It was hardly surprising that the mayor of Algorfa, Manuel Ros (PSOE), refused to answer his phone on Monday, despite repeated calls from the local press asking for a comment, following his arrest on Saturday morning for driving whilst under the influence of alcohol.
According to the Communications Office of the TSJ, Ros was stopped by Benijófar local police a routine check on the CV-920 road, which links Rojales with Benijófar, at 5am on Sunday morning. He is said to have tested positive with a rate of 0.84 milligrams of alcohol per litre, a reading that is triple the allowable limit of 0.25mg.
Positive tests are usually sanctioned with fines and a loss of driving license points. However as the alcohol level increases the offence then becomes a crime and the legislation obliges the authorities to open proceedings for a crime against Traffic Safety, which are resolved by trial.
The mayor can now face penalties ranging from three to six months in prison or a driving ban of six to 12 months. Alternatively he could also be sentenced to do 60-90 days of work in favour of the community, in addition to that loss of his license.
Ros, the son of a former socialist mayor of Algorfa, was surprisingly elected as mayor with an absolute majority in 2015, after a long period of office by the PP’s Antonio Lorenzo. The municipality is one of the smallest of the Vega Baja, with a census of 2,500 neighbors (having dropped from four thousand residents in 2011) and focuses its activity on the construction of tourist housing in the macro urbanisación, La Finca Golf Course and agriculture.
Another mayor who thinks he is above the law!