Bride on her honeymoon has told how she saw her husband clinging to a hotel balcony by his fingers just seconds before he plunged to his death.

<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;"></span><br /> <div class="article-text" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><div style="margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><br /> </div><div style="margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Sarah Waddington and husband Steven were at their wedding hotel in Benalmadena, Costa Del Sol, Spain, when he fell six floors from the balcony.The former white collar British Middleweight Boxing Champion, known to many as 'Waddy', was on his honeymoon with his bride Sarah and a few members of their family and they had enjoyed a day of drinking before disaster struck.The couple, of Cooper Fold, Hollin, had become locked out of their apartment and as Sarah went to find some spare keys, Steven had somehow fallen over the balcony and she returned to find him holding on for his life shouting 'help me.'Before she could get to him, he slipped and fell six floors to his death, suffering multiple internal injuries and several fractures to his skull.At the inquest, Sarah said: "I left him sitting outside on the floor at wall by the balcony. As I came back I could hear him shouting 'help me' so I ran to him but before I got to him he lost grip and fell. I screamed and ran down to see him but I was kept away. I gave as much information to the Spanish authorities as possible but I was in a distressed state."The couple, who lived with adopted daughter Caragh, 14, and Sarah's son Harry, three, met in 2001 and became an item in 2006, getting engaged on New Years Eve 2007.Tragically Steven's only daughter, Nadia, died 16 years ago when she was three days old and they adopted Caragh after Sarah's auntie Colette - Caragh's mum - passed away from cancer in 2004.Coroner Simon Nelson reported how toxicology tests showed Steven's blood contained an extremely high alcohol level on the night he died, which can be compared to four-times over the legal drink-drive limit.Sarah, who was visibly upset, added in her statement that Steven was not 'staggering or anything' as if this were the case she would not have left him.But Coroner Simon Nelson suggested that this could have been down to his bravado and ability to take his alcohol.Mr Nelson took this into account when summing up the investigation and he also referred to Spanish post morten results and those of a post mortem examinations carried out by Consultant Pathologist Khaled Ahmed in the UK.To a court packed with Steven's family and friends, Mr Nelson ruled out any third party involvmenet and that any criminal activity had taken place.Recording a verdicat of accidental death, Mr Nelson said: "I have no doubts whatsoever that this was a tragic accident.</div><blockquote>"This was not criminally suspicious and not a deliberate act, especially as Steven was enjoying what was supposed to be one of the happiest weeks of his life. It is fair to say no-one envisiged the tragic events that led to Steven's untimely death."</blockquote><div style="margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">But Mr Nelson was damning when addressing excessive drinking and, speaking to Steven's family directly, he concluded: "This tragic accident sends out a message to you that you can then send out to others to consider some kind of caution or restraint when drinking excessive amounts of alcohol."If this were to happen then I would imagine we would not get such tragic consequences as this."</div><div><br /> </div></div>

Bride on her honeymoon has told how she saw her husband clinging to a hotel balcony by his fingers just seconds before he plunged to his death.

Sarah Waddington and husband Steven were at their wedding hotel in Benalmadena, Costa Del Sol, Spain, when he fell six floors from the bal...

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Triay has obtained a worldwide freezing order from the Supreme Court of Gibraltar on Marrache & Co’s assets and the three Marrache brothers.

<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 15px;"></span><br /> <div class="standfirst" style="font-size: 1.167em; font-weight: bold; line-height: 20px; margin-top: 10px;"><div style="line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 18px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br /> </div></div><div style="line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 18px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 18px;"></div><div class="inline_image inline_image_left" style="clear: both; float: left; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 15px; margin-top: 0px; width: 151px;"><div class="picture" style="color: #999999; font: normal normal normal 0.917em/1.364 Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><img alt="" src="http://www.thelawyer.com/Pictures/web/b/d/k/gibraltar_107.jpg" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; display: block; margin-bottom: 3px;" /></div></div><div style="line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 18px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 18px;">Brothers Solomon and Benjamin Marrache were arrested on 18 February following suspicions of false accounting relating to Can$5.6m (£3.44m) and e2.1m (£1.83m) of client money. They were charged and refused bail last Friday afternoon (19 February).The brothers were first arrested and subsequently bailed on 9 February following charges of falsely accounting €1.8m of client monies (<em>The Lawyer</em>, 15 February). The jurisdiction’s Financial Services Commission cancelled their licenses.Isaac Marrache, who is a brother of Solomon and Benjamin, has also been suspended by Gibraltar’s local legal authority, although he has not been arrested or charged.A civil suit has also been filed against Marrache & Co by T&T Trustees, a subsidiary of Gibraltar firm Triay & Triay, which is trying to recover e10m of client monies from the firm.Triay has obtained a worldwide freezing order from the Supreme Court of Gibraltar on Marrache & Co’s assets and the three Marrache brothers. The court has also appointed provisional liquidators to protect the assets.<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px;">Gibraltar law firm Marrache & Co’s founding partners have been rearrested and the firm’s worldwide assets have been frozen amid further allegations of false accounting at the firm.</span></div>

Triay has obtained a worldwide freezing order from the Supreme Court of Gibraltar on Marrache & Co’s assets and the three Marrache brothers.

Brothers Solomon and Benjamin Marrache were arrested on 18 February following suspicions of false accounting relating to Can$5.6m (£3.44m)...

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María Teresa Navarro, the legal administrator for the ex Municipal Real Estate Assessor in Marbella, allegedly diverted 158,000 € from the accounts of his companies to her own.

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXqEW4OwSlwzZJ7dag2SBEPwhd-5lLNDuMLuEVQ5zZEXKUvBpkduUg_j4huSM-VUJWA6AscAE1itMoefRi9X26nA3Qf5wdTk63EGhocQnVDuzXPe9WecAmMcpU_Rpe_1T92vbPoXvDJqE/s1600-h/1143631304_extras_albumes_0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXqEW4OwSlwzZJ7dag2SBEPwhd-5lLNDuMLuEVQ5zZEXKUvBpkduUg_j4huSM-VUJWA6AscAE1itMoefRi9X26nA3Qf5wdTk63EGhocQnVDuzXPe9WecAmMcpU_Rpe_1T92vbPoXvDJqE/s640/1143631304_extras_albumes_0.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #3b3b3b; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', tahoma, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">Marbella Town Hall wants Roca, the man at the centre of the Malaya case, and two other top GIL party members to return 24.3 million € which was stolen by them according to the firm sentence of the Supreme Court in the Saqueo case. at the Marbella Ayuntamiento, Félix Romero, has said that the Town Hall will act against Juan Antonio Roca’s legal administrator and take ‘the opportune measures’.It follows the revelation that María Teresa Navarro, the legal administrator for the ex Municipal Real Estate Assessor in Marbella, allegedly diverted 158,000 € from the accounts of his companies to her own.Navarro is also now under investigation for carrying out a possible crime, given that four of the five payments are not reflected in the accounts of the companies concerned.</span>

María Teresa Navarro, the legal administrator for the ex Municipal Real Estate Assessor in Marbella, allegedly diverted 158,000 € from the accounts of his companies to her own.

Marbella Town Hall wants Roca, the man at the centre of the Malaya case, and two other top GIL party members to return 24.3 million € which ...

