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Benavent Recants in Imelsa Trial, Admits Editing Recordings

His about-face puts the credibility of the audio that helped launch the case under fresh scrutiny in the piece E proceedings.

Overview

  • The former Imelsa manager told the court he will not ratify earlier statements, saying he was often “fumado” and that he lied at times.
  • He testified that he personally “cut and pasted” many recordings he submitted, made with a mobile phone and mini-tapes, and stored copies on an external hard drive.
  • Prosecutors seek six and a half years in prison, a €29,000 fine and disqualification for him on charges including bribery as a collaborator, prevarication and embezzlement.
  • Piece E focuses on alleged irregular awards in Valencia’s Culture Department from 2003 to 2007, a period linked to the late councillor María José Alcón.
  • The three accused entrepreneurs deny irregularities or prior ties to Benavent, and the recordings reached prosecutors in 2014 via Rosa Pérez Garijo after a pendrive from his ex–father-in-law, Mariano López.