Alex Trelinski
A restaurant bill dodger has earned himself some free prison meals after being jailed by a Zaragoza judge.
The Spaniard, 47-year-old Antonio Miguel Grimal, skipped paying for meals at nine Zaragoza restaurants in the last four weeks.
Some of the establishments chose not to file a complaint against him.
The fraudster was first tried for identical offences in 2017 but a Supreme Court ruling overturned penalties in two hearings that gave him a four-year jail term and a fine in excess of €3,500.
Senior judges said lumping together ‘minor crimes’ produced a disproportionate punishment.
They let him off with a €270 fine and the requirement to pay two restaurants for his initially free meals.
Miguel Grimal has been arrested over 30 times since 2016 for the same crime.
His latest unpaid dinner came at the weekend from an ‘a la carte’ menu totalling €70.
The Policia Nacional were called by the Zaragoza restaurant owner.
The fraudster told officers that he had no money on him and no intention of paying for what he had eaten.
Luck ran out for Miguel Grimal when he appeared in court on Sunday.
He could not provide sufficient proof of his home address and the judge therefore considered him likely to break his bail conditions, especially since he was a repeat offender.
He was sent to Zuera prison pending trial over his latest transgressions.
