Alex Trelinski
ANTI-CORRUPTION prosecutors are launching an appeal against a verdict that cleared 34 people of taking bungs over the awarding of an Orihuela waste disposal contract.
Alicante Provincial Court in Elche acquitted the group, including former Orihuela Partido Popular mayors Monica Lorente and Jose Manuel Medina, of corruption charges on June 10.
It was the biggest-ever corruption trial to be held in Alicante Province, but now prosecutors Felipe Briones and Pablo Romero have announced that they were filing an appeal and they wanted a new trial to be held in a different court..
It will ultimately be up to the Supreme Prosecutor´s office to decide whether they will push forward with asking for an appeal.
Last month’s court ruling came after judges ruled that wiretaps of phone conversations were inadmissible, along with concerns over rights violations over house searches and police surveillance.
The 34 people in the dock were accused of taking bribes worth millions of euros over the granting of the Orihuela waste contract dating back to 2006, in what became known as the Brugal case.
Millionaire Orihuela businessman, Angel Fenoli, had been accused of being the ringleader and faced up to 37 years in jail if he had been found guilty.
After hearing the verdict, Fenoli broke down in tears and said: “Justice has finally been done after 14 years.”
The Elche courtroom was specially expanded to accommodate all the defendants during nine months of hearings held last year.