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‘Astapa’ corruption case based in Estepona Town Hall.

<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #3b3b3b; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', tahoma, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">Five more people have been indicted in the ‘Astapa’ corruption case based in Estepona Town Hall. It takes the number of people implicated in the case to 63, many of whom are politicians or businessmen. Eight local politicians from the Town Hall face charges, five of them from the Socialist party.The five new accused will be called to give statements to the judge in Instruction Court 1 in the town over the next few days.</span><br /> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #3b3b3b; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', tahoma, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">The town’s ex Mayor, Antonio Barrientos, his cabinet chief José Flores, and the PES councillors José Ignacio Crespo and Manuel Reina were held for six months on remand in prison before being granted bail in December 2008.</span>

‘Astapa’ corruption case based in Estepona Town Hall.

Five more people have been indicted in the ‘Astapa’ corruption case based in Estepona Town Hall. It takes the number of people implicated in...

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Gibraltar the Safe Haven??

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Gibraltar the Safe Haven??

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Daniel Rushton and Matthew Daly, both 25, appeared in court in Marbella and are being investigated on suspicion of involvement in several other armed robberies on the Costa del Sol.

<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #404040; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif, Geneva, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"></span><br /> <div style="line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 15px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Daniel Rushton and Matthew Daly, both 25, were queuing for credit on their mobile phones when armed police swooped on February 2.A stunned staff member at OpenCor supermarket recognised the men, who had been masked and wielding a metal bar, and called the police.Detectives found balaclavas at the pair’s home but neither has been charged.They appeared in court in Marbella and are being investigated on suspicion of involvement in several other armed robberies on the Costa del Sol.</div>

Daniel Rushton and Matthew Daly, both 25, appeared in court in Marbella and are being investigated on suspicion of involvement in several other armed robberies on the Costa del Sol.

Daniel Rushton and Matthew Daly, both 25, were queuing for credit on their mobile phones when armed police swooped on February 2.A stunned ...

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Items seized were stolen in burglaries at luxury villas , mainly in Malaga and Cadiz.

Items seized were stolen in burglaries at luxury villas , mainly in Malaga and Cadiz. The gang operated at night while their victims were asleep. They deactivated alarms and, once inside the property, took cash, jewellery and other items of value. They would often leave in their victims’ car. On one occasion in San Roque the burglars were confronted by the owners and shots were fired, although no one was hurt.<br />Three of the suspects, all_Albanian, are thought to have carried out the robberies while their partners - two Rumanian women - collaborated by renting out the houses they lived in and sending money and goods to their countries of origin. The other three people arrested in this operation are Spanish - two men and a woman - and are accused of receiving stolen goods and drug trafficking. The five men are being held in custody while the women have been released with charges.<br />The investigation into the gang began in May when, thanks to the collaboration of the general public, the lifestyle led by the immigrants was brought to the attention of the Guardia Civil. It appears that the three Albanians and the two Rumanian women had moved to a house in Elviria and frequented expensive restaurants and designer boutiques. During the searches of this and another four properties (two in Vélez-Málaga, one in Benahavís and one in Mijas) officers confiscated jewellery and watches, computers and televisions, two revolvers, expensive handbags and purses, cash and three top-of-the-range vehicles, as well as the drugs.

Items seized were stolen in burglaries at luxury villas , mainly in Malaga and Cadiz.

Items seized were stolen in burglaries at luxury villas , mainly in Malaga and Cadiz. The gang operated at night while their victims were a...

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Geoff Hurst, 68, was the biggest loser after investing in three off-plan properties in a complex near Puerto Banus on the Costa del Sol.

<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;"><br /> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17px;"></span><br /> <div class="storycopy" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 4px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 5px; margin-top: 4px; padding-bottom: 3px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: top;">Yesterday at the High Court in London, Peter Knox QC, representing the claimants, said all of them except Sir Geoff were friends of Mr Cordner who had also acted as their financial adviser.The former West Ham and England centre-forward, who is due to give evidence on Monday, was persuaded to present a 10-minute promotional video which will be played in court next week.Yesterday it was claimed investors were told they could more than double their money if they bought the properties before they were built.One allegedly agreed to plough his savings into the scheme after being told Sir Geoff’s World Cup team mate Martin Peters was buying a property there, which was not true.Mr Knox said Martin Roberts was told Mr Cordner had bought apartments at the site “in bulk”, putting them at a substantial discount.It was also alleged that the defendant falsely told Mr Roberts that Tottenham Hotspur boss Harry Redknapp had bought a place there.Mr Knox said the group had been deceived into handing over the cash to Mr Cordner and Mr Hone.</div>

Geoff Hurst, 68, was the biggest loser after investing in three off-plan properties in a complex near Puerto Banus on the Costa del Sol.

Yesterday at the High Court in London, Peter Knox QC, representing the claimants, said all of them except Sir Geoff were friends of Mr Cor...

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Benjamin Marrache is the senior partner and Solomon Marrache the finance director at Marrache & Co.One of the charges refers to the falsifying of a document required for an accounting purpose CHARGES

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrIuUvK5MwR_weuJvTYbfIaB3f3pdFHjSmNOK1qoqolq-jennVKOMHvKVGpNvKC4l4TfM8TWHgCTxeMqKFbL-qCRKZvZZE65U3ktvo3GmWyxDgtlAEu-It70isnGAnb0sLBV55os6-y70/s1600-h/Benjamin_Marrache_150.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrIuUvK5MwR_weuJvTYbfIaB3f3pdFHjSmNOK1qoqolq-jennVKOMHvKVGpNvKC4l4TfM8TWHgCTxeMqKFbL-qCRKZvZZE65U3ktvo3GmWyxDgtlAEu-It70isnGAnb0sLBV55os6-y70/s320/Benjamin_Marrache_150.jpg" /></a></div><br /> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial; font-size: 12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;"><br /> </span></span><br /> • On or about the 26 January 2010 in Gibraltar together with Benjamin/Solomon Marrache, dishonestly with a view to gain for themselves or another with intent to cause loss to another falsified a document required for an accounting purpose by making or concurring in the making of the document, namely a letter to the director of Portino Comercio Internacional SA signed by Solomon Marrache who to their knowledge was or might be misleading or deceptive in a material particular in that it purported to show that as from that day they held the sum of 1,835,266.74 Euros on behalf of said company.<br /> • On or about the 26 January 2010 in Gibraltar together with Benjamin/Solomon Marrache, dishonestly with a view to gain for themselves or another with intent to cause loss to another falsified a document required for an accounting purpose by making or concurring in the making of the document, namely a document signed by Benjamin Marrache purporting to give authority to National Westminster Gibraltar to transfer the sum of 1,835,266.74 Euros from account number 39064483 held at National Westminster Gibraltar to account number 49777531 held at Bank of Ireland which to their knowledge was or might be misleading, false or deceptive in a material particular in that account number 39064483 was only a credit in the sum of 8.82 Euros and had no credit facility. million Euros features at the centre of charges against Benjamin and Solomon Marrache. The two brothers were in the Magistrates Court yesterday morning to hear the charges and conditions for bail. In late afternoon, they returned to court.On the two occasions, the two men arrived in a police van and alighted in the company of police officers at the side entrance to the Central Police Station, which is being used as a temporary courthouse.Benjamin Marrache is the senior partner and Solomon Marrache the finance director at Marrache & Co.One of the charges refers to the falsifying of a document required for an accounting purpose, being a letter to a Spanish company signed by Solomon Marrache "who to their knowledge was or might be misleading or deceptive" showing that from that day they held the sum of 1,835,266.74 Euros on behalf of the said company.Another charge refers to a document, also allegedly falsified, and signed by Benjamin Marrache purporting to give authority to National Westminster Gibraltar to transfer the sum of 1,835,266.74 Euros from an account at National Westminster Gibraltar to another account held at Bank of Ireland "which to their knowledge was or might be misleading, false or deceptive" in that the account at National Westminster Gibraltar was only a credit in the sum of 8.82 Euros.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial; font-size: 12px;">The conditions for bail included a surety of £150,000 for each of the charges in their own recognisance.<br /> The two brothers have been freed on bail to reappear in court on 21 April.<br /> <br /> <b><br /> </b></span>

