Justice at Last
Amid unprecedented scenes on the island around 30 Guardia Civil officers arrived at the Town Hall in San Jose at the beginning of the week to begin the long process of registering documents and computer hard drives, as the corruption scandal concerning a former municipal architect took a surprising twist.
Antonio Huerta is accused of at least seven crimes including bribery, the falsification of documents, money laundering and the misuse of his public position, whilst he held the post as the municipals chief architect between 1998 and 2007.
Events began at around 9a.m. on Monday when a number of officers arrived at the private offices of the architect in marina Botafoc. Although Huerta was nowhere to be found, both his son and daughter-in-law were arrested. The office was checked for vital clues and a number of papers, as well as computers, were seized by officers, who were accompanied by members of the Tax Office. It later emerged Huerta was on holiday in Argentina, although when informed of the police operation and the arrest of his son and daughter-in-law, he voluntarily returned to the island with his wife, both of whom were promptly arrested just minutes after touching down the following day. His wife, former president of the PP party in San Jose, was later released after the judge, Pablo Mendoza, decided there was not enough evidence to keep her detained.
Huertas son and daughter-in-law were later freed after each paying 80,000 bail. Their passports were confiscated and they will have to appear before the magistrate periodically, until the trial. However, Huerta remained in prison and is, for the moment, being denied bail.
The investigation then turned to the Town Hall building. Around 20 officers from Palma arrived at around 11a.m. They first went to inform Mayor Josep Mari Ribas Agustinet of their intentions, before heading to the Planning department where they spent the next eleven hours searching for files, many of which were taken away for further investigation.
The full scale of the corruption began to unfold last month as investigating judges looking into the scandal heard how Huerta and his son, through their privately owned companies, had been involved in numerous projects, most of which were given the green light by Huerta himself as chief architect. A significant part of these projects are still to be completed. On the day of his departure as chief architect he renounced work at the college of architects on an incredible 120 projects which he had been working on. His resignation was announced as a video came to light which had been made by private investigators, at the bequest of the college of Architects, which showed Huerta offering the services of his private practice to two investigators who were working undercover as property developers, as well as indicating he could make the entire process much easier.
Pilar Fernandez, Huertas sons wife, was also heavily involved in the scam having presented 53 projects, having only just qualified as an architect, all of which were undertaken in San Jose, and approved by Huerta himself.
In his statement before the judge on Wednesday evening the architect denied any wrongdoing.
A private investigation by the College of Architects revealed that of the eleven projects which they looked into, all had been manipulated to ensure more was actually built than the plans permitted. In most cases annexes were added on which were later turned into apartments. These included a complex in Cala Carbo, which had an extra floor attached that invaded protected land neighbouring the building. The investigation began after the college openly admitted Huerta was leaving their associates with little work, after he ensured most of the projects which passed through the Town Hall were assigned to family members at his private practice.
The Tax Office revealed they had been investigating the four people, and their six or seven companies, for the last year, claiming Huertas income was far superior to that of someone in his position. It was later revealed the companies had made a total of 12 million during the last ten years.
The former PP-mayor, Jose Serra Escandell, who knows first hand about accusations of bribery, said he was worried about the bad image the municipality was receiving due to the latest scandal, but claimed he knew nothing about the irregularities. He said his administration gave the go-ahead for all projects on the basis of the technical report made by his staff, including the architect.
The environmental group, GEN, who first uncovered the irregularities in 2005, said they regretted the length of time the investigation had taken and claimed the culprits would have had plenty of time to destroy most of the evidence. They also called for all of the projects which had involved Huerta to be thoroughly revised, a call which the current Councillor for Urban Planning, Josep Antoni Prats, said would be impossible, considering Huerta had given the go-ahead to around 1,000 projects a year during more than ten years in office.
The investigation will continue this week with things looking very bleak for Antonio Huerta, who for so many years laughed in the face of both the law and morality.

