The former deputy of Foro Asturias Ciudadanos (FAC) Pelayo Roces was always clear that Francisco Álvarez-Cascos could not lose purchasing power if he returned to active politics and his exclusive dedication “24 hours a day” had to be compensated with the payment of “all expenses ”, that no one questioned because he was “the leader.” There was only one condition: “As long as you didn’t see seafood restaurants, brothels or cocaine, they were normal expenses, everything was paid.”
Pelayo Roces stated this in the third session of the trial being held against the former vice president of the Government and former president of the Principality in the Provincial Court of Asturias for a continuing crime of misappropriation, where he has appeared as a witness.
Álvarez-Cascos faces a request from the accusations – Prosecutor’s Office and FAC – for three and a half years in prison for the diversion of funds from the regionalist party to his personal assets in the face of the request for acquittal by lawyer Luis Tuero who denies the accusations. The Public Ministry estimates the economic damage caused to the party at 181,648 euros; an amount that the lawyer Luis Llanes, who is prosecuting the private prosecution, raises to 219,000 euros.
The dynamics of payments
Like and loyal to the former Gijón politician, Pelayo Roces was a key figure for Álvarez-Cascos to return to politics as founder and president of Foro Asturias, the regionalist party they created after leaving the PP and with which they managed to reach the Asturian Government.
As Álvarez-Cascos’ “right hand” his decisions were not discussed either and that is why when he told the former general secretary of the party, María Teresa Alonso, that she be paid for “all expenses”, she communicated this instruction to the accountant. Rosario Cabal who made the payments effective. Expenses that included both his personal expenses and those of his family, as long as they adjusted to the parameters of “normality.” That is, without “seafood, brothels or cocaine.”
This was the dynamic with which Foro Asturias operated during the Álvarez-Cascos era – which has been defined by some witnesses as “presidential” – in which, in addition to personal expenses such as lunches in restaurants, hotel stays, trips outside the Principality, beds, sofas or tickets to the Davis Cup, the rentals of parking spaces and an “office” that acted as headquarters on Paseo de la Castellana were invoiced, in Madrid.
This headquarters, in a “prestigious” location, was rented by the Cinqualium company, of which Álvarez-Cascos’ third ex-wife, María Porto, began to manage the administration and management after her then husband gave her the shares. when he could not continue due to his dedication to political activity.
Roces: “Álvarez-Cascos did not have an open bar”
Pelayo Roces has assured before the Third Section court that the party did supervise the expenses of the then president, but it did not draw their attention either because, from his perspective, they were not out of the ordinary: “There were no things outside of politics .He worked 24 hours a day, he had no vacations. He took his laptop everywhere. “He sent messages at four in the morning, at eleven at night, at seven in the morning.”
However, Álvarez-Cascos “did not have an open bar” and was paid regularly. The only time it was proven that the invoice did not correspond, we told him and he paid it. It was the minutes of a prosecutor for a matter he had handled regarding the traffic accident of one of his children.
“I did refuse to pay any bill for a solicitor who was from Álvarez-Cascos because it did not seem appropriate to me. And then he paid it himself. There was no problem,” he confirmed.
A meeting in a cider house in Gijón to “convince him”
In addition to being the promoter and founder of FAC, this witness was in charge of organizing the structure, operation and economic part. Several colleagues got together in a cider house in Gijón to “convince” the former politician of the importance of him leading the party.
“He was an exceptional candidate for the creation of our party, but for him it was a very big bet and we convinced him to lend us a hand under certain conditions,” he explained in court.
The conditions
His condition was to maintain his salary level and his close relationship with his children, who had to see them in Madrid. And so that they could get an idea of the money they had to pay him, he showed them the income he had at that time and they established an economic agreement to “finance all his expenses.” Income that ranged between 90,000 and 100,000 euros annually.
Pelayo Roces has admitted that FAC did not have a treasurer, a statement in which all the witnesses who have testified so far in the Court have agreed, but that was not an obstacle to there being no control, because he has assured that he himself “supervised the bills”.
“Mr. Cascos did not have an open bar, that is not true,” he pointed out. And he has argued this expression: “All of Álvarez-Cascos’ expenses were normal expenses for someone who dedicates himself to politics 24 hours a day. They were absolutely reasonable expenses. I had a joint signature with other people to authorize the expenses. I never had the feeling that anything was hidden or hidden. “Everything in the party worked very transparently.”
The expenses for meals with his children were paid because Álvarez-Cascos did not have vacations. And the moments with their children were part of the expenses that we had to cover. That was the agreement and the board of directors was aware of all this.
Pelayo Roces
— Former deputy of the Asturias Citizens Forum (FAC)
He has also corroborated that they had an open headquarters in Madrid where “several political events” were held and that “it was not a ghost headquarters, it was a real headquarters.” In fact, he stressed that once all the furniture was closed it was moved to the party headquarters in Oviedo.
