The Constitutional Court had previously confirmed, twice—first through a summary decision and later at a conference—the judgment of the Porto Court of Appeal (TRP), which upheld in October 2024 the ruling of the Vila Nova de Gaia Court (first instance court) from November 2023, ordering the loss of mandate due to misuse of a municipal car.
The Constitutional Court’s decision, dated September 22 and published today on the court’s official website, states that the claim of nullity was rejected, which had been raised in the appeal filed by Eduardo Vítor Rodrigues on July 7 of this year.
“Today I submitted an appeal to the plenary of the Constitutional Court, claiming nullities regarding the wrong and unjust decision taken by the said court, which has not yet become final,” stated the former socialist mayor of Gaia, Porto district, in a declaration sent to the Lusa agency that day.
In November 2023, Eduardo Vítor Rodrigues was convicted by the Vila Nova de Gaia Court for the crime of embezzlement of use, resulting in loss of mandate and a fine of 8,400 euros for personal use of a municipal electric vehicle.
The first instance court also convicted the mayor’s wife of the same crime, imposing a fine of the same amount, leading the defendants to appeal to the TRP.
As for the mayor, the Porto Court of Appeal subsequently reduced the fine to 4,800 euros but maintained the mandate loss sentence. Regarding the defendant’s wife, the TRP acquitted her of the crime and the imposed fine but upheld the forfeiture of the benefit obtained.
Eduardo Vítor Rodrigues and his wife, who were not present at the sentence reading on November 14, 2023, never testified during the trial.
The Public Prosecutor’s Office accused the defendants of “deciding to use the electric vehicle as if it were their own,” which was acquired under a financial lease by a municipal company following a direct adjustment contract signed on October 13, 2017, “with a monthly rent” of 614 euros.
“As a result of this conduct,” the accusation states, the defendants “improperly benefited” from 4,916 euros, the value of the eight vehicle lease payments from November 2017 to June 2018.
