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Article: A Spanish mayor's nest.(Marbella mayor Jesus Gil)(Brief Article)
- Article from:
- The Economist (US)
- Article date:
- January 16, 1999
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1999 Economist Newspaper Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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MARBELLA
JESUS GIL, the populist right-wing mayor of the Andalusian resort of Marbella, is no stranger to prisons. In 1969, he got a five-year sentence after the collapse of a block of flats he had built, leaving 58 people dead. Pardoned by General Franco, he was out in 18 months. But last week he was behind bars again, this time accused of using cash from the coffers of Marbella's town council to pay for his far-from-local football team, Atletico de Madrid. The allegations are part of a wider inquiry into fraud which could reveal a lot of tacky finance behind the Costa del Sol's glitz.
Since becoming mayor in 1991, Mr Gil has carried out numerous ...