5 - 11 October 2017
A XARQUÍA - C OSTA T ROPICAL
YOUR PAPER, YOUR VOICE, YOUR OPINION
Housing court case continues THE former mayor of Alcaucin has denied any knowledge about tens of illegal building licences. Jose Manuel Martin Alba, who is on trial for alleged corruption, claimed he is not responsible for handing out the licences as he has no knowledge of town planning and the rules are confusing. His lawyer, Jose Maria Ramirez, is now asking for a full acquittal arguing his client’s fundamental rights are being violated and the crimes of others are being pinned on him. Prosecutors have said they do not believe Alba’s version of events, however, claiming he is showing “deliberate ignorance,” and has “the talents of a manipulator.” They claim he is responsible for handing out more than 100 illegal licences which allowed ‘the enrichment of the few.’
Teens held for selling cannabis TWO boys, aged 16 and 17, have been arrested for selling marihuana in Torre del Mar. Officers from the Local Police surprised the pair as they cut the drug ready for sale on the steps of a building on Avenida de Andalucia. The uniformed officers, who were in the area checking up on one of the boys, caught the pair after they tried to flee with their stash. The police confiscated 41 bags containing marihuana.
WWW.EUROWEEKLYNEWS.COM Photo by Ayuntamiento de Velez-Malaga
ISSUE NO. 1683
ALLEGED SCANDAL: Velez-Malaga and (inset) Antonio Moreno Ferrer.
Family first Probe over contract scandal By Sally Underwood Velez-Malaga’s mayor has been summoned to testify in court over alleged irregularities in employing a council worker. Antonio Moreno Ferrer is being investigated for alleged crimes against a public body after it was alleged the former head of the municipal housing company Emvipsa created a job for his own son as a health and safety worker. The investigation began after a spokesman for the Partido Popular (PP), Francisco Delgado Bonilla, claimed the son of the company’s former manager, Jose Luis Sanchez Tore, was employed, “without procedure, to the point that he was first
hired and then afterwards the technician role was created.” The PP allege the job was a ‘prize’ after Sanchez Tore helped broker a deal between political parties PSOE and Grupo Independiente Pro Municipio de Torre del Mar (GIPMTM), allowing Antonio Moreno Ferrer to become mayor. The actual hiring took place while Ferrer was still
president of Emvipsa. The PP claimed the hiring was “an arbitrary decision,” and twice wrote to Emvipsa asking for the contract to be voided. According to Francisco Delgado Bonilla, the decision was made, “without any selection procedure, violating the principles of equality, merit and capacity. To create an indefinite contract it is vital to carry out a selection
process and this has not been done.” For their part, opposition party IU (Izquierda Unida) said the contract should have been rescinded but that it was now “too late.” The town hall declined to comment when contacted by the Euro Weekly News, but Señor Ferrer is expected to release a statement shortly.
Death inquest goes on A JUDGE in Santoña, Cantabria is probing a gas leak which killed a man from La Cala del Moral in Axarquia. Local man Jose Maria Callejon, aged 62, died and six people were hospitalised following a carbon monoxide leak at their hotel in Cantabria. A judge has now asked the Junta de Cantabria to provide an expert report into the incident. Thirty-five other people from the same hiking group who were also staying at the hotel have since returned home to Rincon de la Victoria in an emotional scene. Francisco Salado, the mayor of Rincon de la Victoria, was waiting to meet them. The group, who are mostly retired, were greeted with hugs and tears by loved ones, while Mayor Salado offered them the “total support” of the council.