By Alyssa McMurtry
OVIEDO, Spain (AA) – The Provincial Court of Murcia on Monday sentenced the former president of the Spanish region to three years behind bars for corruption.
The court found that Pedro Antonio Sanchez abused his authority on two separate occasions during the initial phases of the construction of an auditorium in the town of Puerto Lumbreras, where he was mayor.
The first case of malfeasance centered on the former regional president telling architect Martin Lejarraga to build the auditorium and rigging the bidding process in his favor.
Sanchez was also found guilty of malfeasance for modifying the project to get regional subsidies even though the architect told him it was “technically and economically infeasible.”
Besides the three-year prison sentence, the former Popular Party politician has to pay a €3,600 ($3,846) fine and will be barred from holding public office or a public job for 17 years and three months.
The court also ruled that the architect involved in the scheme and the secretary at the city hall will also be forbidden from working for the public sector again for at least the next 15 years.
Sanchez was the mayor of Puerto Lumbreras from 2003 to 2013. From there, he moved into the regional government, eventually holding the highest office as president of Murcia from 2015 to 2017.
He stepped down due to the corruption scandals and appointed the current president of the region, Fernando Lopez Miras, to take his place. Lopez Miras has refused to comment on the sentence so far.
On the other hand, the leader of Spain’s national Popular Party told media that he “respects” the court’s decision.
The former president of Murcia is also being investigated in a separate corruption case surrounding the construction of a nursery.