Benjamin Marrache is the senior partner and Solomon Marrache the finance director at Marrache & Co.One of the charges refers to the falsifying of a document required for an accounting purpose CHARGES

• On or about the 26 January 2010 in Gibraltar together with Benjamin/Solomon Marrache, dishonestly with a view to gain for themselves or...

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16 year old youth has been arrested in connection with the alleged sexual assault carried out on a 23 year old foreign woman in a Marbella street.

<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #3b3b3b; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', tahoma, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">16 year old youth has been arrested in connection with the alleged sexual assault carried out on a 23 year old foreign woman in a Marbella street. The assault happened on Sunday last week, and the victim managed to escape and call for help.Reports say it happened at 7,30am last Sunday next to the N340 road as the woman was walking on her way to a friend’s house. She said she had no idea who her attacker was.<i style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Diario Sur</i> reports a judge has ordered that the suspect, also a foreigner, be held in a semi-open youngsters remand centre where he is allowed out at weekends, although a 500m distancing order was placed on him regarding the victim.</span>

16 year old youth has been arrested in connection with the alleged sexual assault carried out on a 23 year old foreign woman in a Marbella street.

16 year old youth has been arrested in connection with the alleged sexual assault carried out on a 23 year old foreign woman in a Marbella s...

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Major Scandal hits the Rock prominent Gibraltar law firm, brothers Benjamin and Solomon Marrache,

<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;"></span><br /> <div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAX-ZUYGg3ik4Hlz6p1vg_tcRvxEQnmd_pYX_IcQ0o52d-7E5gDSwUAAX1KTvtAeUveqa0JQGMYfh_-_MTAGqtp5Ny7kLTrCjkm4atacPnHCk5bia0IFUdn-majg0STVnqJ4a96Xtf3BQ/s1600-h/gib.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="121" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAX-ZUYGg3ik4Hlz6p1vg_tcRvxEQnmd_pYX_IcQ0o52d-7E5gDSwUAAX1KTvtAeUveqa0JQGMYfh_-_MTAGqtp5Ny7kLTrCjkm4atacPnHCk5bia0IFUdn-majg0STVnqJ4a96Xtf3BQ/s200/gib.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>Two senior executives at a prominent Gibraltar law firm, brothers Benjamin and Solomon Marrache, appeared before the Magistrates Court yesterday charged with false accounting in respect of E1.8m of client money.The two men were arrested on Tuesday and spent the night in police cells before being ferried to court in a police van.The two Marrache brothers were ushered by police through a side entrance to Central Police station just before 10am and appeared before the magistrate in a crowded courthouse a short while later.Attorney General Ricky Rhoda, appearing for the Crown, urged the magistrate to impose stringent bail conditions for fear that the two men might flee the jurisdiction.Keith Azopardi, the defence lawyer representing the Marrache brothers together with Samantha Sacramento, said there was no risk of them leaving Gibraltar because both were of previous good character and had strong family ties here.Stipendiary Magistrate Charles Pitto granted bail but set tough conditions on each defendant, in the form of two sureties to the value of £300,000 for each brother. The court also set a further financial condition of £150,000 in their own recognizance for each defendant.In simple terms, failure to appear at future court hearings could cost the defendants and their guarantors up to £900,000 in total.Both men also had to hand in their travel documents and agree to reside at their respective family homes, as well as report twice weekly to police.By the end of the day yesterday, a number of persons had stepped up to provide £600,000 in sureties for the release of the two men.At an hour-long hearing in the evening, Mr Pitto questioned the guarantors closely but accepted the sureties. The two brothers were released from custody later that evening.Yesterday’s developments in court were the opening shots in what will undoubtedly develop into a lengthy and complex case.Mr Rhoda said the sums of money involved “could be quite substantial”.He said the two men were currently facing “holding charges” and that more charges could follow at a later stage. The Attorney General also said there could be further arrests as a result of an ongoing police investigation.Earlier this week police raided several commercial and residential properties linked to Marrache & Co and seized documents and computers.Prosecutors allege that in January this year, the brothers falsified documents to conceal a shortfall of E1.8m of funds belonging to a company called Portino Comercio Internacional. One document, a letter signed by Solomon Marrache, purported to show that the money was held by the brothers on the client’s behalf. Another document, a letter signed by Benjamin Marrache, purported to give authority to Natwest bank to transfer the client’s money to a bank in Ireland.But prosecutors said that the Gibraltar bank account supposed to hold the company’s cash in fact had a balance of less than nine Euros and no credit facility.</div>

Major Scandal hits the Rock prominent Gibraltar law firm, brothers Benjamin and Solomon Marrache,

Two senior executives at a prominent Gibraltar law firm, brothers Benjamin and Solomon Marrache, appeared before the Magistrates Court yest...

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express kidnapping

<blockquote>Spanish Civil Guard have arrested six members of an organized crime group including one Bulgarian.The group was planning to kidnap two businessman from the Costa del Sol district. It consists of four Spaniards, one Bulgarian, and one Swede.The Bulgarian man has initials V.P. and lives near Malaga. The police had followed the gang since November 2009 when some of its members were involved in another kidnapping hit</blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><strong><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"></span> six people in Marbella, Mijas and Benalmadena believed to have been planning an express kidnappings of two people on the Costa del Sol.The operation, codenamed Golub, began last year when officers were tipped off to the gang’s plans and were able to locate all the members before they went ahead. Six premises were search and officers seized handcuffs, gloves, balaclavas, latex masks, duct tape, three guns, a stun gun, registration plates, tracking devices, photocopies of 500 euro notes and a hired van with no windows. A place to keep the victims was also found.The detainees are aged between 26 and 54, and are Spanish, Swedish and Bulgarian. Five of them have been sent to prison on remand</span></strong></span><br /> <div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><br /> </div>

express kidnapping

Spanish Civil Guard have arrested six members of an organized crime group including one Bulgarian.The group was planning to kidnap two busin...