AROUND THE ISLAND

The Plot Thickens
The after-shock of the bribery scandal which broke last week involving the Balearic governments Consortium for Economic Development, Antonia Ordinas, began to take its toll across the political board, as the chain of high profile figures involved grew and grew. Ordinas, and her partner, soprano Isabel Rossello, were both arrested last Monday along with nine others, including her boss at the time, the ex-director general, Kurt Viaene, all of whom are accused of corruption and the misuse of public money during the PPs last stint in Government from 2003 to 2007.
Ordinas has so far followed the instructions of her lawyer and collaborated fully with the authorities, even leading them to around 200,000 which she had buried in the garden of her luxury chalet in Portol, Mallorca. However, after her initial silence she subsequently pointed the finger directly at her superiors, her immediate boss, Kurt Viaene, as well as the president of the party in Ibiza, Jose Juan Cardona, claiming that they also took part of the commissions, estimated at around 5 million in total. She said that although she never saw Cardona take the money, Viaene had insisted on an increase to his percentage of the commissions as he was sharing it with Cardona.
The former minister for Industry immediately pleaded his innocence claiming he had never received any money from Ordinas or anyone else, adding that he could not be held accountable for what his staff got up to. He was supported by most members of his party on the island, including the mayor of San Antonio, Jose Sala, who claimed Cardona was a good man.
Cardona, for his part, said he was completely unaware of what had been going on in the party, a statement queried by his successor, Francesca Vives, who assured the press whilst on a visit to the island on Wednesday, that Cardona had been told about irregularities within the Consortium for Economic Development by a civil servant who claimed the department spent money with too much joy. Vives said the civil servant then went on to tell the former minister, Cardona, that the Consortium had squandered a total of 4 million in one year, the budget for the entire four-year term.
She was clear to state that at no point was she accusing Cardona of taking bribes, but that he had been fully aware of some irregularities within the department.
However, his case was helped somewhat by businessman, Felipe Ferré, who confirmed he had signed contracts worth around 2.6 million in exchange for considerable bribes. However, whilst claiming he had paid money to both Ordinas and Viaene, he denied ever having given anything to Cardona.
Ferré, who was first arrested back in September before being re-arrested last week, formed part of the company, Comarca Global Consulting and Gourmet and Boutique Islands SL, which assisted in the setting up of various stands at tourist shows around the world, as well as numerous studies and market research, most downloaded directly from the internet, and all of which have now been called into question.
For her part the spokeswoman for the PP party in the Balearics, Catalina Soler, said she was ashamed of what had gone on within her party, and agreed it would be difficult for the public to now trust her party.
Meanwhile in Palma the local minister for the Treasury, Carles Manera, claimed the Balearic Government would be setting up more controls over the next few months to ensure such incidents could not be repeated. The moves will place more controls on public officials and ensure independent auditors are in place to monitor all government departments.

Electricity Increases
Demand for electricity grew by 5.1 per cent during September, reaching 81.47 Giga-Watts. The number of GESA clients has also grown by 1,459 in 2008, reaching a massive 83,657 in Ibiza and Formentera.

Prats Forges Ahead
As the controversial temporary taxi licences finished for the season the councillor for transport at the Island Council, Albert Prats, announced he would be pushing forward similar plans for next year. The councillor said the optimum number of temporary licences remained 136, a figure he would try to reach in 2009.
A total of 62 current licence holders and drivers managed to obtain a temporary taxi license during 2008. The permits ran in two stages, the first in July and August, and the second in August and September, and were part of the Island Councils plans to combat a lack of taxis during the busiest months of the year. The plans caused a great deal of controversy when Prats announced the permits would be split equally between current license owners and employees. This drew criticism, especially from the Ibiza Taxi Association, and caused a number of strikes during last winter.
The Association went as far as to take the ruling to the tribunals, a decision they eventually lost last month. This defeat led to a splinter taxi group being set up by those drivers unhappy at the decisions made by their association. However, the councillor did not back down and forged ahead with the plans, something he is set to do once again next year.
Prats said he was hoping the new association would be more open to the idea and promised them the same opportunities as this year. Otherwise he promised that all of the licenses in 2010 would be offered to employees.

