The witness who testified this Wednesday in the Arrecife Courts in the case opened for the plot of illegal licenses of Playa Blanca assured that he has received threats from several businessmen. According to his testimony, a businessman told him "on several occasions to remain silent, that the swords were up."
During his statement, this witness provided specific data on the relationship between a Basque company and the former mayor of Yaiza, José Francisco Reyes, and gave the name of these businessmen. Thus, he mentioned Ricardo Sánchez, José Ramón Olaberría and Félix Leceta, who supposedly would have acted as an intermediary with the former mayor.
According to this witness, the businessmen gave 500,000 euros to José Francisco Reyes, in exchange for the granting of licenses to be able to build in the Playa Blanca Partial Plan. Even, supposedly, they even sent Christmas baskets to the former mayor, as well as to two other people related to the Consistory.
The witness was professionally and personally related to these three businessmen, especially with one of them. However, their relations deteriorated in 2009, according to his statement, because they began to distrust him due to the information he knew, and ended up distancing themselves. Thus, they feared that "he would comment on something he had heard, of the little he knew".
According to what he indicated before the judge of the Court of Instruction Number 2 of Arrecife, María Dolores García Benítez, and the prosecutor, Ignacio Stampa, these businessmen feared that he would betray them.
He reported it to the Prosecutor's Office
This witness reported these facts to the Prosecutor's Office, after the arrest on September 30, 2009 of José Francisco Reyes. According to his statement, he had previously thought about going to the Courts because "he did not like all that." However, after Reyes was arrested, he decided to do so "in case the information he had could be of interest."
In addition, he stated that after submitting the writing to the Prosecutor's Office he did not receive any threats, but that these arrived earlier. Although he indicated before the judge that he did not feel intimidated, he did say that he did not know "how far these coercions could go".
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[A witness declares that Reyes charged 500,000 euros from a businessman for licenses in the Playa Blanca Partial Plan->38499]