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21 per cent of the two and a half million Europeans who live in Spain are pensioners who do not register on the town census because they are afraid of having to pay taxes

<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">90 per cent of European pensioners who retire to Spain live in just eight Spanish provinces, including Almeria, Alicante, Malaga, the Balearic Islands, Las Palmas, Gerona and Murcia. A study carried out by the Elcano Royal Institute reveals that 21 per cent of the two and a half million Europeans who live in Spain are pensioners who do not register on the town census because they are afraid of having to pay taxes, don’t speak the language, don’t want to lose social benefits in their own countries or don’t know why they should do so.</span>

21 per cent of the two and a half million Europeans who live in Spain are pensioners who do not register on the town census because they are afraid of having to pay taxes

90 per cent of European pensioners who retire to Spain live in just eight Spanish provinces, including Almeria, Alicante, Malaga, the Balear...

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Félix López, has confirmed to local media that his townhall will appeal against the Judge's order to pay for a temporary home for Helen & Len Prior.

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHw1hYbQ4ot4edxCSAJBSoAiW-lNSBjrayQcYNLnaK5g09LDRnTqY1tCcv8_qHpad_q63DqJ_iCwa-hqWbltqPLEokPIxAXydqccnkZPjhJrMI1vAX6TcQSBZD3fUYMBAngBrOD4fvVcg/s1600-h/demoltion_prior_house_vera.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="308" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHw1hYbQ4ot4edxCSAJBSoAiW-lNSBjrayQcYNLnaK5g09LDRnTqY1tCcv8_qHpad_q63DqJ_iCwa-hqWbltqPLEokPIxAXydqccnkZPjhJrMI1vAX6TcQSBZD3fUYMBAngBrOD4fvVcg/s640/demoltion_prior_house_vera.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;"></span><br /> <div style="margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 5px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Mayor of Vera, Félix López, has confirmed to local media that his townhall will appeal against the Judge's order to pay for a temporary home for Helen & Len Prior.The Prior's had their home in Vera demolished two years ago and continue to search for compensation after the Constitutional Court decided their legal rights had been breeched and annuled the demolition order.A judge on Monday ordered Vera townhall to pay for accomodation until their legal battles conclude, with payments to start within 10 days.The Judge's decision said that the home selected for the Priors should be similar to their 250,000 euro luxury house that was demolished.</div><blockquote>Len & Helen have already submitted a request to the Vera townhall for a modest three bedroom villa, with a garden and house, in Vera.</blockquote><div style="margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 5px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">However, Vera townhall has rejected the proposal.Vera townhall said in its defense that it had offered the couple a flat on Vera Playa which they had rejected as being unsuitable, and that it was not obliged to find the couple anything more than "suitable" accomodation.Helen & Len Prior have been living in their garage, untouched by the demolition of their home, since the demolition two years ago."We will appeal against this sentence in order to protect the interests of Vera" confirmed Mayor López.</div>

Félix López, has confirmed to local media that his townhall will appeal against the Judge's order to pay for a temporary home for Helen & Len Prior.

Mayor of Vera, Félix López, has confirmed to local media that his townhall will appeal against the Judge's order to pay for a temporar...

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Piers Morgan’s recent TV show, Piers Morgan on Marbella, aired recently on British TV, and portrayed Marbella in a very 1 sided light.

<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #d9d8d8; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, 'Verdana sans-serif'; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"></span><br /> <div style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 18px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Piers Morgan’s recent TV show, Piers Morgan on Marbella, aired recently on British TV, and portrayed Marbella in a very 1 sided light. Not having TV myself I caught the show on YouTube and watched with much surprise as Piers painted a picture of jet-set glamour (God, I hate those words…) sickening and distasteful displays of wealth and a prosperous seaside hot-spot.</div><div style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 18px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">For someone with Piers’ journalistic credentials, the show was shockingly one sided as Piers not only solely focused on the wealthy, glossed over gangland crime and governmental corruption but strangely completely ignores the Spanish population and the negative effect the unbridled capitalism, greed and corruption has had on this coast.</div><div style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 18px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The show, I’m guessing, was put together by Max Clifford and co, as it was more of an advert for the glitz and glamour than anything else. Shameful on the part of Piers Morgan, if you ask me. Max Clifford desperately wants to be mayor, as he thinks he could “clean up” Marbella. The problem is, he would be cleaning up the victims of the boom and not the perpetrators, like the wealthy featured in the show.</div><div style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 18px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">So what was missed out? Well, firstly, there was no discourse about the effect that the unbridled capitalism of the boom years had had on the coast. Sure, there are many here who made millions through legal means and brought their wealth here, but, as many inhabitants of Marbella are painfully aware, much of the wealthy on this coast got their through exploitation, corruption and crime. The gap between the rich and poor is gigantic – the average wage here is the lowest in Spain, yet you see massive villas and flash cars everywhere you go.</div><div style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 18px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Piers is filmed driving along the Golden Mile, a stretch of road that passes through Marbella heading west towards Gibraltar, lined with The Marbella Club and the Puente Romano, two of Marbella’s most exclusive hotels. Yet if he’d have turned around and headed east towards Málaga, a different picture would have emerged, one of massive, unnecessary construction, vast tracts of empty apartment apartment blocks, homelessness, huge displays of graffiti telling of staff enduring 9 months of non-payment of salary at a luxury hotel (something I have experienced myself down here at an architecture firm called <a href="http://diseno-earle-staff.blogspot.com/" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview('/outbound/article/diseno-earle-staff.blogspot.com');" style="color: #d9d8d8; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" title="Diseño Earle">Diseño Earle</a>) and masses of poverty. The average wage in the Málaga region is a little over 1,000€ per month. Given the kind of wealth on display on this show, you’d find that a little hard to believe. Piers does mention the over construction, but doesn’t go into the long term effects that it has clearly had on the economic landscape.</div><div style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 18px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Unemployment in the province has nosed over 30%, shockingly high, but unsurprising given the amount of construction workers that migrated here during the boom.</div><div style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 18px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">In the show, an English couple were interviewed, claiming that Jesús Gil, one of the men behind the scandalous corruption of the Marbella town hall, was viewed as a “modern-day Robin Hood,” even going so far to say that the average Spanish person loves what has happened as he “created the thriving Marbella of today.”</div><div style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 18px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Thriving Marbella? Not even close. Shops, bars and restaurants are closing left, right and centre. People are flocking back to their own countries in scores. The banks have nearly given up repossessing property because they’ve got too much. Thriving Marbella? That’s the biggest joke of all.</div><div style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 18px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The couple interviewed, <a href="http://www.theeuesdens.com/" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview('/outbound/article/www.theeuesdens.com');" style="color: #d9d8d8; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Michelle and Stephen Euesden</a>, say all this as they are sipping wine in their hillside villa, whilst below, in the barrios, Spanish and English alike struggle to make ends meet every month thanks to the greed and extravagance of these kind of individuals. Their side of the story goes much like this: The over-development attracted thousands to the coast, money was brought into the area and the local economy was given a massive boost. In reality, what happened was lots of rich people got richer by under-paying their staff, denying them contracts and paying them in black money, essentially robbing off the local government of much needed social security contributions, and then when things got bad, fired the staff and hoarded their money, leaving masses of unemployment a practically deserted city and a crumbling economy. The town hall sold masses of land that wan’t theirs to sell, taking sizeable backhanders as they did so, whilst ignoring the things they should have been doing- improving life on the coast for everyone. Every piece of land they sold to developers was stolen from the local community, who were often employed by these developers who withheld wages as they went bust. The few involved got super rich, whilst little trickled down but hideous working conditions.</div><div style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 18px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">How they can sit their and give their “alternative view” of the corruption is simply disgusting. Tell that to the tens of thousands now out of work. Tell that to the victims of crime that the police are paid by the gangsters to ignore, tell that to the masses living in poverty. Tell that to the average person, who’s quality of life has been stifled thanks to the over-development destroying the local landscape. Tell that to their own employees, one ex-employee who I know personally, who described the working conditions at their newspaper as being “dreadful.”</div><div style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 18px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">So a modern day Robin Hood? A reverse Robin Hood more like – robbing from the poor to give to the rich.</div>

Piers Morgan’s recent TV show, Piers Morgan on Marbella, aired recently on British TV, and portrayed Marbella in a very 1 sided light.

