Escoda: “The sentence against Eduardo Zaplana is a disgrace for Benidorm and its history”

Following the publication of the sentence of the Provincial Court of Valencia, which has condemned the former mayor of Benidorm, Eduardo Zaplana, to 10 years and five months in prison for the crimes of money laundering, bribery, and falsification of commercial documents, the Socialist municipal group has stressed that “today is a sad and shameful day for Benidorm and its history.”

Thus, the Socialist spokesperson, Cristina Escoda, has announced that, after this resounding judicial ruling, they are going to ask that all the honours granted by the City Council to Eduardo Zaplana be withdrawn, change the name of the avenue that bears his name and remove all the plaques on which his name appears. “He is the only mayor of Benidorm who has been in prison accused of serious crimes and who has now been sentenced. It has become manifestly clear that he no longer meets the requirements of exemplary conduct that earned him these awards, so there is no other alternative than to withdraw them," she said.

Likewise, the socialist leader has valued the work of the PSOE colleagues in Benidorm who for years denounced the abuses committed by Zaplana since he arrived in local politics and the mayor's office of the city in 1991 with the help of a defector. "Justice has come to recognise with this sentence what our councillors said and criticised for so long. It is a recognition of their work," she stressed.

However, Escoda has pointed out that the mayor Toni Pérez, who grew up and grew politically alongside Zaplana, "should evaluate the sentence and give explanations today."