The ex-Secretary for the agricultural union, COAG, has been found guilty of keeping 100,000 euros in Junta-grant money for his own personal use.

During nearly a decade that Emilio Rodríguez ostensibly looked after the interests of local farmers in the province, especially on the coast, he was also getting air-conditioning installed in his house and even paying off his traffic fines with GOAG funds. Consequently, the judge at the Motril law courts found him guilty and sentenced him to an 18-month suspended sentence, which means that he won’t have to set foot in the provincial prison of Albolote, bless him.

The beginning of his nemesis was an anonymous tip off in 2006, leading to judicial investigations, and culminating, six years later in this court sentence. He will also have to return the 100,000 euros.

Reader’s might ask themselves how he managed to syphon off such a large quantity of money, but one of the ways came via teachers pay: the Junta was supplying funds to pay teachers giving agriculture courses at 60 euros an hour, but our hero only handed over 18 euros an hour. This little party trick earned him 50,000 euros. He also claimed for courses that never took place, supplying lists of fictitious students and ‘Mickey-Mouse’ invoices.

Who will not ponder on the fact that a small-time thief, when caught, ends up doing time in the land of striped sunshine whilst bigger fish never cast their shadow in a prison cell?

(News: Granada, Andalucia)