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Light at end of the tunnel THE seven month nightmare being suffered by residents of Spain who hold UK driving licences might nearly be over, according to British ambassador Hugh Elliott. The top diplomat has said that the ‘two outstanding complex issues’ that were still being negotiated between the two countries have been resolved. “We'll now take forward the remaining steps including legal checks, securing ministerial approval on both sides – which for Spain, is by the Consejo de Ministros, the Spanish Cabinet – and the necessary treaty processes and formal exchanges,” he added. The ambassador was not, however, able to confirm how much longer the remaining steps would take.
Your expat
voice in Spain
Vol. 6 Issue 145 www.theolivepress.es December 2nd - December 15th 2022
See page 12
SHAMBLES
Sobbing prosecutor begs forgiveness and drops all corruption charges against Mallorca’s ‘king of the night’ A TEARFUL prosecutor is facing career ruin after he let 17 defendants off in a dramatic courtroom fiasco. In the latest sensational twist to the long running Cursach saga, prosecutor Tomas Herranz begged forgiveness and dropped all the lurid corruption charges against the nightclub impresario. Cursach - known as the ‘King of the Night’ - has been completely exonerated along with 16 other defendants. The defendants broke into a round of applause at Herranz’s mea culpa in one of the most baffling of courtroom occurrences. An emotional and apparently contrite Herranz admitted that the investigation and trial
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had been a ‘total abject failure of justice’ and that the charges had destroyed the reputations of the 17 defendants. The failed case had centred around the Mallorcan nightlife tycoon, who went on to be the main investor in Mallorca Football Club, and his alleged five-year ‘collusion’ with local police and politicians to the benefit of his business interests.
Acquitted
Cursach and his right hand man, Bartolome Sbert, had already been acquitted in the case when the prosecutor made his tearful admission. Just months before, Herranz had led a fierce investigation into Cursach and his alleged mafia racket that was said to have dominated the island through bribes, threats,
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MEA CULPA: Herranz shamed in court
TRAUMA: Cursach’s right-hand man, Sbert (left) opened up about his emotional turmoil during the investigation
and a vast army of police, lawyers and politicians eating out of the king of the night’s pocket. But, appearing very much a broken man, Herranz recognised in court that the defendants had ‘suffered an injustice’ and that dropping the charges was the ‘least attempt to make amends for the damage caused.’ “Some might say that the fact that we ended with an acquittal is a failure of justice, but any way you look at it, this trial has been an unmitigated disaster,” the prosecutor said in a speech that lasted a breathtaking two hours. He added that ‘nothing has been proven,’ and that the defendants ‘have not done anything criminal.’ He mentioned that one of the key witnesses in the trial, the owner of a rival nightclub which had allegedly been subject to 25 inspections in 12 days on the orders of Cursach and Sbert,
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had ‘whispered their version of events into the investigators’ ears’, who then ‘lost their senses.’ “The worst thing is that this was all continuously published [in the press] and nothing was done to prevent it, or even disencourage it,” he said. Herranz railed against the use of protected witnesses, a bias against the defendants and ‘uncritical and irrational follow-up’, insisting that slander had been passed off as evidence.
Accused
Along with Cursach, the trial had been investigating 22 others including 14 police officers, two officials and one other official accused of a range of crimes from belonging to a criminal organisation, prevarication (abuse of power) and threats. Right hand man Sbert accepted the apology from the prosecution but emphasised the damage that the trial has done to the reputations of himself and Cursach. “I have lived through terror. I had cameras put up in my house, because I was afraid that they would plant drugs into my garden. The terror, the fear, grief, unreason, hatred...all of that invades you and you stop being you.” “I was about to commit suicide. I had my hand on the railing of a bridge,” Sbert Home delivery revealed. Servicio a domicilio A series of acquittals on the opening day of the trial Set Meal brought the number down 19.95€ to 17. drink Prosecutions were also included dropped against six of the accused, including the diC/.Fabrica, 5 Bajos, rector of Tito’s nightclub Santa Catalina, Palma and a former director-gen(+34) 971 592 535 eral of tourism at the BaleAvenida de la Playa, No4, aric tourism ministry, Pilar Palmanova, Calviá (+34) 971 68 04 94 Carbonell. Opinion Page 6