(MENAFN- AFP) A court on Monday sentenced a top ally of Spain's prime minister to four years' jail for tax fraud, in one of the country's most notorious recent corruption scandals.
The judgement came at a sensitive time for Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, whose Popular Party has been rocked by separate allegations of corruption this year.
The judge convicted Carlos Fabra on four counts of tax evasion but acquitted him of accepting bribes and influence-peddling, the court in the eastern province of Castellon said in a written ruling.
Fabra was the leader of the conservative Popular Party in Castellon, part of Valencia, a region now synonymous with claims of political corruption during the Spanish building boom that went bust in 2008.
Centre-left newspaper El Pais quoted Rajoy as referring to Fabra in 2008 as "an exemplary citizen".
The party distanced itself from Fabra after Monday's ruling.
"Fabra has not held any position in the party for some time," its deputy leader Maria Dolores de Cospedal told reporters.
Fabra held the post of provincial president for more than 20 years until 2010. Corruption charges were brought against him in 2003 and tax evasion charges in 2005.
As president of the Castellon provincial council, Fabra oversaw controversial public spending projects such as the building of an airport which is now derelict, seen as a symbol of bad investments in the boom.
At the entrance to the airport stands a 24-metre high sculpture dedicated to Fabra. The work, which reportedly cost 300,000 euros ($405,000) of public money, was branded a sign of "megalomania" by his political opponents.
A colourful character who wears dark sunglasses in public to hide an old injury, Fabra stood trial last month along with four other defendants including his ex-wife, Maria de los Desamparados Fernandez.
The trial followed a 10-year investigation into alleged financial irregularities, including tax evasion from 1999 to 2003.
The court ordered Fabra to pay a fine of 693,000 euros and also to pay the same amount to the taxman. It also sentenced Fernandez to two years' jail for tax evasion.
It acquitted Fabra of charges of accepting commissions for awarding public contracts to a company that provided agricultural products.
Rajoy was forced to fight off calls to resign this year over a separate corruption investigation targeting another top former member of the party, its ex-treasurer Luis Barcenas.
Barcenas has alleged the party made undeclared cash payments to senior members, channelling money from construction companies through a slush fund.
Another senior Popular Party figure in Valencia, Francisco Camps, was accused of accepting bribes in the form of designer suits while president of the region. He was acquitted in January 2012 for lack of evidence.
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