The witness has also acknowledged that meals were paid to the former politician’s children because they were part of the financial agreement reached: “The meals to his children were paid because he did not have vacations. And the moments with their children were part of the expenses that we had to cover. That was the agreement and the board of directors was aware of all of this.”
Pedro Leal: “He wanted to maintain his standard of living and it seemed good to us”
In the third session of the trial, former MP Pedro Leal, another of the men close to Álvarez-Cascos who promoted the creation of the party and its return to the political arena, also testified. He has spoken in terms very similar to those of Pelayo Roces, with whom he met on several occasions.
Pedro Leal was aware of the agreement that had been reached with Álvarez-Cascos and did not object: “They told me that he wanted to maintain his standard of living and it seemed fine to us.”
“It was known to everyone that there was an economic agreement with Francisco Álvarez-Cascos. It was logical because he left Madrid to come here to Asturias to start a game from scratch,” he added.
It was also “known to everyone,” as he explained, that the then president of FAC traveled twice a week to Madrid, just as they knew that he did not pass the mileage because, otherwise, “it was going to be crazy expenses. He himself provided his own vehicle that was a donation that he himself received and then a driver was hired.”
The headquarters in Madrid was also an issue known to the leaders of Foro Asturias, according to their story, and it was even talked about “in all the board of directors. The Madrid headquarters was not hidden at any time,” he said. Just like “everyone knew” that in May 2014 it had closed.
Tickets for the Davis Cup were bought to collaborate because there was very little attendance. They were also bought for museums, for the Fair, it was a job of image of the party
Pedro Leal
— Former deputy of the Asturias Citizens Forum (FAC)
Pedro Leal does not see it as strange either that Álvarez-Cascos billed the match for his children’s Davis Cup tickets, contrary to what public and private accusations say.
“Tickets were bought for the Davis Cup to collaborate because there was very little attendance. They were also bought for the museums, for the Fair, it was a task of image of the party,” he stated.
And he added: “I did not authorize the expenses, but I certainly know what a politician’s expenses are. Mr. Álvarez-Cascos did not have personal expenses. But expenses with his children were included. “That was part of the political agreement.”
However, he himself has recounted an episode he had with Pelayo Roces because the agreed conditions were not being met: “Pelayo Roces warned me in 2013 or 2014 that we were not complying with the economic agreement that we had discussed with Mr. Álvarez. -Helmets, because we had the duty to maintain the previous standard of living that he had in Madrid,” he recalled.
The headquarters of Foro Asturias on Paseo de la Castellana in Madrid was sacred territory because Álvarez-Cascos was very jealous with his documents and his work.
Isidro Martínez Oblanca
— Former Senator of the Asturias Citizens Forum (FAC)
The statements of these two witnesses, made yesterday afternoon, Thursday, were preceded by the continuation of the testimony of former senator Isidro Martínez Oblanca who had begun to testify during the morning. In the afternoon session, he reiterated that the Madrid headquarters was “sacred territory because Álvarez-Cascos was very jealous with his documents and his work.”
Isidro Martínez Oblanca has stressed that “the entire party leadership” knew of the existence of this headquarters and, according to his version, if the current president of FAC and mayor of Gijón, Carmen Moriyón, from whom the complaint against Álvarez-Cascos for The alleged diversion of party funds, he did not know, was because he was not working at the same pace as the others, 24 hours a day.
“I understand that Mrs. Carmen Moriyón was unaware of the existence of this headquarters because she was not one hundred percent involved with the party, and was not there from the beginning.”
I don’t remember that economic matters were discussed in the commission. Nor did he know of the existence of the party headquarters in Madrid. No one ever steps foot in that headquarters.
Argimiro Rodríguez Guerra
— He was a member of the FAC Board of Directors
The statement of the witnesses closest to Álvarez-Cascos contrasted, however, with that of Argimiro Rodríguez Guerra, another member of the FAC board of directors who has indicated before the court that he does not remember that “matters of a nature” were discussed in the commission. economic”.
This witness was not aware that the party had a headquarters in Madrid: “I did not know of its existence. No one, not even Sostres – the former deputy Enrique Álvarez Sostres – ever set foot in that headquarters,” he reiterated. A situation that the former forum member had certified in the morning session in which Álvarez-Cascos’ ex-wife, the gallery owner María Porto, had also declared.
The next sessions
The trial will continue next Monday, the 20th, with the testimony of the five witnesses who were pending in yesterday’s session, to which another 13 people linked to Foro Asturias will join.
The Third Section court, chaired by Judge Javier Domínguez Begega, has scheduled three more days for the oral hearing to take place. They will be on Tuesday, the 21st, with 13 witnesses summoned, on Friday the 24th, which will be dedicated to the expert evidence, and the session has been moved from the 29th to the 31st of January, which, if nothing prevents it, we could proceed to the reports. of final conclusions of the parties.
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