LORENTE LOSES APPEAL IN CORRUPTION CASE

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The former mayor of Orihuela, Mónica Lorente, has lost a pre-trial appeal which she hoped would have avoided criminal charges for alleged irregularities in the award of a contract relating to building work at a plaza in the town of El Escorratel.

The provincial court has rejected a plea to suspend the case, and so the trial against both Lorente, along with Antonio Rodríguez Murcia formally from the infrastructure department, will now be able to proceed.

This particular case, which is not the only one being considered by the courts, was first brought to light following a complaint by the Los Verdes party in 2010. Lorente and Murcia are facing criminal proceedings for an alleged crime of forgery of public documents by a public authority or official and gross negligence. The work on maintaining the plaza at El Escorratel in July 2008 is said to have begun without the project having been approved by the municipal council, subsequently seeing the 34,380 euro contract awarded to a company prior to the legally required tender process being fulfilled.

The prosecution believe that documents may have also been altered to make the award appear legitimate, and so the anti-corruption prosecutor is requesting fines of 4,500 euro, as well as the suspension of public office for ten months.

Although no longer fronting the Partido Popular in Orihuela, Lorente is still a prominent political position and is still part of the newly formed PP and Clr coalition who are attempting to overthrow the government of Orihuela and return to power.

Filed under: http://www.theleader.info/article/42690/

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