Pelayo Roces, a former member of the Foro Asturias Ciudadanos (FAC), said that Francisco Álvarez-Cascos will not lose his purchasing power even if he returns to political life, and that his dedication “24 hours a day” , “at all costs”, no one questioned because he was the “leader”. There is only one condition. “Unless you see seafood restaurants, brothels, and cocaine, those are normal expenses and they’re all paid for.”
Mr. Pelayo Roces made this statement at the Asturian state court, where he appeared as a witness, during the third trial of the former vice president of the government and the former president of the principality on charges of continued embezzlement.
Álvarez-Cascos faces a three-and-a-half year prison sentence from prosecutors and FAC accusers for diverting funds from regionalist parties into personal assets, a charge denied by his lawyer Luis Tuero. . Accusation. The Ministry of Public Affairs estimates the economic damage caused to the party at 181,648 euros. Private lawyer Luis Llanes raised the amount to 219,000 euros.
Payment dynamics
Like the former Gijón politician, Pelayo Roces was an important opportunity for Álvarez-Cascos to return to politics as founder and president of the regionalist party Foro Asturias, which he founded after leaving the PP and successfully negotiated with the Asturian government. He was an important person. .
His decision to serve as Mr Alvarez-Cascos’ “right-hand man” was also not discussed, which led to him telling former party secretary general María Teresa Alonso to pay her “all expenses”. This is the reason why this instruction was conveyed to the party committee. Accountant Rosario Cabal validated the payment. Expenditures include both personal and family expenses, as long as they are adjusted to conditions of “normality.” That means “seafood, brothels and cocaine” are not included.
This was the operational dynamic of the Foro Asturias during the Álvarez-Cascos era, defined by some witnesses as “presidential,” but with restrictions such as restaurant lunches, hotel stays, and travel outside the principality. In addition to personal expenses, he was charged for the rental of a bed, sofa, or Davis Cup ticket, a parking space, and an “office” that served as his headquarters on Via Castellana. In Madrid.
The headquarters, located in an “exclusive” location, is rented by Thinkarium, and Álvarez-Cascos’ third ex-wife, María Porto, said her then-husband would give her as much stock as possible and control the business. I started doing it. He was unable to continue due to his dedication to political activities.
Roces: “Alvarez-Cascos didn’t have an open bar.”
Pelayo Roces asserted in the Third Division that the party did oversee the then-president’s spending, but that too did not come to their attention. Because from his point of view, it wasn’t abnormal. Politics. He worked 24 hours a day and had no vacation. He carried his laptop with him everywhere. “He sent messages at 4 in the morning, 11 in the morning, and 7 in the morning.”
But Alvarez-Cascos had “no open bar” and was paid a regular salary. Only once did the bill prove not to correspond, we told him that and he paid. It was the minutes of a case handled by a public prosecutor regarding a traffic accident involving one of the children.
“I refused to pay the bill to the lawyer from Alvarez-Cascos because it didn’t seem appropriate to me. And he paid it himself. There was no problem,” he admitted. Ta.
Meeting to “persuade him” at a cider house in Gijon
In addition to being the initiator and founder of FAC, this witness was responsible for organizing its structure, operations, and finances. Several colleagues gathered at a cider house in Gijon to “convince” the former politician of the importance of leading the party.
“He was an exceptional founding candidate for our party, but the stakes were very high for him and we persuaded him to cooperate under certain conditions,” he told the court. did.

conditions
His conditions were a salary level and maintaining close relations with the children, whom he had to meet in Madrid. And so that they could get an idea of the money they had to pay him, he showed them his income at the time and they made an economic agreement to “cover all expenses.” Annual salaries ranged from 90,000 to 100,000 euros.
Pelayo Roces admitted that the FAC did not have a treasurer, a statement agreed with by all the witnesses who have testified in court so far, but that no controls were precluded. Because he himself declares: Oversaw the bill. ”
“Mr. Cascos didn’t have an open bar, but that’s not true,” he pointed out. And he claims the following about this expression: “All of Alvarez-Cascos’ expenses were normal expenses for someone who devotes himself to politics 24 hours a day. They were perfectly reasonable expenses. I co-signed with others to approve the expenses. There was no sense that anything was hidden or hidden. “Everything within the party worked with great transparency.”
Alvarez-Cascos did not have vacation time, so meals with her children were paid for. And spending time with the kids was also part of the cost we had to bear. That was the agreement and the board was aware of all of this.
Pelayo Roces
— Former deputy of the Asturian Civic Forum (FAC)
He also confirmed that there was a public headquarters in Madrid, where “several political events” were held, and that “it was not a ghost headquarters, it was a real headquarters.” In fact, he stressed that all the furniture was moved to the party headquarters in Oviedo after it was closed.
