The former mayor of Wisela called the deputy’s accusation a “prank” and a “political assassination.”

Former Vizela Mayor Dinis Costa categorized the embezzlement allegation as a “hoax” and “political assassination” this Monday, stressing that he never used a credit card or municipal vehicles to his advantage.

On Monday afternoon, the former mayor began trial in a Guimarães court for the offense of embezzlement, for allegedly blaming the council for improper food expenses and for using the municipality’s vehicles “for his exclusive interests and interests.”

According to the indictment, which fully confirmed the charge of the Ministry of State (MP), the facts relate to the mandates from 2009 to 2017, when Dinis Costa was the mayor of Wizel in the Braga district, elected by the PS.

The MP asks the defendant to return more than 24,300 euros to the state, “because they represent an advantage of the criminal activities that he carried out.”

At the first court session, the former mayor, obviously moved, began by telling the panel of judges that the accusation of the deputy “is a hoax” and “a genuine political murder, a murder of personal dignity, family and health.”

Dinis Costa, now 66, denied that he had wrongfully confiscated anything from the municipality related to food or representation subsidies, adding that the credit card was used by him and “all members of the executive branch.”

Faced with the costs incurred before the presiding judge, the defendant suggested that he had paid for some of the meals with the municipality’s credit card, but “always and only in the service of the council” of Wisela, citing as an example, among other things, dinners in Porto, after meetings at the Commission for Coordination and Regional Development of the North (CCRR-N).

As for the municipal vehicles, the former mayor of the municipality of Wiesel said he always used them “in the line of duty” and “never for personal use”, stressing that he never had a municipal vehicle parked near his house. how he defends the deputy.

Dinis Costa says he also “never” traveled to the Algarve, contradicting another count.

According to the defendant, who said the investigation began with an anonymous letter, the process was initiated by a former lawyer for the municipality and now an advisor to the current Wisela City Council, in charge of the environment and city services department.

” [este processo] It was assembled by Mr. Arnaldo Guimarães from a tailored suit. He was an employee of the chamber, he was promoted to chief of staff and then to adviser, ”the former mayor of Wisela told the Guimarães court.

The trial will continue at 9:30 am on June 22 with a continuation of the testimony of Dinis Costa.

According to the prosecutor’s office, the defendant, despite receiving a hospitality allowance, the right to receive a daily allowance for business trips outside the municipality and receive a food subsidy, paid for food expenses in the amount of 10,358 euros, starting with you and third parties at the expense of the municipality.

At times, as explained in the indictment, he used a credit card linked to the municipality’s demand deposit account, at other times he paid out of his own pocket and presented the invoice to the municipality for reimbursement as an expense with exceptional public service representation.

The deputy also considered that during the same period the defendant “used three communal vehicles for purely personal purposes, not related to the public purposes for which they were intended.”

The indictment alleges that the defendant “used the cars for personal purposes, always took one of the cars home and drove it on weekends and even to meetings with lovers.”

In doing so, he forced the municipality to spend more than 14,000 euros on fuel and tolls “in its own interests and for the good.”