Tourism official first to give back suits given him by Gürtel corruption ring

The former chief of the Valencia region tourism department, Rafael Betoret, who was tried in connection with the Gürtel scandal, has returned the tailored suits he was given by the corruption ring. That was one of the choices presented to him by the judge presiding the case, in which Betoret was charged with being an accessory to bribery.

In addition to a 9,600-euro fine, Betoret and his colleague Víctor Campos were ordered to return the suits or pay the equivalent amount. Campos, the former vice premier of the Popular Party regional administration in Valencia under Francisco Camps, opted for the latter. According to the sentence, the clothing received by Campos is valued at 5,529 euros. Betoret's illicit haul of apparel was valued at 13,449 euros. Campos asked for the amount to be deducted from the 46,666 euros imposed on him as bail.

Camps, who resigned his post as regional premier after a long battle to avoid going to court over the Gürtel case, is to face trial from December 12 also for receiving tailored suits as gifts from the network. In the court report, it was noted that Betoret and Campos admitted to the charges brought against them. The judge, in his summing up, stated that between 2005 and 2008, the ringleaders of the Gürtel network, Francisco Correa, Pablo Crespo and Álvaro "the mustache" Pérez, "motivated by common interests and with the end of winning the friendship, privileged treatment and favor of various civil servants and authorities with important responsibilities in high offices and institutions of the Valencia region, in a continuous manner gave gifts in the form of tailored suits and other garments."

The magistrate made clear in the sentence that the accused received the suits in full knowledge that they were given on the basis of the posts they held in the Valencia regional government.