Valencia officials arrested on suspicion of stealing international aid funds

Albert Fabra, President of Valencia
(Photo: elpais.com)

Money destined to Nicaragua was allegedly siphoned off

VALENCIA (El País / J.Ferrandis, A.Beltrán, M.Fabra) Police in Valencia arrested have arrested several officials for alleged misappropriation of public money destined to a regional government office that helped needy families in the developing world. Among those charged with stealing public money, fraud and conspiracy are the director of the regional government’s overseas aid office, Josep Mará Felip; Marcial López, president of the Cyes Foundation; Arturo Tauroni Masia, director of the Hemispheric Foundation; his brother César Agusto Tauroni Masia; and Marc Llinares Pico, a computer analyst. Also arrested was Alexandre Catalá, deputy secretary of Valencia’s health department, who was immediately fired following the police bust. Regional premier Alberto Fabra, of the Popular Party (PP), called the investigation, which had been secret until Thursday’s arrests, “a serious one” because “we are talking about money that was allotted for humanitarian purposes.” He fired Felip and Catalá a few hours after the arrests were made.>>>

Violent police charge against student protesters in Valencia

Ten people seriously injured so far, dozens of arrests

VALENCIA (Agencies) As we write, protests against education cutbacks continue on the streets of Valencia, where the police have been charging against protesters that include minors as well as their parents and grandparents. Matters turned nasty this afternoon. One witness said she, her daughter and granddaughter, aged 15, were standing on the curb when the police charged without apparent notice. The girl is one of ten people with serious injuries, according to reports. Politicians have asked for the Minister of the Interior's presence in Parliament tomorrow.

Baby abandoned at the doors of a building

VALENCIA (Agencies) A month old baby was found abandoned at the doors of a building on Camino Viejo de Godella, in the Benicalap section of Valencia, on Saturday afternoon. At about 4pm, residents of the building called the Local Police to report that a baby had been found at their door. The ambulance and police services rushed the child to the nearest hospital, where it (there is no immediate news as to its gender) was found to be in very good health. The National Police is investigating the matter.

Gürtel corruption case gets weirder and weirder

Francisco Camps

VALENCIA (El País) Francisco Camps, the former Valencia premier who resigned after he was indicted on corruption charges, will get a chauffer, two bodyguards and an assistant paid for with public money.

The Valencia government's official gazette (DOCV) published the administrative order last month, which names Camps' former secretary Susana Fayos Cabañero as his new assistant. "It is not that he asked for them, it is what the law provides," said Serafín Castellano, chief of staff to Valencia's new premier Alberto Fabra, successor and close associate of Camps. Camps, who is scheduled to go to trial in the fall for allegedly accepting dress suits and other gifts from businessmen in the corrupt Gürtel network, will also take a seat on the region's judicial council (CJC), the legal advisor to parliament. Some have questioned whether Camps could hold his seat in parliament as a PP deputy and sit on the CJC, but council sources said that the two positions are compatible. The council is in PP hands (No, really? Ed.).>>>

Valencian President to stand trial for accepting suits

"A nice piece o' shmatter"

VALENCIA (El Pais) The Valencian premier, Francisco Camps, will stand trial. After a two-year investigation and preliminary hearings, a court has decided that there is enough evidence to try Camps over "la causa de los trajes," roughly translated as "SuitGate." Camps, who is also head of the regional branch of the Popular Party (PP), is accused of accepting expensive articles of clothing worth over 14,000 euros from a corrupt business network that operated nationwide and bribed numerous PP officials in exchange for government contracts. If Camps - who was re-elected for office in May despite the shadow of corruption charges - does not step down before, he will be the second regional premier in Spanish history to stand trial after Cantabria leader Juan Hormaechea in 1994. This setback for Camps comes after the Valencian High Court initially closed the case for lack of evidence. The Supreme Court later decided to reopen it.