The oral trial of the 'Kitchen case' begins this Monday in the National Court against 10 defendants for carrying out an alleged parapolice operation in 2013 to spy on Luis Bárcenas and recover documents from the B box of the Popular Party, with the aim of protecting the party from the investigations of the Gürtel case, the largest corruption scheme that points to the PP. The trial will last until June 30.
In this context, among the accused is, Jorge Fernández Díaz, former Minister of the Interior with Rajoy, is the main accused. The Prosecutor's Office charges him with criminal organization, embezzlement of reserved funds, revelation of secrets, and malfeasance, requesting 15 years in prison plus 33 years of disqualification for authorizing illegal espionage from his ministry.
Francisco Martínez, his Secretary of State for Security, faces the same charges plus cover-up, with the same penalty requested. He is accused of directly coordinating the 53,266 euros diverted and meetings with Villarejo to organize the operation.
José Manuel Villarejo, retired commissioner and material executor, is the most punished: 19 years for criminal organization, embezzlement and revelation of secrets. He recruited the driver Sergio Ríos, raided Bárcenas' workshop and coordinated surveillance and wiretaps on the former treasurer's conversations.
Eugenio Pino, former deputy operational director of the National Police (DAO), is accused of criminal organization, embezzlement, and revelation of secrets. The Prosecutor's Office requests 15 years in prison and 33 years of disqualification for authorizing from the police leadership the diversion of reserved funds and supervising the espionage operation against Bárcenas. He was the bridge between Interior and Villarejo, validating the illegal payments to the driver Sergio Ríos.
Sergio Ríos, driver of the Bárcenas family turned mole, faces embezzlement and revelation of secrets. He collected 53,000 euros from public funds (2,000€/month + extras) for tapping conversations, delivering documents from the B fund and facilitating the raid on Bárcenas' workshop. They ask for 8 years and 5 months in prison.
Andrés Gómez Gordo, personal advisor to María Dolores de Cospedal in Génova, is indicted for criminal organization and embezzlement. He directly managed false invoices for reserved funds (meals, pistol for Ríos) and coordinated with Villarejo. PSOE requests provisional detention due to flight risk; Prosecution requests 15 years.
Marcelino Martín Blas, commissioner of Internal Affairs, is accused of embezzlement for delivering public money to Villarejo (part of the €53,000). He was the physical "distributor" of the reserved funds falsely justified as "security". They are asking for 2 years and 6 months in prison.
José Luis Olivera, former head of the UDEF -police officers investigating Gürtel-, faces revelation of secrets and possible bribery. He is charged with leaking sensitive information from the judicial investigation to the ‘Kitchen’ plot to obstruct it. The Prosecutor's Office requests 6 years in prison.
To complete the list, Bonifacio Díez Sevilla, police inspector, knowledgeable of the plot, will also sit, as will chief inspector José Ángel Fuentes Gago, for whom the popular prosecution demands 13 years in prison.
All of them are accused of sabotaging justice during the Gürtel case using public money. PSOE and Podemos, as popular prosecution, are requesting aggravated sentences and provisional detention. Mariano Rajoy, María Dolores de Cospedal and Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría will testify as witnesses on April 23.
