Serafin Castellano, historical counselor of the Generalitat Valenciana for the PP, has taken the floor this Tuesday in the National Court to admit his involvement in a corruption network that operated in that community and in Catalonia, among other parts of the country: the so-called fire cartelan alleged criminal organisation that conspired to alter the awarding of firefighting contracts in the air navigation sector by corrupting officials and authorities. The former senior Popular Party official has admitted his participation in the plot after agreeing with the Prosecutor’s Office to receive a minimum sentence (2 years and 7 months in prison) and thus avoid going to jail, as have 11 other defendants.
—You have acknowledged the facts of the indictment and all the crimes, do you confirm this? —the prosecutor asked Castellano.
“Yes,” the former PP leader replied briefly.
—Given the above, do you understand the scope of this agreement? —insisted the representative of the public ministry.
-Yes that’s how it is.
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During his time as a PP politician, Castellano accumulated enormous power in the Valencian Community. He rose to the top with the help of the conservative party, within which he held positions of enormous responsibility. He was provincial president of the PP in Valencia; general secretary of the autonomous party; regional deputy; mayor of Benisanó (Valencia)… Also, for several periods from 1999 to 2014, counselor of the Generalitat (of Justice and Public Administrations, of Health, and of Government) with four different presidents (Eduardo Zaplana, Francisco Camps, José Luis Olivas and Alberto Fabra). And the Government of Mariano Rajoy appointed him as delegate of the Executive in the community, a position he held when he was arrested in 2015.
The trial on the fire poster The trial was supposed to have started on Monday, but the court decided to postpone it to Tuesday due to last-minute negotiations that some of the defence teams have opened with the prosecution. In fact, the prosecution has insisted that some of the accused – such as Serafín Castellano himself – have not offered to admit the facts until practically the start of the oral hearing. “It has happened with the trial already upon us,” the prosecutor has specified.
In addition to Castellano, 11 other defendants (of the 16 who are sitting in the dock) have reached an agreement with the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office. The public prosecutor has significantly reduced its request for sentences for this dozen defendants who have reached an agreement, for whom it now demands a punishment ranging from 14 months of imprisonment to 3 and a half years. In the case of Castellano, former councillor The popular party, for whom 21 years of prison was initially demanded, has been reduced to 2 years and 7 months for the crimes of falsifying public documents, bribery and illicit association, among others. In addition, the prosecutor has announced that he does not oppose the suspension of the former politician’s imprisonment, although it will be the court that will finally decide.
Fixes and gifts
In May 2022, when those involved in the corrupt network were prosecuted, investigating judge Manuel García-Castellón explained that the suspects colluded to “alter” public contracting and award processes, “corrupting” multiple officials and authorities in charge of making key decisions with “gifts” and “financial compensations”. The plot resorted to different “tricks”: for example, they allied themselves to “expel” competitors; they increased spending “unduly”; and they allowed themselves “extensions or contractual modifications” in an irregular manner. “A systematic action to generate clientelist attitudes has been observed in the area of the administration involved in the sector,” the magistrate stressed.
The summary lists the gifts received by the corrupted, such as cash, vehicles, hunting trips, firearms, watches, jewellery and hotel stays. Thus, with regard to Serafín Castellano, the investigating judge specified that, in order to obtain his favour, he was given multiple “gifts” – only those related to hunting activities exceeded 160,000 euros, according to the judge.
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