Ángel García, who used to be PSOE mayor of Arboleas, has been barred from holding public office for the next four years after he was found guilty of manipulating public documents to build a swimming pool in his house.
His house was next to a green zone, upon which building is not permitted. Ignoring this petty little rule, Ángel went ahead and convinced the townhall to sell off this green land – although this is not permitted, a townhall can’t sell off green land. He made sure the price was low, purchased it himself and built a nice swimming pool, with a garden shed, on the green land and then fenced it, topping it all off with a big strong cement wall to prevent subsidence.
Cheeky, to say the least.
His buddies Antonio J.G.M. & Ginés G. G., both councillors, were also given four years suspension from public office for helping him get the paperwork through.
The crime came to light when the Autonomous Police of Andalusia spotted the construction via aerial photos and denounced him. Ángel said that the green area designation was only a clerical error on the map, and that the land should have been urban in nature. The Judge, obviously, didn’t agree.