The witness also admitted that the meals were paid to the children of former politicians because a financial agreement had been reached. And spending time with the kids was also part of the cost we had to bear. That was the agreement and the board was aware of all of this. ”
Pedro Real: “He wanted to maintain his standard of living, which seemed good to us”
During the third trial, Pedro Real, a former congressman who was close to Alvarez-Cascos and who promoted the founding of the party and his return to politics, also testified. He spoke in a similar language to Pelayo Roces, whom I had met several times.
Pedro Real knew that an agreement had been reached with Alvarez-Cascos and did not object. “They told me he wanted to maintain his standard of living, and that seemed fine to us.”
“Everyone knew that an economic agreement had been signed with Francisco Álvarez-Cascos, which made sense because he left Madrid and came here to Asturias to start the game from scratch,” he said. added.
As he explained, “everyone also knew” that the then FAC president traveled to Madrid twice a week, but they knew he didn’t pass the mileage. Otherwise, “it would have been a huge expense. He himself provided his own car with the donations he received, and a driver was then hired.”
They say the headquarters in Madrid is an issue that Foro Asturias leaders are aware of and even discussed “in every board meeting.” “The Madrid headquarters was not hidden at any time,” he said. As “everyone knew” it closed in May 2014.
Tickets for the Davis Cup were bought to help as there were very few spectators. They were also purchased for museums and fairs, and it was a party image job
Pedro Real
— Former deputy of the Asturian Forum of Citizens (FAC)
Pedro Real also does not think it strange that Alvarez-Cascos charged his child’s Davis Cup tickets to a match, despite public and private accusations.
“Because there were very few spectators, Davis Cup tickets were bought for collaborations. They were also bought for museums and expositions, and it was their job to convey the image of the party,” he said. said.
He added: “Although I don’t approve of the spending, I certainly know what politicians spend. Mr. Alvarez-Cascos had no personal expenses. “It was part of the political agreement.”
However, he himself describes an episode he had with Pelayo Roces because the agreed terms were not met: Helmet, because we had an obligation to maintain his previous standard of living in Madrid,” he recalled.
The headquarters of the Foro Asturias on Madrid’s Calle Castellana was a sacred territory. Because Alvarez-Cascos was very jealous of his documents and work.
Isidro Martinez Oblanca
— Former senator of the Asturian Civic Forum (FAC)
The statements of these two witnesses, which took place yesterday Thursday afternoon, were a continuation of the testimony of former senator Isidro Martínez Oblanca, who had begun his testimony in the morning. In the afternoon session, he reiterated that “Alvarez-Cascos was so jealous of his papers and his work that the headquarters in Madrid was his sacred territory.”
Isidro Martínez Oblanca emphasized that “the entire party leadership” knew about the existence of this headquarters, and according to his interpretation, the current FAC president and mayor of Gijón, Carmen Morillon The person who accused Mr. Alvarez-Cascos of misappropriating party funds did not know that it was because he was not working 24 hours a day at the same pace as everyone else.
“My understanding is that Mrs. Carmen Morillon was not 100 percent involved in the party and was not aware of the existence of this headquarters because she was not there from the beginning.”
I do not remember economic issues being discussed in the committee. I didn’t even know that the party headquarters was in Madrid. No one sets foot in its headquarters.
Alhimiro Rodriguez Guerra
— He was a member of the FAC Board of Directors
However, the statements of the witnesses closest to Alvarez-Cascos contrasted with those of Alhimiro Rodríguez Guerra, another member of the FAC board, who told the court that the “substantive issues” He said he did not remember it being discussed. Economic Committee”.
This witness did not know that the party’s headquarters were in Madrid. “I didn’t know about its existence. No one, not even Mr. Sostres (former deputy Enrique Álvarez Sostres), had ever set foot in its headquarters,” he reiterated. The situation was acknowledged by a former forum member in the morning session, and was also declared by Alvarez-Cascos’ ex-wife and gallery owner. maria porto.
next session
The trial will continue next Monday, the 20th, with the testimony of the five witnesses who were in contention at yesterday’s trial, and will be joined by 13 people associated with the Foro Asturias.
The Third Division Tribunal, presided over by Judge Javier Dominguez Veguega, is scheduled to hold three more days of oral proceedings. Thirteen witnesses were called on Tuesday the 21st, expert evidence was collected on Friday the 24th, the session was moved from the 29th to January 31st, and, if nothing is prevented, the parties You can now proceed to report your final conclusions.