Icod Ex-Mayor, Councilor Cleared of Misconduct Charges

Juan José Dorta Álvarez, the former mayor of Icod de los Vinos, and Manuel Ramón Luis Socas, the former Councilor for Public Works and Services – both members of the PSOE party – have been partly cleared of charges. They were initially found guilty of misusing public funds by allegedly breaking up a contract to maintain the town's gardens. This was supposedly done to avoid an open bidding process for the work.

This decision comes from the Fifth Section of the Provincial Court, which announced its ruling last Monday. It overturns an earlier verdict from last year that had banned both politicians from holding public office for six years. They had been convicted of ongoing official misconduct, though delays in the legal process were noted as a mitigating factor.

After the initial ruling from the Criminal Court in Santa Cruz de Tenerife was issued last year, the politicians' lawyers appealed. They challenged how the evidence was judged and the legal interpretation of the facts presented by the Public Prosecutor's Office during the trial.

The legal case started because of how garden maintenance services were handled in 2012 and 2013. The town council arranged for Jardi Drago S. L. to do this work. However, these services were provided without following the proper administrative process, which would have required an open public tender.

The company was paid through monthly invoices, each for about 18,000 euros or less. Yet, the total annual payments far exceeded the amount that would normally require an open public bidding process – specifically, 210,715 euros were paid in total.

The initial court ruling, which the Provincial Court has now overturned, stated that this method of contracting "seriously and knowingly broke public contracting rules." It concluded that there was ongoing official misconduct and banned both defendants from holding public office.

However, after reviewing the appeal, the Provincial Court has now decided that "even if the administrative actions went against the law, they did not reach the level of deliberate wrongdoing and unfairness needed under the Penal Code to be considered a crime of official misconduct."

The court emphasized several points: the services were actually performed, there was money in the town's budget to cover the payments, and decisions were made based on technical reports that advised paying the invoices to prevent the town council from unfairly benefiting. The court also noted the Icodense City Council's difficulties in handling a complex bidding process and found no evidence of personal profit for the politicians or proven financial damage to the local government.

In its review, the provincial court stressed the importance of a "narrow interpretation of the crime of official misconduct." It reminded that "not every administrative error or rule-breaking should lead to criminal charges," reserving criminal penalties for cases where there is a serious and deliberate breaking of the law.

The town's financial controller had raised concerns about "irregularities due to contracts not being handled according to the law." These concerns, which were also supported by the general secretary of the local government, were later overruled or corrected by the mayor's official orders.

In their complaint, the Public Prosecutor's Office alleged that the Icodense City Council had directly and improperly awarded garden maintenance services. They claimed this was done by using a series of small invoices, thereby misusing the "minor contract" rule.

The defense lawyers argued that this situation was inherited from the previous town council. They also pointed out that the same financial controller who raised the objections had also audited and approved the invoices, drafted the official orders, and reported that the company had to be paid because the work was done and funds were available.

Former mayor Juan José Dorta said yesterday he was "satisfied" with the Provincial Court's decision to overturn his initial conviction for alleged official misconduct. "Satisfied, but not happy," he commented. After the case went to court, the PSOE party opened a disciplinary investigation, stopped him from running in later elections, and expelled him.

Dorta explained that the garden maintenance contracts "were inherited from the previous administration" and "were a response to a situation where the City Council had spending limits and restrictions on hiring staff."