The Criminal Court of Arrecife has sentenced the former mayor of Yaiza and current councilor of the PNL, José Francisco Reyes, to ten years of political disqualification after finding him guilty of a crime of urban planning malfeasance in the granting of a license on rustic land. In addition, he has been imposed a fine of 24 months at a rate of 36 euros per day, which means the payment of almost 26,000 euros.
In [the sentence->25917], it is considered proven that Reyes authorized the works to transform an old house into a restaurant, despite knowing that it was located on rustic land and therefore could not authorize it without requesting the pertinent territorial classification from the Cabildo. When the Court required that classification after receiving the complaint from a neighbor, the Corporation responded negatively.
During the oral hearing, [held last Monday, March 9->25433], the Prosecutor argued that up to three municipal technicians, in addition to the secretary and the president of the Cabildo, warned him that it was rustic land, but even so, Reyes granted the license.
In the ruling, the Court has imposed in full the penalty initially requested by the Prosecutor's Office in terms of disqualification and the fine. However, it has not heeded the request that the prosecutor added during the trial, also demanding two years in prison for the former mayor of Yaiza. The lack of a criminal record has been one of the factors that have avoided the prison sentence.
In this regard, judicial sources maintain that this first conviction could weigh on the rest of the processes that José Francisco Reyes still has pending. And it is that in case of being declared guilty again, when imposing the penalty, this first sentence against him could be taken into account.
The ruling is not yet final and can be appealed but, if ratified, Reyes will have to abandon his position as councilor in the City Council.
Doesn't remember, doesn't understand
During the trial, the former mayor literally declared that he did not read the reports he signed on the granting of the license and that, "in general", he does not read the documents. "I trust the officials and technicians, who are the ones who understand", he affirmed, adding that "even if I read them, I will understand little because I don't understand urban planning or that type of laws". But those reports that he says he did not read, at no time endorsed the granting of that license, as the prosecutor underlined.
Faced with the requirements of the prosecution and the judge herself, Reyes continued during the hearing with his own explanations. "I imagine that the land was urban because it is surrounded by houses", he pointed out. And when the judge asked him who he blamed for the events, his answer was that no one, and that he limited himself to saying the system that exists for granting licenses. "Had something like this happened to you before?", insisted the head of the Court. "I don't remember, I don't know", replied the former mayor.
According to Reyes, the requests entered the General Registry of the City Council, then passed to the Technical Office and were passed on to him later with the opinion, "whether it is positive or negative".
The facts
The facts for which José Francisco Reyes has been convicted date back to 2004 and the process began after a neighbor's complaint. Specifically, a resident of Yaiza, José Eugenio Camacho, requested a building permit and an opening permit for a restaurant in the town center. The property, about 200 years old, [was located on rustic land for territorial protection, and therefore the change of use from housing to restaurant was not allowed.->7830]
As the prosecutor defended, the Court points out that, in any case, the works required a positive territorial classification by the Cabildo of Lanzarote and said permission was not requested, despite the fact that the mayor was warned that it was necessary.
Thus, the ruling dismisses the arguments of the defense lawyer, Felipe Fernández Camero, who argued that even if it were rustic land for territorial protection, the Cabildo's classification would not be necessary.
The first on the list
The next trial that will bring José Francisco Reyes to the dock is very similar to the one that has just ended in conviction. And it is that in both cases, the essence is that he authorized works on rustic land, ignoring the Island Plan.
Specifically, in the following case that he must face, he is accused of granting nine licenses to the entity Casas Conejeras S. L. for the construction of homes on a rustic farm of 12,500 square meters, adjacent to the road that connects the towns of Femés and Las Breñas. The Prosecutor's Office maintains that both the subdivision and the license are irregular, so it considers that the former mayor of Yaiza incurred in a continued crime against land management, and asks for 9 years of disqualification.
But in addition, he has pending cases of greater magnitude and gravity. One of them, linked to the granting of the license for the thousand homes, with which he authorized the construction of almost one million square meters in which to locate more than 4,000 new residents, the equivalent of the entire population of Tinajo and, without a doubt, the largest residential complex in all of Playa Blanca. The other, and the most important, the criminal investigation opened for the massive granting of tourist licenses between 1998 and 2003.
Within the framework of that investigation, which is still open, the Court ordered the Special Police Unit for the fight against organized crime to investigate the patrimonial movements of the mayor's environment, because it considers that the investigated facts in this case would not be reduced to crimes of malfeasance, but also of bribery, influence peddling and money laundering. And it is that he suspects that by authorizing around 10,000 new tourist beds in the south of the island, going against even the municipal reports themselves, Reyes could have obtained a patrimonial benefit.
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[Full text of the sentence->25917]
