Operation Altarpiece ensnares Galician Church in corruption case

It all began with the bizarre sale of a Church rectory in Paraos, a hamlet in the Galician province of Pontevedra, in northwestern Spain.

The villagers learned that this building, which they all helped preserve with their savings, had been sold behind their backs by the Diocese of Tui in 2008. The official sale price was 60,000 and the buyer was a familiar face at the diocese: Carlos Gmez-Gil Aizpura, then a restoration technician with the Galician department of culture who had power over the granting of subsidies to restore Church-owned assets.

The new owner of the rectory, a typical village construction, made extensive renovations to the property, adding a porch and a swimming pool.

The parish priest of Paraos, Juan Sobrino, who was a personal friend of Gmez-Gil and now also a target of a corruption investigation, repeatedly denied local accusations that he had wrongfully disposed of the house. This, despite the fact that the title deed shows he was present at the notarys office where the sale was officially closed.

The people of Paraos were shocked to see the property up for sale for 680,000

The bishop of Tui, Jos Diguez Reboredo (who is also under scrutiny and has since stepped down from the diocese) said the home had been transferred to Gmez-Gil for a period of 23 years in exchange for the restoration work.

But in March 2009, the people of Paraos were shocked to see the property up for sale on a real estate website. Gmez-Gil, who had yet to pay a single penny to the Church, was asking for 680,000.

The villagers filed a complaint with the attorneys office, and investigators found a link with another case underway in a Santiago courthouse in connection with Galician government subsidies to several Catholic dioceses to restore ecclesiastical heritage, and the contracts signed between the Church and restoration companies. Both cases shared a name: Carlos Gmez-Gil Aizpura.

The police eventually found what it believed was a grants-for-contracts corruption ring. Thus, Operation Altarpiece was launched.

Investigators argue that Gmez-Gil awarded subsidies to Church officials who promised to hire the restoration companies he suggested. These companies returned the favor in cash or gifts, or sometimes in the form of free restoration work for Gmez-Gil. A second regional official, Jos Manuel Pichel Pichel, the architect at the public corporation that promotes tourism along the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage route, awarded subsidies to restore pilgrim shelters following similar criteria. Both are being investigated for fraud, bribery of public officials, influence peddling and other crimes between 2003 and 2009. A total of 12 people are under investigation.

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Operation Altarpiece ensnares Galician Church in corruption case