José Pompeyo Arqueros has had a distinguished career. Councillor for the PP in his hometown of Adra. 30 years in the Real Club Náutico de Adra, ending up as President and with a Gold Medal of Appreciation from the Spanish Sailing Federation for his good work. VP of the Andalucian branch of said Federation.
So it’s a pity he got caught selling false pilot licenses, good for boats of your choice of up to six metres long.
Getting your pilot license used to be a nightmare in Spain (last year they changed the law to make it a lot easier) so José and his 24 mates had a good scam going.
He’s accused, along with 24 others, of falsifying the licenses and selling them off. The others include funcionarios in the Junta’s Ministry of Tourism and Commerce.
He charged about 350€ for the false license. The scam involved him filling in all the paperwork saying the prospective Captain had passed all the exams, doctors checkups, etc etc etc without actually having to go through all the hoops. His mates would help out by signing the appropriate boxes on the forms, knowing well that the said exams hadn’t been carried out.
He faces three years in jail and a fine of 2,000 euros. The Police have been after him since 2007 – the trial is expected in December. Justice can’t be hurried.