“The unauthorized use [of cars] should be punished, and therefore, they should be brought to trial,” stated the public prosecutor during the final arguments of the pre-trial hearing at the Matosinhos Criminal Investigation Court, located in the Porto district.
The court documents indicate that between 2017 and 2019, the three municipal officials – Alberto Costa, then vice-president of the municipality in the Porto district, José Pedro Machado, and Tiago Araújo – are accused of using municipal cars for personal purposes such as going to supermarkets, restaurants, and on trips, particularly on weekends and public holidays.
The prosecutor charges the three with offenses including abuse of power, embezzlement, and misuse of public property. José Pedro Machado faces an additional charge of economic participation in a business.
The prosecutor emphasized that the officials used the municipal cars for everything.
“It is necessary to be rigorous with the use of public funds,” he stressed.
Additionally, the prosecutor highlighted that several municipal officials in Portugal have already been convicted for similar actions, citing the example of Vila Nova de Gaia [Eduardo Vítor Rodrigues].
The defense lawyers for the mayor of Santo Tirso and the two former councilors requested that they do not go to trial.
The prosecutor believes that the three defendants, under a “pre-established plan,” decided to use municipal vehicles “for trips not related to municipal service, from July 16, 2017, until at least April 2019, as if those vehicles belonged to them.”
The case files include Via Verde records of the vehicles used by the defendants, including dozens of crossings on holidays, weekends, or during the early hours.
Alberto Costa (PS) was reinstated in the position following the results of the municipal elections on October 12.
José Pedro Machado left the municipal executive list and was elected president of the Santo Tirso Parish Council.
Tiago Araújo was part of the previous executive but did not join the PS list for the current term.