Flight Increases
Air Nostrum is to increase flights from the island to the mainland and Palma this winter. On Tuesday the company announced that it would be offering a total of 26 flights per week, including the new addition of Barcelona.
The director general, Miguel Angel Falcon, said the company would have a total of three flights per week to Barcelona, three to Paris (one more than last year), three daily flights to/from Valencia, as well as the usual daily flights to Palma. Falcon also announced the continuation of three daily flights to Madrid, something which started in March and will enable people to fly to and from the capital in the same day.
Air Nostrum has so far transported a total of 290,000 passengers this year, 11 per cent more than last year.
The following day Spanair also announced an increase to their winter programme on the island. They will offer the first flight of the day to Ibiza from the capital at 7.20a.m., and the last return flight at night (9.05 p.m.) allowing visitors to come for the day.
The company will also operate two flights per day to Barcelona, taking the daily total to fourteen flights.

Radiotherapy Promise
The Health Minister, Vicenc Thomas, confirmed on Tuesday that the new hospital in Ibiza would have an area dedicated to radiotherapy, although he stopped short of promising the new facility from the very first day. He said that the new hospital, which can hopefully get underway during 2009, will have an area reserved for a radiotherapy unit, ensuring the unit would be easier to install when the time was eventually right.
His comments are the first step in the fight to bring the treatment to Ibiza. Until now all cancer patients have had to make the arduous trip to either Palma or Barcelona.
The assurances were made as the minister announced the start of the annual campaign to promote the flu vaccination. He revealed that the Balearic Government would distribute a total of 184,036 vaccinations this year, 19,900 of which would be for Ibiza and Formentera. The drive will once again concentrate on the groups more at risk, including the over 65s.

Bored of Waiting
Whilst revealing his companies new routes for the coming season the director-general of Air Berlin in Spain and Portugal heavily criticised the attitude of the politicians on the island. During his speech Alvaro Middelmann said the time had come to stop talking about all-year-round tourism, and actually begin to act, adding that he had become bored of the constant promises by politicians year after year about de-seasonalising the island.
He also had no doubts about entering the debate currently brewing about the possibility of new golf courses on the island, claiming it was a no-brainer, whilst criticising the only course on the island for its elitist attitude.
His comments came as the number of German tourists visiting the island fell by 5 per cent. Middelmann said the politicians needed to concentrate on the type of product they wanted to offer in Ibiza, and said it was sometimes hard to market the island as a family resort, with some of the things that went on during the summer.
He remained pessimistic about the future, claiming he could not see the current shortening of the tourist season changing in the near future, due to the short-sightedness of the politicians.
However, the good news is that, despite the worldwide airline crisis, Air Berlin is set to maintain the same number of flights to and from the island as last year, despite a fall of 15 per cent in passenger numbers during 2008. Their programme includes direct flights to Düssledorf, and connections with Vienna, Zurich, and Copenhagen, as well as Alicante, Sevilla and Valencia, all via Mallorca.

Holiday Plea
Prisoner, Ian Hutchinson, caused outrage last week after demanding a two-week holiday to Ibiza. The cheeky jailbird wrote to his bosses at HMP Coldingley in Surrey claiming that the fact that he worked in the laundry 5 days a week, 52 weeks a year, entitled him to a holiday. However, infuriated bosses failed to see the funny side claiming that because Hutchinson was being held at her Majestys pleasure his basic working rights were non-existent.

Thumbs Up
At their end of season dinner the chief executive of the Fiesta group, Abel Matutes, claimed the season had been fairly good, although he said he feared there could be a decline in British holidaymakers over the next few years.
The former foreign minister bemoaned the shortening of the season and the low prices in May and October, which ensured hotels barely covered their costs. Month by month he revealed that May had been poor, whilst June had been better than expected. The opposite could be said for July, while August was good, with the first 20 days of September satisfactory, and October non-existent. All of this resulted in an average occupancy of around 75 per cent, a pretty decent figure.
However, the problem remains the over-competitive nature of the hotel industry on the island and in Europe, which has ensured prices have scarcely risen over the last few years, whilst costs including electricity bills and salaries, have soared by as much as seven per cent. All this has meant that while turnover has been maintained or increased slightly each year, the hotels have actually become less profitable. This is one of the main reasons for the groups move abroad, particularly to the Caribbean and Americas, where profitability is far better.
Matutes revealed that one of the keys to maintaining the high occupancy over the last two years has been the groups move to other, lesser exploited, markets across Europe, including the Belgian, Dutch and Russian sectors. He added that these under-used markets would be the key in the future, as he expected a drop in the number of British tourists over the next year, due to the weak pound which has plummeted by around 20 per cent. This will ensure Brits look for more competitive holidays away from the euro zone.
His comments come as a leading UK business expert warned travel agents that the holiday market to Spain would suffer over the next two years.
Mark Pragnall, chief executive of the Centre for Economics and Business Research, said customers were cutting back on expenses as they face up to a credit crunch which is set to bite hard this winter. He told delegates at the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) conference in Gran Canaria, that the market would stagnate over the next 15 months and see significant business failures over the next three years.

