Alfredo Romero, owner of the El Ventorro restaurant, where the interim president of the Generalitat, Carlos Mazón, ate for almost four hours with the journalist Maribel Vilaplana on October 29, 2024, when the dana left 229 dead in Valencia, revealed this Friday to the court of Catarroja (Valencia) which is investigating the flood according to which both diners left the restaurant “no later than 7pm”. This is what the sources present at his appearance on EL PAÍS, which will take place starting at 9.30 am, say.
“They left between approximately 6.30pm and 7pm. No later than 7pm. And at the earliest at 6.25pm. I remember that time because my employees leave around 6.10pm. I took care of the invoices and then they left. At 6.15pm there were no more customers,” he indicated.
When Mazón and Vilaplana abandoned the premises, the worst misfortune worsened: the overflowing of the Poyo ravine, which unleashed chaos in municipalities such as Paiporta or Catarroja, where the flood caused 55 and 25 deaths respectively.
The owner of El Ventorro reported: “Mr. Mazón arrived first and then Villaplana. He came in at 2.15pm or 2.30pm. And she, a little later. He arrives alone, without a companion. No companion has eaten. He arrives and serves her some water and potatoes or olives in the reserved room, where she goes directly. He remained alone until Mrs. Vilaplana arrived. We accompanied her upstairs via a ladder (sic)”.
The restaurateur specified that the table reservation – the diners had lunch in a booth on the first floor – was made by a representative of the Generalitat “two or three days before”, whose name he does not remember.
Romero testified before Judge Nuria Ruiz Tobarra as a witness, a condition that requires him to tell the truth. His appearance comes after the provincial court of Valencia forced the instructor to take a deposition from Vilaplana, who brought the restaurateur to court on November 3. He assured that, during the lunch, which lasted almost four hours (3:00-6:45 pm), the owner of the restaurant brought Mazón some documents to sign.
