The Prosecutor's Office is asking for the former socialist mayor of Arrecife, José Montelongo, 10 years in prison within the two parts of the Montecarlo case in which he is accused, for the period in which he was in charge of the Department of Finance. For the comptroller of the capital's City Council, Carlos Sáenz, involved in the 3 parts, requests 27 years and 6 months in prison. This is reflected in the accusation writings of prosecutor Ignacio Stampa on the three parts of the Montecarlo case that Judge Ricardo Fiestras closed at the end of April, related to payments to Tunera, Inelcon, Gestecal, Progestril and Recingest. In total, more than twenty people are accused.
Among those accused included in the prosecutor's writings are politicians and former politicians, municipal officials and workers, and suppliers. Among the political positions and former positions are several former councilors of Festivities and Finance of the capital's Consistory. One of them is Eduardo Lasso, former councilor of Festivities of Arrecife (PIL) accused in both the Tunera and Inelcon parts and for whom prosecutor Ignacio Stampa is asking for a total of 9 years and 9 months in prison, in addition to 18 years of disqualification.
Another of the former councilors, in this case of Finance, is José Miguel Rodríguez, who is accused in the Montecarlo part, the one that gave the case its name, and which deals with payments to Gestecal, Progestril and Recingest. For Rodríguez, who was already convicted of embezzlement of public funds and prevarication in a part of the Unión case, the prosecutor is asking for 1 year in prison and 3 years of absolute disqualification. Another of the former councilors of Finance accused, in her case in the Tunera and Inelcon parts, is Isabel Martinón (PNL), who faces a request for 8 years and 3 months in prison and a total of 18 years of disqualification. For the former councilor of Festivities Victor Sanginés (PSOE), also accused in Tunera and Inelcon, he is asking for a total of 8 years in prison and 17 and a half years of disqualification.
Also accused in the Tunera part is a former councilor of Culture, Lorenzo Lemaur (PP), with a request for 4 years and 6 months in prison and 9 years of disqualification. Alberto Morales (PSOE), who was councilor of Works, faces 5 years in prison and 8 years and 6 months of disqualification. For another of those former politicians, the prosecutor is asking for the partial provisional dismissal of the proceedings. This is Víctor Betancort, former socialist councilor, who was one of the last to join the list of defendants in the Inelcon part and to be summoned to testify before the closure of the investigation. The prosecutor believes that "there are not enough elements to sustain the concurrence of the subjective element of injustice in the acts imputed to him".
Request for 15 and a half years in prison for José Vicente Montesinos
One of the highest prison requests is for the businessman José Vicente Montesinos, related to the companies Gestecal, Progestril and Recingest and who is accused in the part related to payments to those companies. The prosecutor is asking for him 15 and a half years in prison and 10 of absolute disqualification. In that same part, the businessman Javier Betancort faces a request for 5 years and 10 months in prison and 10 of absolute disqualification, while for the lawyer Federico Toledo it is 4 years and 10 months and 10 years of absolute disqualification.
Also accused is the owner of Tunera Producciones, Eduardo Ferrer, for whom the prosecutor requests 6 years in prison and 10 of absolute disqualification. On the other hand, the owner of Inelcon Carlos Lemes faces a request for 6 years in prison and 10 of disqualification.
The prosecutor also formulates an accusation against various municipal workers and officials. In the Tunera and Inelcon parts, the coordinator of Festivities José Nieves is accused, for whom he is asking for a total of 9 years and 9 months in prison and 18 years of disqualification, and the sociocultural animator Miguel Ángel Leal, to whom he requests 9 years and 6 months in prison and a total of 17 and a half years of disqualification. The official Blas Cedrés faces a request for 3 years and 4 months in prison and 6 years of absolute disqualification in the Tunera part and the official Francisco Hernández Betancort to 3 years in prison and 9 of disqualification for public office.
Finally, in the Inelcon part, the official José Antonio Cabrera and the subordinate Isidro Hernández are accused, with a request for each of 4 years and 9 months in prison and disqualification of 8 years. Finally, the prosecutor is asking for the technician Penélope Tabares 5 years in prison and 8 and a half of absolute disqualification.
Civil liability and fines
In addition to asking for prison sentences and disqualification, in his accusation writings the prosecutor also requests that the investigated pay different amounts in concept of civil liability, that is, that in case they are convicted they compensate the City Council of Arrecife for the allegedly embezzled money. He claims that they pay jointly and severally among themselves, so he asks for a maximum limit amount for each one. The highest amounts are those he asks for the comptroller of Arrecife, who if convicted for the three parts should pay almost 1.3 million euros in total. The amount he asks for José Montelongo is more than 386,000 euros, while for José Vicente Montesinos he requests 310,544 euros.
In addition, Ignacio Stampa also asks for fines for Carlos Sáenz and José Vicente Montesinos in the Montecarlo part, related to payments to the three companies of Montesinos. Specifically, he requests fines worth 770,000 euros for each one.
The prosecutor qualifies the facts that are investigated in these three parts of the Montecarlo case as alleged crimes of embezzlement and/or fraud against the administration, prevarication and documentary falsification. In addition, to these are added in the part of the payments to the companies of Montesinos, those of bribery, money laundering and crime against the administration of justice of willful professional disloyalty.
According to the writings, the City Council would have paid millions of euros to all those companies without following the established contracting procedures and, in many cases, with "inflated" invoices or even for services that had not even been provided.
