Former mayor, out on bail, returns to politics

THE former Mayor of Alcaucin, who has been in prison for charges of corruption, has returned to politics and is running for the position in the upcoming elections. Jose Manuel Martin Alba, who was the main defendant in the Arcos Case urban planning corruption case, has said that he had to give up the position but now he wants to go ahead with the projects he was unable to complete.

The mayor, who also sings flamenco under the name ‘Pepe Calayo’, has created a new party, the Sierra Tejeda de Alcaucin Independent Party (PITA), and is convinced that he can bring the town “out of the rut it is in”, saying he has the support of many local people.

He was arrested in February 2009, and released on bail of €120,000 with charges of coercion, corruption, document forgery and influence peddling, after spending three months, between March and June 2009, in prison.

This, he says, is not going to stop him running for mayor, as he has not been sentenced, and maintains he has a clear conscience because he has been framed.