Piers Morgan’s recent TV show, Piers Morgan on Marbella, aired recently on British TV, and portrayed Marbella in a very 1 sided light. Not ...

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12 months ago Ryanair introduced an extra hand luggage charge, now easyJet has followed suit.

12 months ago Ryanair introduced an extra hand luggage charge, now easyJet has followed suit. Apparently the budget airline has taken a leaf out of Ryanair's book and quietly added the new fee which is likely to catch out many of its customers and although Ryanair received a fair amount of attention (and criticism) when it introduced its new charge, easyJet seems to have introduced the fee without raising a murmur!<br /> <br /> Details of the fee itself are sketchy to say the least and there appears to be no mention of it on the easyJet website! In fact you may not come across it until you reach the departure gate. If you arrive at the departure gate with two bags, including any duty-free shopping you may have purchased at the airport, you will be forced to pay a fine.The actual amount of the charge remains unknown and there is no warning before you check in. Even the airline's staff appear to be in the dark. When asked, an on-board steward said it was the same as for extra checked luggage - 11€ online, 22€ on the day. But there is no facility to pay for the extra hand luggage when booking.<br /> The policy was clarified somewhat on the easyJet Twitter site:<br /> "the policy should only be enforced to prevent people taking two bags of their own, and that a memo will be sent out to clarify this point with airline ground staff."It would seem that a bag of duty-free is still allowed, as long as it has been sealed by the shop.

12 months ago Ryanair introduced an extra hand luggage charge, now easyJet has followed suit.

12 months ago Ryanair introduced an extra hand luggage charge, now easyJet has followed suit. Apparently the budget airline has taken a leaf...

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new website, which will include a reservation system and a forum will put this strategy into practice. The idea that Marbella announced also aims to have people who visited Marbella to post their own videos online.

new website, which will include a reservation system and a forum will put this strategy into practice. The idea that Marbella announced also aims to have people who visited Marbella to post their own videos online.<object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/q9Fvpysdx-U&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/q9Fvpysdx-U&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>

new website, which will include a reservation system and a forum will put this strategy into practice. The idea that Marbella announced also aims to have people who visited Marbella to post their own videos online.

new website, which will include a reservation system and a forum will put this strategy into practice. The idea that Marbella announced also...

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Spain, not Greece, was Europe's No 1 problem,Spain won't recover until 2016

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg58M6q2n7ti0fDM_Zq_GVedBfu1UozzqYB90fiWTDc4ZkLlGgZzWA75cWHcq_gSS3fgZHCyOxHoGgX4-Tf2fOsWI6qHXz6jaA4DX_Ag7P258peRLrjF34lKyQegBOfgTo7ptYAtw1OVxo/s1600-h/demolition_almeria.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="96" kt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg58M6q2n7ti0fDM_Zq_GVedBfu1UozzqYB90fiWTDc4ZkLlGgZzWA75cWHcq_gSS3fgZHCyOxHoGgX4-Tf2fOsWI6qHXz6jaA4DX_Ag7P258peRLrjF34lKyQegBOfgTo7ptYAtw1OVxo/s200/demolition_almeria.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><br /> Properties worth €1m stretch along a coast that, far from Madrid and Barcelona, rarely generated much wealth. People on €1,300 a month owned BMWs and couples making €30,000 a year bought €500,000 homesSpain, not Greece, was Europe's No 1 problem,Spain is a "solid" country and should not be compared to its fellow eurozone struggler.Roubini, the man who foresaw the sub-prime crisis, raised the heat on Spain, where the financial crisis has left nearly 20% of the workforce unemployed as the country's model of growth based on a construction boom has unravelled. The past week has forced up interest rates on Spanish bonds and the share prices of profitable companies such as Banco Santander have dropped by 13%.Putting on a brave face, Campa told the Observer: "Markets react drastically, we're better off this week than last before we announced our budget cuts."The country's four million jobless are certainly not better off. Far from Madrid's bureaucratic centre, or the elite gatherings of Davos, thousands live on €1,000 (£870) a month. Service sector and office workers have their salaries capped at this level as employers know that, with 18% unemployment, they are unlikely to rebel."We're all taken by the balls – we can be forced to go at any minute and you don't know if you'll find anything else," says Maria, an employee of a fashion chain in Barcelona. "They give me three-month contracts, so if they want to get rid of me, they won't have to pay me. I spent one year unemployed, without being able to go out."An hour's drive south along the Mediterranean coast, schoolchildren in Tarragona do not go on school trips as their parents can't afford the €12 cost. "You can see some children buy their textbooks at the beginning of the month, after pay day," says a teacher.Further south, in Jaén, "where nothing, is moving," Javier Díaz's family ring constantly for advice as they seek to follow him to Madrid where he has found work as a taxi driver. But opportunities are scarce even in the capital. "Things are going to get worse as soon as people stop receiving their unemployment benefits," he says.Every Spaniard seems to know somebody caught in the real estate bubble burst. Cheap credit and the arrival of about six million immigrants over the past decade allowed the construction sector to become the country's leading economic driver, representing as much as 25% of gross domestic product at the peak of the boom. Villages on the Valencia coast, dependent on fish and agriculture for centuries, started building state-of-the art glass buildings in a country that has always been more labour- than capital- intensive.<br /> Campa and economy minister Elena Salgado are working to help the unemployed, and to make services and tradable goods fill the part of GDP that construction once accounted for. "This won't be a good year for jobs, but at least the rate of job destruction is slower," Campa says.As he spoke last Friday, financial markets kept hitting Spain. Although it has not had to spend billions to bail out banks, the country has lost credit in the international community, which is "looking for the next Greece, and looks at the numbers, instead of politicians talking the talk", says Gary Jenkins, at ­Evolution Securities in London.<br /> Last week Spain announced higher taxes and draconian cuts to the deficit from a staggering 11.4% of GDP to reach the EU target of 3% by 2013. But markets have been unimpressed and now demand a record $183,000 to insure $1m of Spanish debt, twice as much as Britain.Alien to the London-based derivative markets, most Spaniards are suffering the consequences: winegrowers in the Priorat area are idle as the prices for grapes are lower than the cost of harvesting them. "Many winery owners are selling out – they can't afford to pay for the loans," says Rafael de Haan, owner of Bodegas Albanico, a wine exporter. "Some are selling top-quality wine at wholesale prices – and in wholesale amounts."But while the wine may be cheap, with some economists saying Spain won't recover until 2016, there is not much to celebrate.

