The Provincial Court of Alicante has sentenced the former mayor of Orihuela, Mónica Lorente, and eight other people over irregularities in the awarding of the town’s waste collection and street cleaning contract. The case forms part of the main investigation in the long-running Brugal corruption affair.

Lorente, who led Orihuela Town Council between 2007 and 2011, has received a four-month prison sentence and twenty months of disqualification from holding public office for misconduct in public office combined with fraud. Three former councillors from her administration have also been convicted, with prison sentences ranging from four months to one year, alongside fines and bans from office.

The court has also sentenced the former municipal auditor, José Manuel Espinosa, to eight months in prison. Businessman Ángel Fenoll, owner of Colsur SL and Proambiente SL, has been given a total of three years and nine months in jail for offences including bribery, fraud and misuse of privileged information. His son, Antonio Ángel Fenoll, has been sentenced to one year in prison.

Five of those convicted, including the former mayor and several ex-councillors, must jointly compensate Orihuela Town Council almost 600,000 euros for financial losses. Other defendants, including former mayor José Manuel Medina, have been acquitted after the court found no proven criminal responsibility.