The Mayor of Albox has been denied the travel compensation of €7,000 he asked for, as he had been using his official car.
Rogelio Mena (PSOE), who is also a local MP, had put in travel expenses for the last three years. However, an internal investigation by the Junta discovered he always used his official Audi for these trips, instead of a personal vehicle.
Rogelio asked for €4.000 for trips between Albox and Almería, and the rest for local trips and voyages to Madrid or Seville. But CCTV and personal testimony from his chauffeur proved he had always used his official car for these trips.
Rogelio had also asked for compensation for “official” trips he carried out before or during holidays such as Easter or Christmas, when he supposed to be on holiday.
The County Council, who has to make a statement on these claims to the Junta, went a bit mad over the voting of these compensation claims. The PSOE, who always claim for compensation for using their official vehicles, abstained from voting on Rogelio’s claim, despite being in favour of compensation and him being part of their group. The PP, who are against the compensation claims of using private vehicles, voted in favour.
The CC pay €0.19 per km in compensation when a politician has to use their own vehicle. Rogelio claims to have made 174 trips to Madrid in the last 20 months.
The Junta has overridden the CC decision and refused to pay out.
Rogelio is also on trial next month for refusing to release information to the opposition.