Calpe’s former mayor dodges whistle-blower’s allegations in Costa Blanca

CALPE’S former mayor Cesar Sanchez claimed parliamentary immunity to avoid declaring before a Denia judge on the Costa Blanca. As he is currently an MP for the Partido Popular in the national parliament, Sanchez cited his right to declare only to the Supreme court. He was cited to give evidence regarding investigations into a municipal employee’s allegations of workplace harassment, administrative malpractice and making a false official statement. The employee claims that in January 2019 when Sanchez was still Calpe’s mayor and also president of Alicante’s provincial council, the Diputacion, the remains of a deceased German resident were Wilhelm Klatt were exhumed from the local cemetery.
Although the remains were entitled to occupy the niche until at least 2037, this was then used to inter a relative of the town hall’s Human Resources chief, Antonio Cabrera. When the municipal employee drew attention to their regular exhumation, she claims that former councillor Bernardo Moll, also under investigation, threatened to make trouble for her and “send her to count seagulls.” Moll went ahead and authorised the exhumation but later proclaimed his innocence, explaining that the niche was abandoned and under a modified bylaw, the town hall was permitted to remove Klatt’s remains.