Thirty-seven people, including leading members of Spain’s ruling Popular Party, have gone on trial in Madrid accused of involvement in a massive corruption network.
Three former PP treasurers are among the defendants in Spain’s biggest corruption trial for years. Businessman Francisco Correa is alleged to have been the ringleader who handed out bribes in exchange for contracts. The suspects were heckled as they arrived at the national court.
Francisco Correa, who faces up to 125 years if found guilty, has already spent three years in custody and his arrival was greeted with cries of “corre, corre” (run, run). He went by the nickname “Don Vito”, after the main character in the film The Godfather.
The so-called Gurtel case has electrified Spain for years, since it was exposed by a civil servant in a Madrid suburb and the case taken on by renowned investigating judge Baltasar Garzon.
