarasi S.L. "he apparently appointed his sentimental partner" as general administrator. Faced with all these facts, the formation considers that Hernández exercised "a professional activity for his own benefit" as a temporary worker of the Arrecife City Council, "while masking his relationship with the company Producciones Calarasi by interposing a person, with whom he maintains an intimate relationship, when in reality he is the sole partner of the company."
The government group, "aware" of the facts
Alternativa Ciudadana has not only filed this complaint against José Domingo Hernández, but will also extend it to eight other people. And it is that the party considers that the members of the government group "cannot claim ignorance, since they are the ones who have a direct relationship with him."
Therefore, it considers that "municipal officials are responsible for having been consenting to this commercial relationship lasting, causing the City Council an important economic outlay." "All these facts have been occurring with knowledge, consent and collaboration" of the government group, according to Blanca Blancas and Domingo García.
But, in addition, the two councilors have indicated to the media that there is a report from the Secretary and another from the municipal Comptroller on the alleged irregularity of the billing and contracting procedure to the company Producciones Calarasi S.L. "It may give rise to the demand for administrative, patrimonial, criminal or civil responsibilities derived from the crime, in which authorities and personnel at the service of the administrations could incur," these reports indicated, according to Alternativa.
