The Court has sentenced former Torrevieja Councilor Carmen Gómez to seven years of disqualification from public office for prevarication. Gómez, who served as Deputy Mayor and councillor for key departments such as Contracting and Parks, was found guilty of illegally commissioning €232,000 worth of works for the construction of La Siesta park between January and June 2015. These contracts were awarded verbally to seven companies without any formal contract, flagrantly violating public procurement laws.
The court determined that the entire park project, valued at over €1.1 million, required proper procedures including public tendering and transparency, none of which were followed.
Gómez initiated contracting paperwork only after the Municipal Audit Office flagged dozens of invoices without legal backing. Despite warnings from municipal auditors and an explicit stop order from a Local Development Agent, Gómez continued to request services and materials by phone and in person.
Pedro Martínez de la Torre, director of the Mediterranean VIII Employment Workshop, was also sentenced to three and a half years of disqualification for his role in the illegal procurement. Both officials acted knowingly and deliberately, bypassing legal safeguards designed to ensure fair competition and efficient use of public funds.
The court rejected Gómez’s defence that she was not responsible for the parks portfolio and was a victim of political retaliation. Testimonies from business owners and other witnesses confirmed her direct involvement in planning, supervising, and approving the works. The court also found that Gómez attempted to retroactively legitimise the illegal contracts once concerns were raised.
In addition to sharing court costs, Gómez faces another pending trial related to a separate malfeasance case known as the “Cleanup Shock Plan,” for which prosecutors are seeking a 12-year disqualification period from holding public office.