Spain, not Greece, was Europe's No 1 problem,Spain won't recover until 2016

Properties worth €1m stretch along a coast that, far from Madrid and Barcelona, rarely generated much wealth. People on €1,300 a month owne...

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Costa del Sol “a Garden of Eden” for mafiosi on the run from Italian authorities.

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1YzyQcHlN8RpX7Oann_v8PI_5RuRypdHVNLPCROkk1pxCfA5ogj1GU4DpP3O4YJCYSVIk8l0PZb9fxSfxPsR0CAs_7AYrZJ22_UIYyPM8lFJQ9yS7o816LAYBWnTerjd4Pc_Q7HFX6sE/s1600-h/SNA1509A-280_966709a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" kt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1YzyQcHlN8RpX7Oann_v8PI_5RuRypdHVNLPCROkk1pxCfA5ogj1GU4DpP3O4YJCYSVIk8l0PZb9fxSfxPsR0CAs_7AYrZJ22_UIYyPM8lFJQ9yS7o816LAYBWnTerjd4Pc_Q7HFX6sE/s320/SNA1509A-280_966709a.jpg" width="230" /></a></div><br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Senior officers believe that entire families have relocated to Spain and use also parts of Catalunya and the Balearic Islands as a base.“These families have intimate ties with construction and even enjoy the blessing of the local authorities.“The Mafia is also involved in drugs trafficking and has hotels and shopping centres under its control. This is how La Camorra (as organised crime gangs are known in Napoli) has Spain in its grip,” the article states.The report appeared just a few days after a capo (Mafia boss) on the run from Italy was arrested in Barcelona.Salvatore Zazo, 52, was detained during a joint operation between the Guardia Civil and the Italian police, the Caribinieri.Spain and Italy recently signed an agreement to co-operate on Mafia crackdowns.Zazo is considered to be a leading trafficker who, at one time, controlled Napoli’s drugs supply. “There are a lot of mafiosi in Spain. They know the country well, and see it as a safe haven. Some invest in construction and set up companies to launder money, while others are involved with drugs or extortion,” said Carabinieri chief Gaetano Maruccia, who was involved in Zazo’s arrestMeanwhile, police in Madrid have detained two high-ranking mafiosi in Madrid. Antonio Caiazzo, who is the alleged leader of an organised crime gang in Napoli, and his right-hand man, Francesco Simeoli were arrested while dining in a restaurant in the capital.The two are thought to have absconded to Spain from Italy in 2007.These latest arrests bring the total number of mafiosi detained in Spain to 12 since September last year.<br /> In December, two capos were arrested in Málaga and Toledo, while in September two high-ranking members of a Napolese clan were detained in Barcelona.

Costa del Sol “a Garden of Eden” for mafiosi on the run from Italian authorities.

Senior officers believe that entire families have relocated to Spain and use also parts of Catalunya and the Balearic Islands as a base....

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90 properties are currently being investigated and could join the growing list of homes in the region to be demolished

Promoter Vladimir Davidovich Beniachvili’s illegal home near the city is one of at least five developments earmarked for destruction in the province.A further 90 properties are currently being investigated and could join the growing list of homes in the region to be demolished.A further 90 properties are currently being investigated and could join the growing list of homes in the region to be demolished.According to planning officials the Russian has unlawfully built on 1,600 metres squared of protected land.It comes after Carratraca Mayor Oscar Roman resigned to avoid being the “village hangman” and overseeing the demolition of some 100 village buildings, However, the Malaga authorities are now going ahead with the dreaded orders despite their unpopularity.It is believed that the recent controversial cases – such as in Albox and Chiclana – have spurred the town hall to press ahead with the cases.Legally, under the latest Andalucia land law legislation, council chiefs are required to pursue the illegal properties.Properties in Campanillas, Puerto de la Torre and the Camino de Olías also face the wrecking ball.The buildings in question are located on environmentally-protected land and some of the orders have been pending for a number of years. hundreds of people protested in Almeria after a dozen expatriates were handed new-year demolition orders

90 properties are currently being investigated and could join the growing list of homes in the region to be demolished

Promoter Vladimir Davidovich Beniachvili’s illegal home near the city is one of at least five developments earmarked for destruction in the ...

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Spanish timeshare king Garry Leigh’s Incentive Leisure Group

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSjxy80g66s-yXv8IQOb4IN3AOyztJEiF7MgVGKTKqAxqt80y-_gMu-BzzAPhtfvLIYWijlBEhw-X8hF_7WTMh9R4Xn7f7FuxTFgqkPOR_hrijVnbybt35TllWv3m9IPRg9IhUuFw8JB0/s1600-h/leigh.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="430" kt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSjxy80g66s-yXv8IQOb4IN3AOyztJEiF7MgVGKTKqAxqt80y-_gMu-BzzAPhtfvLIYWijlBEhw-X8hF_7WTMh9R4Xn7f7FuxTFgqkPOR_hrijVnbybt35TllWv3m9IPRg9IhUuFw8JB0/s640/leigh.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>trading standards officers investigating “suspected breaches of consumer law” have raided four UK offices of Spanish timeshare king Garry Leigh’s Incentive Leisure Group.Leigh, the brother-in-law of Costa Killer Tony King, has long claimed that his business is above board and legal.Buyers were promised some or all their money back after five years, but it was revealed last year how the so called “cashback” scheme collapsed through fraud.His company offered to buy unwanted timeshares and then persuaded people to spend thousands of euros on membership of Leigh’s Designer Way Vacation Club.Buyers were promised some or all their money back after five years, but it was revealed last year how the so called “cashback” scheme collapsed through fraud.The Office of Fair Trading, which co-ordinated last week’s raids, said the investigation was at an “early stage” and there was “no assumption” offences have been committed.

Spanish timeshare king Garry Leigh’s Incentive Leisure Group

trading standards officers investigating “suspected breaches of consumer law” have raided four UK offices of Spanish timeshare king Garry Le...

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Marbella’s plan to legalize more than 17,000 illegal homes along the Costa del Sol was approved by a regional commission last week.

