Former mayor jailed in €98m case

FORMER Mayor of Torrevieja and regional deputy of the Partido Popular (PP), Pedro Angel Hernandez Mateo, has been sentenced to three years in prison.

The High Court of Valencia has also banned him from public office for seven years and fined him €10,500 after he was found guilty of offences related to the awarding of a €97.8 million municipal waste collection contract in 2004.

He was accused of manipulating the bidding process to ensure the contract was given to the Necso Generala Entrecanales-Services Group.

The ruling states that Mateo signed resolutions that have been proven false and “manipulated” the will of various municipal bodies involved in the adjudication process to ensure that the contract was awarded to Necso.

The judgment can be appealed to the Supreme Court. The President of the Valencian Government, Alberto Fabra, confirmed after the ruling that Mateo will immediately be sacked from his post and an internal investigation launched into the incident.