Price Stable
As car sales on the island dropped a massive 32 per cent last month, it was with some relief that the property market in the Balearics showed some sort of resistance to the credit crunch. Although sales have been few and far between over the last six months this does not seem to have led to a significant drop in price, according to figures from Tinsa, one of Spains largest appraisal companies. While the mainland has seen significant drops over the last 12 months the Balearics registered a fall of just 3.8 per cent in prices over the last year.

Ibiza Fish
On Friday the Association of Fishermen on the island announced it had finally managed to organise a label which would identify fish caught by Ibicencan boats in Ibicencan water. The Peix Nostrum label will now be proudly displayed in restaurants and markets across the region.
The director-general of the fisheries department at the Balearic Government, Patricia Arbona, explained that although local fish was slightly more expensive, it also came with a guarantee of freshness, and quality which could not be matched. The new trademark would also be a symbol that the fish had been caught whilst respecting the natural marine environment, and avoiding over-fishing.

Never-ending Journey
Close to 400 passengers on two separate ferries endured a longer than normal crossing to the mainland on Thursday, due to the high winds which rocked the coast. The first ferry to be affected was Balearias Isla de Botafoc, which left the port of Ibiza at 4 p.m., already two hours behind schedule. To make matters worse the boat had a last minute surge of passengers due to the cancellation of the fast-ferry to Denia earlier that morning.
Moments before the boat was due to leave, the authorities were informed that the port of Denia had been closed. This led to a last minute change of destination to Valencia.
However, the worst was yet to come and after arriving at the port in Valencia at 11p.m. the captain was informed that it had been closed at 10p.m. due to the bad weather. The vessel then spent the next 14 hours circling the area, as the passengers grew more and more frustrated at the lack of service provided. The port eventually opened at 11.30a.m., and one and a half hours later the relieved passengers eventually touched terra firma.
It was a similar story for Iscomars Begona del Mar, which also arrived after 10p.m. in Valencia and had to spend the night circling the area until they were eventually allowed to enter.

SAN ANTONIO
Centre Complete
Councillor Joan Pantaleoni revealed last week that the new sports hall in ses Paises was just days away from being completed. The first stone was laid back in August 2006, with the project currently a year and a half behind schedule. However, Pantaleoni promised the wait would soon be over for frustrated neighbours in the area. The delay has been caused by problems with the electrical installation provided by GESA. However, Pantaleoni assured anxious locals these were close to being resolved and that the sports centre would be open soon.

SAN JOSE
Club Sealed Off
Officers from the police force in San Jose arrived at DC-10 on Monday afternoon to seal the entrance and ensure that the clubs end of season party could not take place. Following the closure of Space sources predicted a significant number of revellers would continue the party at the popular spot which was closed for a year last week after the owners appeal against the original decision was thrown out of court.
Officers arrived at 4p.m. - just half an hour before the proposed start of the fiesta, remaining long enough to ensure the party did not begin.