Marbella, which bills itself as Spain’s version of Monte Carlo, was the poster child for corruption and backroom deals in the go-go days. In the wake of the scandals, tens of thousands of homes were found to have been built illegally, including an estate owned by homegrown hunk Antonio Banderas.Years in the making, the Marbella town plan is something of a bellwether for the country. If implemented, it could provide a framework for other regions to move forward, without destroying people’s homes.Of course, Marbella, to say the least, is a unique market, even for Spain. The clientele is a swirl of Middle Eastern royalty, Russian oligarch-wannabes and good ol- fashioned Brit nouveau riche.Here’s how British professional celebrity Piers Morgan recently described Marbella for the Daily Mail:<br /> <blockquote>“Before going there to film an ITV1 documentary, I assumed it was a rough, tough Costa del Crime kind of town where villains hung out with boozed-up glamour models, hookers and footballers, snorting cocaine and avoiding the police,” he wrote. “And to a certain extent it is. But there’s another, quite extraordinary side to Marbella–one of staggering wealth and discretion that acts as a fabulously opulent secret haven for super-rich Saudi princes, Hollywood stars, European royalty and billionaire tycoons.”<br /> <br /> </blockquote><br /> <br /> The huge number of illegal homes found in the area provides stark testimony to the level of corruption that flowed through Marbella and the region. Mid-level bureaucrats were living like sultans. Outrageous proposals for oceanfront condo towers sailed through the system.The town’s plan, known as the PGOU, is considered a key step for Marbella’s return to the land of the respectable. Not only does it specifically address the illegal homes, it creates a specific guideline for project development–a rarity in many regions.<br /> But the plan has been controversial. Many local critics believe the amnesty program gives developers a free pass for building blatantly illegal projects. Environmentalists charge that the projects have consumed acres of protected public land, especially on the waterfront.The beachfront condo projects left out of the plan should be demolished, the regional government argues. But Marbella has fought for the legalization of the remaining projects, a battle that includes legal actions by the owners of the condos, including the 297-unit project known as Banana Beach. Typically, the owners had no clue the fully-permitted development was illegal when they bought their units.<br /> <blockquote>“This could drag on for years, maybe even decades,” writes Mark Stucklin of Spanish Property Insight. “That will be little consolation to elderly owners at developments like Banana Beach.”<br /> <br /> </blockquote>

Marbella’s plan to legalize more than 17,000 illegal homes along the Costa del Sol was approved by a regional commission last week.

Marbella, which bills itself as Spain’s version of Monte Carlo, was the poster child for corruption and backroom deals in the go-go days. In...

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you can never be too cautious when it comes to any business for sale in Spain,

The title insurance company can help you out by providing a list of approved attorneys. Since you can never be too cautious when it comes to any business for sale in Spain, make sure all the property taxes have been paid, and also how much property tax you’ll have to pay and on what basis. Also check if you are eligible for any type of exemptions from the government depending on your immigration status. If you have studied the market of business for sale in Spain lately you may be put off by increased government oversight. But in fact this is a good thing. As the latest move by the Spanish government is what is thought to drive confidence even higher and actually get prices to skyrocket, the reduced supply of property in Spain does not mean increased prices.

you can never be too cautious when it comes to any business for sale in Spain,

The title insurance company can help you out by providing a list of approved attorneys. Since you can never be too cautious when it comes to...

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Air traffic controllers in Spain are threatening to bring chaos to the Easter break by striking over pay.

Air traffic controllers in Spain are threatening to bring chaos to the Easter break by striking over pay.Talks between the Spanish airports authority and the controllers' union broke down this week. They were in talks after development minister Jose Blanco vowed to slash the salaries of controllers by up to 40 per cent.<br /> <blockquote>Controller earn £175,000 a year plus huge bonuses.An agreement must be reached before the current deal end on March 31, four days before Easter Sunday.Tourism chiefs said a strike at the 48 state-run airports could prove calamitous. The industry is already reeling from a 16 per cent drop in visitors last year.</blockquote>

Air traffic controllers in Spain are threatening to bring chaos to the Easter break by striking over pay.

Air traffic controllers in Spain are threatening to bring chaos to the Easter break by striking over pay.Talks between the Spanish airports ...

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Spanish government has decided to cut the air traffic controllers pay, which experts believe might lead to travel misery for those heading out for holidays in Spain

<blockquote>The Spanish government has decided to cut the air traffic controllers pay, which experts believe might lead to travel misery for those heading out for holidays in Spain. The Spanish government deciding upon this sudden move to slash salaries after they realized that some of the air controllers were taking home a whopping £800,000 annually.</blockquote> Holiday planners are wondering where this will really leave them.<br /> <br /> The news has spread like wild fire and experts from the travel industry feel that this might well bring forth a summer of misery and discontent and in all probability will lead to several strikes as well as delays. The fact is that air traffic controllers have staged protests and strikes in the past as well, which have created a chaotic situation for holiday travelers to and from Spain. Such strikes and delays will have a catastrophic effect on the tourism industry in Spain this summer.Jose Blanco, Development Minister in Spanish parliament has issued a statement saying that there will be a severe slashing of high wages and this will amount to slashing of £11million from the paychecks of air traffic controllers. He also said, "I have taken the decision to take the bull by the horns and end the privileges of these controllers."Last month, due to staff shortages, passengers borne the brunt of long delays in Canary Island but if the air traffic controllers go on strike then it will be a worst case scenario

Spanish government has decided to cut the air traffic controllers pay, which experts believe might lead to travel misery for those heading out for holidays in Spain

The Spanish government has decided to cut the air traffic controllers pay, which experts believe might lead to travel misery for those headi...

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30 improvement projects will be initiated in 2010 at Puerto Banus and Nueva Andalucia, Marbella

There is change in the air! According to a recent announcement by municipal delegates, Puerto Banus, Nueva Andalucia, and Baldomero Leon, will get the much needed facelift in terms of infrastructural development. The delegates made this announcement at the Marbella Town Hall and added that as many as 30 projects will be initiated. These projects are aimed at improving upon the existing infrastructure, equipment, as well as the general maintenance in public areas. These projects have already received the approval of the residents’ associations in the mentioned areas.The improvement of the Paseo Maritimo between Rio Guadaiza and Rio Verde is being looked at as one of the most important projects of 2010. It is slated for completion by the end of 2010. Some of the other important projects in the pipeline include council houses, new nursery, partial paving of the Avenida de los Girasoles, Bridge over Rio Verde, resurfacing of the Carril de Lorcrimar, a new bridge over the Guadaiza River, improvement of the Carril del Potril, and the opening of La Campana park. <br /> <br /> <br /> The council has unveiled its plans for continuing the renewal of urban furniture as well as their endeavor to improve lighting and paving in areas like Avenida del Prado and Calle Real. A multiple-use hall is also on the list of initiatives for 2010 followed by a civic and cultural centre, as well as the refurbishment of the existing Youth Centre. Some of the other projects include ecological islands in Avenida Julio Iglesias, cleaning the path at the Lago de las Tortugas, the improvement of drainage system on the Levante beach, and much more.

30 improvement projects will be initiated in 2010 at Puerto Banus and Nueva Andalucia, Marbella

There is change in the air! According to a recent announcement by municipal delegates, Puerto Banus, Nueva Andalucia, and Baldomero Leon, wi...

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quality seal for fish caught in Malaga

Junta de Andalucia will have created a quality seal for fish caught in Malaga so that buyers have a guarantee of the quality of the fish they are buying and the sale of local products can be promoted. The initiative will allow the almost 290 boats belonging to the Malaga fleet to have a computer which will send out a signal when they exit and enter the port and which will ensure that the fish has been caught locally. The logo has still not been decided.

quality seal for fish caught in Malaga

Junta de Andalucia will have created a quality seal for fish caught in Malaga so that buyers have a guarantee of the quality of the fish the...

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"Gangster" concerns the true story of Princess Margaret's affair with the gangster-turned-movie-tough-guy John Bindon in the late '60s.

