Garzón faces Santander bribery trial

The crusading judge Baltasar Garzón has been indicted for the same crime that former Valencia premier Francisco Camps was acquitted of earlier this week. Garzón, who is already on trial for allegedly overstepping his bounds while trying to investigate Franco-era crimes, and also for ordering wiretaps of prison conversations between members of the corrupt Gürtel business network, now faces a third court case over courses he taught at New York University in 2005 and 2006, the Supreme Court confirmed Friday. The case has been shelved on three occasions.

He is charged with seeking money from Banco Santander, among other sources, to finance his lectures. Garzón later threw a tax fraud case against Santander chief Emilio Botín out of court. The charge of accepting bribes while holding office is the same that was levied against Francisco Camps for accepting expensive suits from the Gürtel network while he was Valencia premier. Garzón, who was suspended from his duties in 2010 while his cases are resolved, is known for pursuing former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet and members of the Argentinean dictatorship.