Former Benitachell mayor face prison terms for corruption

THE former mayor of Benitachell and three associates face prison terms and fines for corruption. Juan Cardona of the local Pideb party, who resigned as mayor in February 2009 and has seemingly disappeared without trace, is accused of demanding €60,000 from a local developer in exchange for re-zoning land for building.

Cardona, his former Austrian second-in-command, Hannelore Rheindorf, together with municipal architect Juan Devesa and German lawyer Kai Oliver were implicated after the developer lodged a formal complaint against them.

The Fiscal (Public Prosecutor) has now decided that there is a case against all four.  Nine-year prison sentences are recommended for Cardona and Devesa, plus fines of €150,000 each and 22 years’ professional disqualification. Rheindorf and Oliver should be imprisoned for four and six years respectively, the fiscal said.