<blockquote>The story of John Bindon, a Londoner who fell into crime as a teenager, serving time in Borstal for possessing ammunition. On his release, he was spotted by Ken Loach, and cast in “Poor Cow,” starting a career of tough guy roles that would take in the likes of “Performance,” “Quadrophenia” and “Get Carter.” Bindon was linked romantically to the likes of Christine Keeler and Angela Barnett (who later married David Bowie), as well as, most notably, Princess Margaret (the late younger sister of the current Queen), although the latter denied that any relationship took place.” He went on to briefly run security for Bowie and for Led Zeppelin, but never lost touch with his criminal roots, and was tried for murder after a fight with gangster John Darke, although he was later acquitted, partly due to the appearance of Bob Hoskins as a character witness.</blockquote><br /> <br /> Patrick Milling Smith, one of Smuggler's three principals, said that Mellis' dossier -- which includes such tough-talking crime tales as "Sexy Beast" and the current "44 Inch Chest" -- made him the perfect match for the material."We needed someone who could give us an authentic voice, because Bindon, who could break your legs but who was also a mini-celebrity, was a force of nature. He was a real raconteur and full-on entertainer. There aren't many people who can inhabit characters like that and make then amusing, but Louis definitely can."Smuggler -- which was formed last year by producer John Hart, formerly of Hart-Sharp, and Milling Smith and Brian Carmody, video and commercial producers under their Smuggler Partners banner -- plans to finance "Gangster" through a new media fund it has assembled. Smuggler is also developing a screen adaptation of Aravind Adiga's novel "The White Tiger."

"Gangster" concerns the true story of Princess Margaret's affair with the gangster-turned-movie-tough-guy John Bindon in the late '60s.

The story of John Bindon, a Londoner who fell into crime as a teenager, serving time in Borstal for possessing ammunition. On his release, h...

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timeshare resale industry has taken a major nose-dive in recent years,Most timeshare resale scams operate out of Spain

The timeshare resale industry has taken a major nose-dive in recent years, and today the week is worth £500 at best, according to Jane Attwell of Aberfoyle Holidays, a firm recommended by the UK's independent Timeshare Consumers Association (TCA). Yet, within a period of 18 months the Tillotsons were contacted by salesmen working for World Networking Sales (WNS), Secure Leisure and Montemar Estates – all based on the Costa del Sol, Spain – who all claimed they could make the pair thousands of pounds. The trusting Leeds pensioners parted with almost £3,000 in "fees" in order to market their week. Yet the week never did sell. Today the Tillotsons are still stuck with the week's timeshare that continues to cost around £200 a year to maintain. According to Sandy Grey, founder of TCA, this is a perfect example of the "resale scam" that has already netted crooks £500m. The Tillotsons want to stop other timeshare holders falling for the scam. Mr Tillotson said: "I am not bothered about compensation, I just want my £3,000 back and to put other people off from getting involved. <br /> "It's that convincing. They always have answers for you." <br /> Mrs Tillotson added: "One time I said I didn't have any money but they told me to send it now, as they could sell our week immediately, and that even if I did go overdrawn I would have the cash from the sale before I ended up in the red. "We were on first name terms with them. They were ever so friendly, showed lots of interest in us and were very pressing." These are classic examples of the convincing tactics used by tricky salesmen, says timeshare scam battler Mr Sandy Grey. <br /> <blockquote>Hang up if a cold-caller rings about a timeshare, he advised. </blockquote>"The big lie that you are going to hear is that your timeshare is worth X thousand pounds, when in reality it is probably worth only a fraction of that," he said. "This is fraudulent misconception, inflating the value by anything from 100 to 1,000 per cent. Most timeshare weeks or points are worthless in the open market and all holiday club memberships are totally worthless. <br /> "Don't even speak to these people. Hang up before they dupe you with their lies." Genuine holiday companies would never ask for fees upfront, and are far too busy to tout for business, according to Ms Attwell. She suggests that anyone thinking of selling a timeshare should call a trusted holiday company for a valuation, and never trust a cold-caller. Most timeshare resale scams operate out of Spain – even many of the ones offering UK or even US based phone numbers, said Mr Grey, who receives up to 40 calls and 15 emails a day from consumers concerned about timeshare scams.He has compiled a "black list" of more than 1,700 fake companies that have been targeting unsuspecting owners in the UK and the good news is that more people then ever are reporting the cold-caller before parting with their money. The biggest problem facing those trying to stop the crooks, is that the companies share information and change their names frequently, he said. Consumers are often called by the same people pretending to work for different firms, he added. <br /> The con roughly follows the same pattern, although he said that the technique had become "pushier" as salesmen became more desperate. "The salesman softens up the potential customer, telling them that they can sell their timeshare for a good price," said Mr Grey. "They will leave it for two or three weeks then call back with news of a potential buyer, even asking if they would like to talk to him, but in reality they are just passed to someone else in the office. "Consumers are told the money is there but a payment to secure the deal is needed. The deal invariably falls through." The crooks are driven by the fact that the scam works. But also because of the decline in popularity of timeshares, he said. "Years ago timeshares were seen as a good investment and became people's savings," said Mr Grey. "Now many of these same salesmen are out of work but still have access to customer details. <br /> "That is when the cold-calling starts." In the case of the Tillotsons the trouble started in June 2008 with an unexpected call from a salesman from WNS in Malaga, Spain. They were told they could pay a 1,000 Euro fee (£800 at the then exchange rate) to market their week with a good chance of selling for more than £5,000. The contract arrived with details of a potential buyer, but the sale later fell through. Within weeks of the Tillotsons parting with the cash, Secure Leisure got in touch to tell them that WNS was a scam. This time the salesman said he could get them their money back from the previous firm, and sell the timeshare for several thousand pounds. The "service" cost them 895 Euros (£700 at the time), but they heard nothing more and were too scared to call in case it cost them even more money. Then in early 2009 a salesperson from Montemar Estates got in touch and on January 10 the Leeds couple spent almost 1,000 Euro (or £995) on a "retainer" for the sale of their timeshare. A contract was sent out with the firm promising to market the week for 12 months. In early February, the terms and conditions arrived with a request for the pensioners' passport details. The Tillotsons did not reply, and they never heard from Montemar again. The final crunch came in December when First Legal Services called to say they were investigating a timeshare scam. Roberto Herrero, senior partner of the Malaga-based company, followed up with a letter requesting a one-off payment of around 995 Euros (£900). The Tillotsons smelled a rat and this time did not pay. Consumerwatch tried to contact the four firms. David Howard, managing director of MonteMarEstates.com, emailed to say that his company did not deal with timeshares. He said he had had lots of calls about a timeshare scam, but this related to MonteMarEstates.net.The "London" number supplied by Secure Leisure diverted through to a recorded message left in Spanish. No-one ever returned my call, or replied to my emails asking how they had got the Tilllotsons' details. <br /> WNS simply ignored an email sent to them – and there was no telephone number provided. <br /> First Legal Services is understood to have been disconnected, while an email asking how they knew about the plight of the Tillotsons went unanswered. Many other people have reported similar complaints about Spain-based WNS, Secure Leisure, MonteMarEstates and First Legal Services on various online consumer forums including timesharetalk.

timeshare resale industry has taken a major nose-dive in recent years,Most timeshare resale scams operate out of Spain

The timeshare resale industry has taken a major nose-dive in recent years, and today the week is worth £500 at best, according to Jane Attwe...

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