The Provincial Court of Las Palmas has sentenced the former mayor of Tinajo, Luis Perdomo, to six months in prison, as the responsible author of a crime of prevarication, for having allowed a work in the protected landscape of La Geria. Likewise, José Corujo Pérez and Andrés Cabrera García, who were accused of a crime against land management, have also been sentenced to six months in prison.
The Court considers as proven facts that Andrés Cabrera executed, between the years 1998 and 1999, rehabilitation and expansion works of a building located in the place known as "Combrillos", on land classified as rustic inside the protected landscape of La Geria, without having a license for it.
"The accused, knowing the protected condition of the land and being aware of the licenses and permits that had to be requested, territorial classification and municipal license, and being aware that he could not obtain them given the condition of the land and the absence of any construction project, decided nevertheless, with the intention of transgressing urban planning regulations, to undertake the aforementioned rehabilitation and expansion works, communicating his intention to the then Mayor of Tinajo, the also accused Luis Perdomo Rodríguez".
The other convicted, José Corujo, was in charge of carrying out the works with the company Construcciones Corujo. Corujo "was perfectly aware of the permits that were necessary for the execution of the works, as well as the absence of them" and still "accepted and executed the order", the sentence states.
It is also proven that the former mayor of Tinajo, Luis Perdomo, authorized the promoter, "orally" and with "total disregard for administrative regulations", for the execution of the works and ignored "the surveillance tasks that corresponded to him and of which he was prefectly aware", without "preventing the completion of the works and sanctioning them".
A new construction
The Court considers it proven that there was an old building in this place, which "was partly respected", but does not accept that it was a rehabilitation work, as the defenses claimed, since it is proven that "the surface has increased". "The works were not limited to the renovation of what already existed, tool rooms and straw rooms, according to the accused, where one could not live, when at present it constitutes his habitual residence", he adds
Moreover, Andrés Cabrera himself acknowledged that it was "a new construction" and that "he knew of the need to obtain municipal and Cabildo permits", an institution to which he addressed himself, but that, "as nobody gave him an answer, he commented it to the mayor, who gave him permission by word of mouth".
Thus, the court also considers that José Corujo, as a construction professional, "cannot ignore that a verbal permit cannot replace a license, no matter how much he says that he knew that in Tinajo the licenses were verbal".
For his part, the former mayor of Tinajo acknowledged that he had "given permission to Andrés for the conditioning of the bathroom and the kitchen", knowing that the house was "on rustic land". "This verbal license implies such a gross transgression of the law that the prevarication is obvious", determines the Court
Likewise, he adds that "it is equally gross" that Perdomo affirms that the mayor was unaware of the works, "because he did not pass by the place", taking into account the time he held his position and his relationship with Andrés Cabrera. "He could not ignore the place where the works were being executed, so he should have taken extreme control measures in order to preserve the protected area"
The construction will not be demolished
In this way, the former mayor of Tinajo has been sentenced to six months in prison and seven years of disqualification from employment and public office for a crime of prevarication.
For their part, Andrés Cabrera and José Corujo have been sentenced to six months in prison respectively, for a crime against land management, as well as to twelve months of fine with a daily fee of 10 euros, with subsidiary personal responsibility of one day of prison for every two unpaid fees and special disqualification to exercise their professions, for three years in the case of Andrés Cabrera and for seven in the case of José Corujo.
The Court has applied the minimum penalties due "to the lack of antecedents and undue delays". "The procedure has been developed for almost 11 years, with periods of absolute inactivity", says the Court, which explains that "almost three years passed from the reception of the files by the Criminal Court of Arrecife until the proposal of its possible incompetence" and that "the Bis Chamber had the proceedings in its possession for a year without carrying out any action".
Likewise, the Court believes that "it is not logical or understandable to agree to the demolition of the construction", as requested by the environmental association WWF Adena, appearing as a private prosecution, since in the vicinity of the house has been built "another building of larger dimensions, of which there seems to be no criminal proceedings". "Ordering the demolition of the work that now concerns us, would not restore the violated legal right that, equally, seems to have been violated by the nearby house"
