The president of the Junta de Aradas in Aveiro was named as a defendant in the case of abuse of power, violation of budget rules, embezzlement, corruption and economic participation in business.
In addition to Catarina Barreto, who was elected by the Aliança com Aveiro coalition (PSD/CDS/PPM), there are five other defendants in the case, including three members of the current executive director (two members and a treasurer), the secretary of the board of directors at the time of the events and an employee.
The process consulted by Lusa on Tuesday involves several pieces of evidence collected by the Judicial Police (JP) during junta searches in January 2023 related to alleged criminal acts that took place during the mandate from 2017 to 2021.
One of the situations involved the misuse of public funds to pay a professional photographer hired to cover the nomination ceremony of Catarina Barreto for council president in the 2021 municipal elections.
Among the invoices paid by the board is the invoice of a professional photographer dated September 20, 2021 for the provision of the service “Photo service – application submission” in the amount of 250 euros.
In addition to photographing the candidacy presentation session, the work included developing a script and photo shoot with each of the members of the Alliance with the Aveiro List (PSD/CDS/PPM) to be used in the campaign’s promotional materials. .
When questioned by the SP, the mayor denied that the photographer in question was hired to carry out the above-mentioned event, claiming that the invoice he issued for 250 euros corresponded to the creation of five paintings that he commissioned as a tribute.
This version was also denied by the photographer in his statements to the judiciary.
The Council President is also suspected of improperly paying for lunches and dinners from public money, tributes, inaugurations, museums and other expenses not related to her public duties.
The mayor also funneled public money to a local radio station, presumably in exchange for space for local and national political opinion/analysis.
Lusa tried to contact the President of the Junta de Aradas, but so far this has not been possible.