Gürtel suspect commits suicide in Bilbao hotel A WOMAN charged and facing prison over the long-running Gürtel corruption racket is thought to have committed suicide in a Bilbao hotel. María del Mar Rodríguez Alonso, one of 43 people – PP politicians and company bosses – facing charges ranging from six-figure fines through to up to a century in jail, was the sole director of the company MR & Asociados, S.L., an event-planning and public relations firm. Wife of joint PP spokesman in the Senate Tomás Burgos, María del Mar, originally from Bilbao in the Basque Country but living in Madrid, was found dead in her room by staff at around 14.30hrs yesterday (Wednesday) in the Hotel Carlton in the northern city. Police have already ruled out foul play, but say her body shows signs of suicide – although they have not confirmed how she took her own life. María del Mar is thought to have been involved in the widespread back-handers network which saw business owners and managers giving bribes in cash and in kind to top-flight PP politicians, from local council to central government level, in exchange for being awarded lucrative public works contracts. The racket involved inflated works invoices, according to investigators, with the over-charged funds being split between the politicians and businesses involved, and hidden account records were held by the PPs treasurers detailing undeclared cash bribes received and given out as off-the-books bonuses to politicians. María del Mars company is said to have acted as a front for the 31st Public Parks and Gardens Conference in June 2004 in Pozuelo de Alarcón – whose ex-mayor, Jesús Sepúlveda (PP) is facing 15 years in jail for his role in the Gürtel network – in order to hide the fact that the job of organising the event had been given to Gürtel ringleader Francisco Correa in exchange for bribes. Correa is said to have paid for elaborate birthday parties for Sepúlvedas children and holidays and Louis Vuitton handbags for him and his ex-wife, Ana Mato, who resigned last month as health minister. And Sra Rodríguez Alonso is accused of issuing fake invoices and taking commission payments in connection with the conference, according to the anti-corruption prosecution service. Power-dealing, misuse of public funds and forgery of official commercial documents meant Sra Rodríguez Alonso was facing up to two years and nine months in jail. She may not have had to go to prison, however, since in the end her sentence is likely to have been reduced to just below two years, meaning she would not have to serve it as her Gürtel involvement was a first offence. Source: Think Spain
Posted on: Thu, 22 Jan 2015 07:20:53 +0000
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