During the start of the trial that began today at the Espinho Court in the Aveiro district, Francisco Pessegueiro stated that the money was requested by the then Mayor of Espinho during a meeting at a café in the city center, at a time when three strategic projects were under discussion for the construction of a nursing home, a hospital, and a hotel.
“It was there that I was asked for his political ‘démarches’, that 25,000 euros would be needed for the nursing home, 25,000 euros for the hospital, and regarding the hotel, he couldn’t quantify because the area where it was located was very problematic,” said the businessman.
When questioned by the presiding judge, Pessegueiro said he agreed to pay the requested amounts to prevent his projects from being “thrown into a drawer.”
“It’s very complicated for an ordinary citizen who needs the city hall to say anything. The answer is tacit because the probability of my projects going into a drawer and never being seen again was total,” said the businessman, adding that he didn’t file a complaint because he could face a defamation lawsuit or other types of problems.
Pessegueiro further clarified that Pinto Moreira’s ‘démarches’ would be to ensure the approval of the aforementioned strategic projects at the city council meeting, adding that the money would be paid after the sale of the equipment, which never happened.
When questioned by journalists as he left the court after the lunch break, Pinto Moreira denied asking Francisco Pessegueiro for any money.
“I never asked anyone for money, and that will be proven in court,” said the former mayor, who in court said he would only make statements “at the time I deem most appropriate.”
“Mr. Francisco Pessegueiro initially said he had given me money, and today he ended up acknowledging that he didn’t give me any money. Therefore, the coherence of the statements is demonstrated,” he added.
The Vortex process, which investigates acts of corruption involving two former mayors of Espinho, is related to “real estate projects and respective licensing, concerning multifamily buildings and hotel units, involving urban interests of tens of millions of euros, processed for the benefit of certain economic operators.”
The operation culminated on January 10, 2023, with the arrest of the then Mayor of Espinho, Miguel Reis (PS), the head of the Urban Planning and Environment Division of that municipality, an architect, and two businessmen on suspicion of active and passive corruption, malfeasance, abuse of power, and influence peddling.
On July 10 of the same year, the Public Prosecutor’s Office filed charges against eight defendants and five companies, including two former mayors of Espinho, Miguel Reis and Pinto Moreira, who would also be named as a defendant in this process after being heard at the Regional Department of Investigation and Penal Action of Porto.
The first is accused of four crimes of passive corruption and five of malfeasance, and the second responds for two crimes of passive corruption, one of influence peddling, and another of violation of urban planning rules.
Businessman Francisco Pessegueiro was accused of eight crimes of active corruption, one of influence peddling, five of malfeasance, and two of violation of urban planning rules.
Businessmen João Rodrigues and Paulo Malafaia were accused of eight crimes of active corruption, one of influence peddling, five of malfeasance, and two of violation of urban planning rules.
Three more defendants, who at the time held division chief positions in the municipality, and five companies were also accused of various economic and financial crimes.
