This Tuesday, the Public Ministry (MP) requested a sentence of eight to 12 years in prison for the former vice-president of the Chamber of Gaia Patrocínio Azevedo on suspicion of corruption in the Operation Babel process.
During the closing arguments at the Court of Vila Nova de Gaia, in the district of Porto, the MP prosecutor also considered that the penalty to be applied to Patrocínio Azevedo it must even be above the middle of the range of eight to 12 years in prison, that is, 10 years.
Furthermore, the prosecutor argued that the former vice-president of the chamber, elected by the PS, should be banned from holding public office for six years.
Patrocínio Azevedo, who was in pre-trial detention for around 23 months, is one of the 16 defendants in Operation Babel, related to the alleged tampering and violation of norms and instruction in urban licensing processes in Vila Nova de Gaia.
The former vice president is accused of dozens of economic crimes, such as corruption and influence peddling, as are real estate businessmen Paulo Malafaia and Elad Dror, founder of the Fortera group, and lawyer João Pedro Lopes.
The MP maintains that Elad Dror and Paulo Malafaia “agreed to develop real estate projects in the city of Vila Nova de Gaia, namely the so-called Skyline/Cultural and Congress Center, Riverside and Hotel Azul”, counting on the alleged favoritism on the part of Gaia’s former deputy, who would receive money and material goods, such as watches, in exchange.
“The requirements for general prevention in this type of crime are extremely high”, understood the MP.
Furthermore, the prosecutor stated that, during the trial, which began in January, Patrocínio Azevedo masked facts and distorted contexts, admitting nothing. And, in this way, it did not contribute to the discovery of the truth, you understand.
Saying that the crimes of which Patrocínio Azevedo is accused have been proven, the prosecutor said that he, during the trial hearings, demonstrated “a lack of capacity for self-censorship, of internalizing the seriousness of his conduct and lack of responsibility”.
The prosecutor, who began his closing arguments last Thursday, stressed that Patrocínio Azevedo, who was released in April and was subject to periodic presentations to the authorities, should have had a superior ethical stance, given the position he held.
“The facts are serious, because they occurred when Patrocínio Azevedo was serving as vice-president and, therefore, when he had to look after the interests of the community in general”, he reinforced.
According to the MP, Patrocínio Azevedo, by favoring private individuals in exchange for receiving money and watches, jeopardized the trust of citizens and the integrity of the municipality.
The prosecutor also highlighted that Patrocínio Azevedo is a “central figure” in triggering the crimes in question because, without his participation, real estate entrepreneurs Paulo Malafaia and Elad Dror had not been able to carry out their objectives. “acted [Patrocínio Azevedo] repeatedly over the years”, he concluded.
The Chamber of Gaia, currently led by the social democrat Luís Filipe Menezes, who returned to the chamber and ended 12 years of socialist leadership, gave up being an assistant to the process and the request for compensation of 50 thousand euros.