In jail for the big garbage scam

Prosecutor's damning indictment of the ring details the scheme and sends twelve people to trial

In a—a scathing 112-page report—Evangelia Hatzangelis, Deputy Prosecutor of the Court of First Instance of Elis, provides a detailed account of the masterful scheme orchestrated by private individuals, local government officials, and civil servants during the mayoral term of Makis Paraskevopoulos «siphoning off» hundreds of thousands of euros through the fictitious purchase of a waste baler and the broader management of waste issues in the capital of Elis. Fully confirming the journalistic investigation, the prosecutor recommends that a total of twelve individuals be indicted on felony charges of embezzlement, including the then-mayor of Pyrgos, M. Paraskevopoulos, local government officials, public servants, and private citizens.

The lawyer for the residents of Pyrgos, Haris Antypas, as well as the current mayor, Takis Antonakopoulos, contributed to the resolution of the case through their actions.

They were threatening judges and journalists

Legal circles that have handled the case in the past—and who were themselves threatened by the shadowy networks—told *Documento* that the description of the network members’ modus operandi as outlined in the bold deputy district attorney’s proposal is on par with the tactics of the Sicilian Mafia…

It should be noted that, through the lawful wiretaps of the ring members« cell phones, it was revealed at the time that some of them were directly threatening the lives of Kostas Vaxevanis and the authorauthor of this report, Makis Nodaros, because they dared to expose their activities. The latter had revealed in February 2016 in Hot Doc magazine (Issue 95), the scandalous cover-up of serious corruption cases surrounding waste management in Pyrgos, including the »fictitious” purchase of a baler at a cost of nearly 1 million euros.

The Three-Member Misdemeanor Court of Athens, following hearings held between September 8 and 29, 2019, despite M. Paraskevopoulos’s allegations of a «fabricated report» and a «set-up,» not only acquitted the two journalists, but also referred the case to the competent prosecutor for a thorough investigation, taking into account the new, shocking evidence that emerged during the hearing from officials of the Financial Crimes Investigation Unit (SDOE).

Slander against journalists

The findings of the judicial investigation that followed the acquittal of the two journalists are deeply shocking and directly implicate the then-mayor of Pyrgos and the person who filed the complaint against the two journalists, M. Paraskevopoulos, as well as the current mayoral candidate Efstathios Kannis, who, as chairman of the municipal council at the time—after having characterized Vaxevanis and Nodaros «slanderers» in court, had testified under oath that no illegal acts had taken place and that all expenditures were lawful.

The prosecutor's recommendation

The explosive indictment reveals that the officials in Pyrgos, Elis, at that time:

• They looked into purchasing a new baler.

• They put the procurement of it out to bid.

• They signed a contract (December 23, 2009) for the purchase of a new mobile waste baler with a total value of 999,600 euros.

• They confirmed that they received (December 24, 2009) the new baler.

• They paid for a new baler worth 999,600 euros, but… according to the judicial investigation and the findings of the oversight bodies that looked into this murky case:

• The baler that was ultimately received and paid for was already used, and its value was only 196,350 euros. Notably, the prosecutor’s proposal states:

• «The above transaction did not take place at all between the aforementioned company and the Municipality of Pyrgos, as the transaction concerned the supply of a used mobile waste baler, valued at 165,000.00 euros plus VAT (19%) amounting to 31,350.00 euros, for a total value of 196,350.00 euros.».

• «The above-mentioned company issued invoice No. 1863/December 30, 2009, for the sale of goods, which was fictitious with respect to the transaction—both in terms of content and value—pursuant to which payment order No. 130/February 22, 2010, in fulfillment of which the aforementioned company received the total amount of 999,600.00 euros.».

Total damage amounts to €803,250

• «They committed these acts knowingly and with the intent to secure an unlawful benefit for the aforementioned company and to cause harm to the property of the Municipality of Pyrgos, while the total benefit and total loss exceeded one hundred twenty thousand (120,000.00) euros and amounted to (999,600.00€ –196,350.00 =) eight hundred three thousand two hundred fifty (803,250.00) euros.».

• «According to the […] certified audit report of the Financial Crime Investigation Service (SDOE) of Western Greece, the audit found that consignment notes nos. 70, 71, and 72/12/24/2009 had been issued for the transport of goods (namely, a baler, a special boom loader, and a small hydrostatic loader) with a total weight of more than twenty-four (24) metric tons—which was the weight of the baler alone— whereas the FIX with license plate number NZ 3755, a vehicle owned by RAM EUROPE and listed as the means of transport, has a payload capacity of only 4,790 kilograms, as evidenced by the registration certificate for NZ 3755, a standard non-tipping vehicle, included in the case file. Given that the consignment notes in question were issued on the same day, have the same shipment start time, and list the same registration number NZ 3755, the SDOE auditors concluded that the aforementioned transport could not have been carried out using the aforementioned privately owned truck.».

