Friday, February 03, 2012

A bit of old news

The Gürtel case filled the front pages of newspapers in the region for some time. The allegation made was that the former regional president, Francisco Camps and the ex regional PP secretary general, Ricardo Costa had received gifts including bespoke suits in return for political favours. If I remember correctly, the issue was about the awarding of contracts to the promotion company, Orange Market for the Volvo Ocean Yacht Race. 

After the six week trial, the jury found them not guilty by a narrow 5-4 verdict. The case faltered because no documentary proof was given that showed they hadn’t paid for the clothing. Added to which, the relationship between the two and Francisco Correa, Pablo Crespo and Álvaro Pérez, alias ‘the moustache'  were deemed to be ‘purely commercial'.

It seems to me the case eventually floundered on a purely technical point which does not necessarily mean that the two men were regarded as being entirely innocent.

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