Ex-Castellón boss to stand trial after nine years of delay tactics
Popular Party baron Carlos Fabra accused of defrauding around 1.5 million euros
A judge on Friday ordered former Castellón provincial chief Carlos Fabra of the Popular Party (PP) to stand trial after formally indicting him on charges of influence-peddling, bribery and tax fraud.
The 67-year-old Fabra, a powerful PP boss in the region, has been filing a barrage of appeals for the past nine years to avoid trial. The move by the judge in Nules to issue the order comes after the Supreme Court rejected the controversial former provincial leader’s latest appeal.
The order, which cannot be appealed, now goes to the regional High Court which will set a date. Prosecutors accuse Fabra and his former wife, María Amparo Fernández, of defrauding the Treasury of some 1.5 million euros between 1999 and 2004. They are asking for a jail term of between 15 and 20 years.
The trial is expected to take place in the fall.
