The pre-campaign of 28-M has been uphill for the PSOE-M before it even started. The Provincial Court of Madrid has ordered the judge who investigated the so-called ITV case to prosecute the mayoress of Móstoles, Noelia Posse, and seven councilors of the Governing Board, considering that “the existence of indications of a crime of administrative prevarication” for forgiving a debt to the concessionaire company of more than 2 million euros.
The complaint that gave rise to the investigation was filed in February 2021 by the two mayors of Más Madrid in Móstoles, Susana García and Gabriel Ortega, understanding that the City Council “forgave the collection of fees” derived from the use of public land so that the aforementioned company could develop its activity in the locality, attending “to the interest of the private company”.
However, the head of the Investigating Court number 1 of Móstoles insisted in her order of dismissal, now revoked, that it had been “proven, despite what the complainants say, that the agreement reached was favorable for the public coffers.”
In this sense, it reiterated that the agreement reached “was the lesser evil”, since “if the company ITV Móstoles S.L. had been declared bankrupt, the City Council of Móstoles would have had serious difficulties in asserting its right of credit against other privileged credits.
This procedural step supposes the conclusion of the criminal investigation and the beginning of the intermediate phase with a view to holding the trial, if so agreed by the parties, with the presentation of the respective indictment or defense briefs. From there, the next step would be the opening of an oral trial.
In the argumentation, the Chamber understands that “in view of the specific concurrent circumstances in the case, it cannot be ruled out, at least indicatively and in this investigative phase, the presence of sufficient evidence supporting this crime of administrative prevarication, without prejudice to subsequent classification by the accusing parties”.
In the first place, it alludes to the “damage caused to the public coffers of the Móstoles City Council, it is obvious, at least, starting from the simple comparison between the initial conditions of the public concession contract dated June 6, 2011 with the defendant company IRV Móstoles S.L. 2”.
According to the record, “the initial fee of 133,000 euros which, according to the forecasts of the specifications, reached the sum of 147,653.59 euros in 2020, -of which only the fee corresponding to the years 2011 and 2012 was made effective, and partially that of the year 2013-, with the conditions approved in the agreement adopted by the Local Government Board on October 20, 2020, that is, remove 50% of the debt quantified at 615,000 euros, installment of the rest of the debt to 30 years without interest or guarantees, and reduction of the annual fee to 60,000 euros per year”.
Also, the Chamber points out, it is “undeniable that the company IRV Móstoles S.L was delinquent since 2013, the year in which it no longer pays the full fee, as well as that the defendants were not part of the local corporation in that year”.
“In the same way, it is undeniable the fact that the decision not to opt for the termination of the contract in the event of non-compliance with the obligations, supposes the commission of a crime of administrative prevarication,” he adds.
The general secretary of the PP in Madrid, Alfonso Serrano, has called for the resignation of the mayoress of Móstoles, Noelia Posse, whom he has described as “a protégé” of President Pedro Sánchez, and has criticized the “democratic and ethical deterioration” of the municipality .
“It is a very serious issue, in addition, we are talking about criminal matters. We cannot forget that we are talking about a mayoress of Móstoles who is a protégé of Ferraz, Pedro Sánchez and Moncloa”, he stated in statements to the media .
Serrano has criticized the fact that Móstoles is “plagued with plugging” and believes that this matter is harming the citizens. “Wherever the PSOE is, there is corruption and nepotism. This harms the people of Mostola and the mere presence of the mayoress is discrediting the institutions,” he claimed.
