Alex Trelinski
CORRUPTION proceedings against La Nucia mayor, Bernabe Cano, who was accused of abusing his status to get an early Covid-19 vaccine, have been dismissed by an Alicante court.
Cano joins Els Poblets mayor, Carolina Vives, and her husband, ex-El Verger mayor, Ximo Coll, in being cleared of vaccine queue-jumping.
Vives and Coll had cases against them filed by a Denia judge earlier this month.
Bernabe Cano received a first vaccine dose in January 2021 during a visit to a local nursing home.
He always argued that he did nothing wrong and never specifically went for an inoculation.
He was told that a surplus of doses would be wasted if they were not used,
Cano said he was qualified to get a shot as he was a doctor for the local football team.
The Alicante court acknowledged that Cano received the jab ‘due to his status as a doctor and not as a public official’.
In a reference to the cases involving Vives and Coll, the judge said their circumstances were similar and therefore there were plenty of grounds not to proceed against Cano.
Previous hearings before a lower court in Villajoyosa saw the mayor’s attempts to halt the case fail to get any traction with the judge.
Prosecutors tried to get the Partido Popular mayor disbarred from public office for up to 12 years for abusing his position as well as calling for a two-year jail term.
READ MORE:
- Court dismisses corruption charges against Covid-19 queue-jumping Costa Blanca mayoral couple in Spain
- Costa Blanca mayor faces COVID-19 vaccine queue-jumping trial after judge in Spain throws out appeal
