It’s certainly not the first time that ex-Mayor, Juan Carlos Benavides has sat before a judge, but there’s no indication that it will turn out any differently for him: acquittal.

The regional Ombudsman accused the then Mayor of “ningunearle,” or of treating him in an off-handed manner, as if of no importance. The Ombudsman had sent in a barrage of requests for documents from the Town Hall but had received no reply – then his patience came to an end, resulting in Sr Benavides facing a judge to answer to this charge. An ombudsman in not somebody to take lightly.

The Mayor said in his defence, “When I found out that the Ombudsman’s requests had not been answered, I got really angry.”

The accused denied before the judge that he had attempted to obstruct the task of the Ombudsman and puts the lack of response down to the legal department of the Town Hall being undermanned and snowed under.

The fact is that the Regional Ombudsman heard not a peep from Benavides’s administration, despite six requests for information made between 2006 and 2008.

We’re not waiting for the judge’s verdict. The Public Prosecutor maintained his recommendation for nine months in prison and two years barred from office. If the judge does find him guilty and accepts the Public Prosecutor’s recommendation, as the sentence is inferior to 2-years’ imprisonment, it will automatically be a suspended sentence. As for the two years of being barred from office… well, the elections are over two years away.

(News: Almunecar, Costa Tropical, Granada, Andalucia)