• «…it appears that the baler paid for by the Municipality of Pyrgos as new, at a price of 999,600.00 euros, was not new, that the machine with serial number 1118 was never transported to Pyrgos, Elis; on the contrary, all three labels were removed from the parts of the baler that was already in Pyrgos (without it being possible to verify whether this was the leased baler numbered 1025, the demonstration baler numbered 1112, or the originally leased baler numbered 1073); subsequently, the information regarding the year and number was removed from it, and the numbers “09” and “1118,” respectively, were stamped on it using a special tool, in order to make it appear that this was the agreed-upon new machine, with serial number 1118 and a year of manufacture of 2009.» Regarding the general management of waste in the Municipality of Pyrgos during the mayoral term of M. Paraskevopoulos, the prosecutor’s recommendation for indictment states:

• The waste was shipped to non-existent destinations and non-existent recipients.

• Forged invoices for services rendered and receipts from waste collection sites were submitted.

• An attempt was made to conceal the actual date the leased baler began operating, as determined by the employees who conducted the audit, by shifting it to a later date in order to justify the fictitious waste transfers «specifically on September 21, 2009, in order to justify the fictitious waste transports by T. KARAMBELAS and the drivers contracted by him.».

• The municipality was unlawfully required to pay the sum of 884,360.49 euros «including a 8% supply tax,» because, on the one hand, neither the cost of the project nor its proper execution was established through the lawful process, so that it would be legally possible to offset the Municipality’s assumption of the relevant obligations against the benefit it derived from the project’s completion; and second, it ultimately transpired that the project was never carried out in accordance with the aforementioned private agreement dated June 5, 2009.”.

• «Ultimately, invoices numbered 193/2210-2009 and 194/22-10-2009, issued by Theodoros KARAMBELAS, according to the findings of the audit report certified on May 26, 2014, were found to be partially fictitious, as it was not possible to determine their value, since a) the actual quantity of waste transported pursuant to private agreement No. 538/2-92009, which it had entered into with the Municipality of Pyrgos following the decision of the Mayor of Pyrgos No. 469Δ/June 5, 2009, of the Mayor of Pyrgos, amounts to a total of 886.84 metric tons and not 6,756.00 metric tons (4,201.68 + 2,554.32), as stated on the aforementioned invoices, b) the waste was transported to non-existent destinations and non-existent recipients, and c) forged service invoices and receipts from waste disposal sites were submitted. In other words, it was determined that no such transfers took place—neither to the Koropion entry point (at the business of Eftychia Loumba, owned by Stavros) or to the SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION OF THE 4TH GEOGRAPHICAL UNIT OF THE PREFECTURE OF AETOLIA-ACARNANIA, MUNICIPALITIES OF AETOLIKO, MESOLOGGI, AND OINIADES: waste transport for the Municipality of Pyrgos.».

Virtual Waste Transports

• «Despite the fact that, as explained, no waste was transported either to Mesolonghi or to the Attica region, the defendant Panagiotis Rallis, son of Georgios, an employee of the Technical Services Department of the Municipality of Pyrgos, who had been appointed as the supervising engineer for the municipality’s solid waste management project, drafted the certificate numbered ΔΥ/04-11-2009, for an expense corresponding to 4,201.68 metric tons of waste, at a rate of 110 euros per metric ton, and the certificate numbered ΔΥ/04-11-2009, for an expense corresponding to 2,554.32 metric tons of waste, at a rate of 110 euros per metric ton, thereby certifying that the work in question was carried out, that the waste was loaded and transported, but was in fact disposed of—buried—at waste reception sites located up to 100 kilometers from the aforementioned contractor, with the result that the aforementioned certifications are deemed not only false but also contradictory in content, since, according to P. Rallis, the waste was transported to Messolonghi and Koropi in Attica, that is, to destinations much more than 100 kilometers away from Pyrgos, Elis. Consequently, by drafting the aforementioned certificates, the defendant certified a fact that is false; either it is assumed that the waste was transported to Messolonghi and Koropi (i.e., more than 100 kilometers away) or that it was being transported to a lawful landfill site within 100 kilometers of Pyrgos, since no such site existed, nor had any documentation been issued for such a destination.».

And also:

• «It appears that, while the waste from Pyrgos was indeed removed from the city of Pyrgos, it did not reach either Messolonghi or Koropi, as is clearly evident from the final report of the Financial Crime Investigation Service (SDOE) of Western Greece and the sworn testimony of auditor Efstathios Dritsas before the Investigating Judge of Elis; the fact that the payment was approved by the Commissioner of the Court of Auditors does not support the defendant’s claim, since the commissioner verifies solely the completeness of the supporting documents to ensure the legality of the payment, without addressing whether, in substance, the work for which payment is to be made was actually performed.».