The Court of Valencia has sentenced the former president of the Provincial Council of Valencia between 2007 and 2015, Alfonso Rus, to 5 years in prison and 14 years of disqualification for the continued crimes of embezzlement in competition with prevarication and document falsification.
The one who was also provincial president of the PP and mayor of to work.
Like Rus, the court has imposed the highest sentences (5 years in prison, 14 years of disqualification and a fine of 5,400 euros) to the former CEO of Ciegsa Máximo Caturla and the former manager of Imelsa Marcos Benavant, known as the money junkie.
According to the Superior Court of Justice of the Valencian Community, the Second Section of the Valencia Court has convicted 19 of the 25 defendants for irregularities in the hiring of managers, advisors and workers of the public companies Ciegsa and Imelsa between 2004 and 2015. and has acquitted six others.
The highest sentences have fallen on Rus, Caturla and Benavent and the rest of the accused, the Chamber sentences them to sentences ranging from four months of suspension from employment or public office to 4 years and 4 months in prison and 17 years and 6 months of disqualification
The sentence, which was notified this Friday to the parties, considers for all those convicted the mitigating circumstance of undue delays and can be appealed before the Civil and Criminal Chamber of the TSJCV.
In a statement, the Valencian High Court has indicated that the judicial resolution establishes compensation of up to 655,310 euros in favor of Ciegsa and more than 100,000 for Divalterra (successor company of Imelsa) as individual civil liability.
The magistrates consider the hiring of workers in these companies -Ciegsa, dependent on the Generalitat, and Imelsa, on the Provincial Council- to be proven without "any selection process based on principles of publicity, equality, merit or capacity" taking place in them. and without responding in many cases to a “real need” of the companies themselves.
In fact, some of these contracts were made in consideration of the relationship of those hired with the Popular Party, to which the main defendants belonged, or their relationship of friendship with the previous ones or with other members of the same political party.
Furthermore, some of the employees never provided service or carried out any work for the public companies, despite which those responsible for hiring signed certificates that said the opposite in order to "give the appearance of legality" to the employment contracts.
The TSJ gives the example of a footballer from the Xàtiva Olympic Club who was hired as an advisor at Imelsa by Marcos Benavent at the request of Alfonso Rus, also president of that sports entity, to pay him his emoluments as a player.
Finally, the Court has also declared proven the receipt of variable remuneration for productivity or allowances at Imelsa that lacked justification.
