Yiannis Boutaris the 71 year old Greek businessman, politician and current mayor of Thessaloniki has given Greece’s second city, Salonika a well needed shake up after succeeding the former mayor Vassilis Papageorgopoulos a former sprinter and medical student nicknamed the Flying Doctor. On his taking of office, Boutaris accused Papageorgopoulos of providing inaccurate financial figures, resulting in an investigation. Niki Kitsantonis for the New York Times has published an article titled ‘Ex-Mayor in Greece Gets Life in Prison for Embezzlement’ highlighting how the subsequent convictions have prompted a frenzied response in the news media and on blogs, where many hailed the unusually severe sentences. Kitsantonis states “The former mayor of Greece’s second city, Salonika, and two of his top aides were sentenced to life in prison …after being found guilty of embezzling almost 18 million euros, or $23.5 million, in public money — a rare conviction in a case involving the political corruption that has contributed to the country’s dysfunction and economic decline. A court in Salonika, a northern port city also known as Thessaloniki, found that the local authorities had set up an “embezzlement machine” and that Vassilis Papageorgopoulos, a prominent conservative who served two terms as mayor from 1999 to 2010, had been “aware of the whole plan but had stayed on the sidelines, feigning ignorance.” …Two other former treasury officials were given terms of 15 and 10 years, and 13 other former employees were acquitted after a five-month trial that began after an estimated shortfall of $68 million was found in the city’s coffers. The court said there was proof that $23.5 million of that sum had been swindled. In trial testimony last month, Mr. Saxonis admitted that the cash transactions had taken place in his office in “flimsy carrier bags” and said he had been taking orders from his superiors.”  Inspired by Niki Kitsantonis, New York Times ow.ly/iuuk3 Image source Γιάννης Μπουτάρης ow.ly/iuuVi Salonika gets a well needed shake up (March 25 2013)

 

Yiannis Boutaris the 71 year old Greek businessman, politician and current mayor of Thessaloniki has given Greece’s second city, Salonika a well needed shake up after succeeding the former mayor Vassilis Papageorgopoulos a former sprinter and medical student nicknamed the Flying Doctor. On his taking of office, Boutaris accused Papageorgopoulos of providing inaccurate financial figures, resulting in an investigation. Niki Kitsantonis for the New York Times has published an article titled ‘Ex-Mayor in Greece Gets Life in Prison for Embezzlement’ highlighting how the subsequent convictions have prompted a frenzied response in the news media and on blogs, where many hailed the unusually severe sentences. Kitsantonis states “The former mayor of Greece’s second city, Salonika, and two of his top aides were sentenced to life in prison …after being found guilty of embezzling almost 18 million euros, or $23.5 million, in public money — a rare conviction in a case involving the political corruption that has contributed to the country’s dysfunction and economic decline. A court in Salonika, a northern port city also known as Thessaloniki, found that the local authorities had set up an “embezzlement machine” and that Vassilis Papageorgopoulos, a prominent conservative who served two terms as mayor from 1999 to 2010, had been “aware of the whole plan but had stayed on the sidelines, feigning ignorance.” …Two other former treasury officials were given terms of 15 and 10 years, and 13 other former employees were acquitted after a five-month trial that began after an estimated shortfall of $68 million was found in the city’s coffers. The court said there was proof that $23.5 million of that sum had been swindled. In trial testimony last month, Mr. Saxonis admitted that the cash transactions had taken place in his office in “flimsy carrier bags” and said he had been taking orders from his superiors.”

 

Inspired by Niki Kitsantonis, New York Times ow.ly/iuuk3 Image source Γιάννης Μπουτάρης ow.ly/iuuVi