Who said that ‘crime doesn’t pay’? We see examples of it every day, so we know full-well that it does. In the case of the UK government they call it sleaze, parliamentary systems that allow Members to earn vast sums of money for external work, which is in breach of parliamentary rules, or claiming rent allowances to cover their own rental payments, while they rent out their private homes in London.
We all know that it goes on in UK and elsewhere, and so now do the Tory’s as voters are shifting their support.
Usually such culprits are named and shamed, but very little else. We rarely see them held to the same standards as us mere mortals unless, of course, you are a former mayor of Torrevieja who has served a 3-year term of imprisonment for corruption in the Campos del Río (Murcia). Then, it would appear, not only are memories extremely short they are often completely wiped, as would appear to the be case with Pedro Hernández Mateo, the mayor of the city between 1988 and 2011, who served three years in prison for rigging a waste contract worth 100 million euros.
On Friday it was announced that Mateo is to receive Torrevieja’s highest distinction, the Diego Ramírez Pastor award. I bet that the former journalist who gave his name to the award, is turning in his grave.
Only last year the Minister of Transparency for the Valencian Government, Pérez Garijo described as “unacceptable” the fact that many public spaces and buildings in the city display commemorative plaques bearing the name of the disgraced mayor Pedro Hernández Mateo
The minister sent a letter to the mayor of Torrevieja, Eduardo Dolón, in which he urged the City Council of Torrevieja to remove the plaques throughout the city that bear the names of people who held public office and who were subsequently convicted of corruption cases.
However, Mateo, despite his crimes, continues to be held in extremely high regards in the city and news of the award has been largely well received.
The former mayor was selected to receive the honour by a jury made up of previous winners, at a meeting held in the boardroom of the Real Club Náutico de Torrevieja.
The citation says that the award is made to Pedro Hernández Mateo for the contribution he has made to the city of Torrevieja. Well you certainly can’t argue with that!