Seal of Approval
The new plans being made for the airport have met with the approval of the mayor of San Jose, Josep Mari Ribas Agustinet. The original project was drawn up in 2001 and forecast that a total of 10 million passengers would be using the terminal by 2020. With this figure in mind the technicians set about designing changes to the current facility to support such an increase.
However, the revisions have been changed drastically in the last six years and experts now predict there will be just 5.7 million people using the airport in 2020. This figure is based on an increase to current numbers of around 3 per cent every year.
The mayor, worried about the size of the project and the expropriations the work would cause, arranged to meet the director-general of the Airport Authorities on Wednesday. After the meeting Agustinet revealed that the expropriations would be limited to just one warehouse, and that no houses would be destroyed. This will be made possible by a reduction in the size of the area used to store airplanes, although the director-general, Jose Manuel Hesse, insisted the second emergency runway would still need to be built.
Work on this new plan began in 2006, and it has already received the seal of approval from neighbours in the area worried about the expansion affecting their property. It is hoped the work can be started next year, and 16 million has already been put aside in the budget for next year, with 2 million more to follow in 2010. This will also include an underground parking facility being built underneath the current facility.

Work Begins
Today will see the beginning of work, once again, on the Plan of Excellence in Cala de Bou. After three years of modifications, which have led to numerous complaints and altercations, the Town Hall claimed the project was now entering its final stage. Work will now take place between calles Lugo and Madrid. The Town Hall has confirmed a restructuring of traffic flow would lead to far less disruption than in previous years, as they assured worried residents that access would be available to all homes. The administration claimed they understood the frustrations of the local population and businesses, but promised this time that the work would be finished by Christmas, although they failed to elaborate which Christmas they were referring to!

SAN JUAN
Road Improvements
The mayor of San Juan, Antoni Mari Mari Carraca, revealed on Friday that his administration would be spending 800,000 over the next year to improve San Vicente. He continued that the project that had so far been drawn up was extremely complex, as it involved the complete remodelling of the main road through the town. This would be completely dug up and telephone and electricity cables would be buried underground. He added that they would also take the opportunity to improve the sanitation system in the area, before re-surfacing of the road took place.
A further 400,000 would also be spent on improving sports facilities within the area, although the mayor could not offer any further information at this point.

CRIME & INCIDENTS
Starbucks Theft
A shop worker at a popular Starbucks coffee franchise, who stole nearly 12,000 from his employers and used it on a luxury holiday to the island, was sentenced to 160 hours of community service.
The Daily Record reported that the employee, Dean Jennings, 26, sneaked back into the Starbucks branch in Edinburgh where he worked and stole the money from a safe, before catching a taxi to East Midlands airport, a trip which cost him a cool 750. He then boarded a plane for Ibiza, encouraged by his girlfriend, before enjoying the all expenses paid trip.
However, half way through the trip Jennings returned home and gave himself up to police, handing in approximately 6,500 remaining. He explained that he had used 600 to pay off a debt, 1,800 on accommodation but was unable to account for the rest. Jennings was ordered to pay the remaining amount back to his employers with sheriff, Frank Crowe, saying: "This is a complete mess. It is a very foolish act and was a huge breach of trust. It must have caused great inconvenience to your employers, fellow staff and customers." However, the judge took into account the defendants change of heart when opting for a lighter sentence.

Another Vadella Accident
A woman lay seriously injured in hospital after an accident on the Cala Vadella road. The incident occurred just after 1p.m. on Thursday at km3.2, close to the scene of another serious accident last month. It appears that the tarmac was wet due to the rain and the two cars, one Spanish registered, the other German, collided head-on. Due to the impact the Renault fell down a small bank. The emergency services were soon on the scene and all of the four occupants were taken to Can Misses including the most serious case.

Leader Detained
Police brought to a close the operation which led to the arrest of five Colombians on the island, after they announced the ringleader had been arrested in Castellon. The investigation, which involved forces in both Madrid and Ibiza, led to police raiding an apartment in the Nogal building in Santa Eulalia where 10 kilos of cocaine had just been delivered. As well as producing and selling drugs, the gang also specialised in its transportation using specially modified vehicles.
Police were disappointed at the time, after the supposed gang leader managed to escape officers in the capital. However, they kept the investigation open and soon discovered their man living in an apartment in Castellon. After mounting a 24-hour surveillance operation, officers eventually moved in to arrest the man, who according to sources had changed his physical appearance with the aid of a haircut and dye.

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