Spanish court upholds dismissal of policeman who stole dead man’s credit card and used it

Spain: policeman who stole credit car loses appeal

MADRID — Spain’s Supreme Court has upheld the dismissal of a highway patrolman who confessed to stealing a dead man’s credit card and using it to buy gasoline, go shopping and eat at restaurants.

The court says the officer’s behavior was “utterly incompatible” with his responsibility as a public servant to protect people and their property.

The Civil Guard officer acknowledged using the credit card 69 times after taking it from a man who died in a road accident in the northwest Galicia region in 2002. He spent €1,323 ($1,900) but returned the money after getting caught.

The officer was identified only by his initials in a verdict released Wednesday.

He served a year-and-a-half in prison, and was later expelled from the Civil Guard.