Ms. Martinez describes herself as an “energy cleanup specialist”;
The mayor of Europe's fickle capital is in police custody on charges that he spent taxpayers' money on a ventriloquist fortune teller who «bewitched» him into thinking she had contacted his dead father.
French Mediterranean The city of Agde is known for its wild sex parties, which attract tens of thousands of partner-swapping couples from across the continent every year.
It is now in the national spotlight due to a scandal involving «witches' power» Sofia Martinez's beliefs regarding Gilles d'Ettore, mayor and former police and secret service officer.
Both remain in custody while under investigation. Ms. Martinez is charged with embezzlement. Mr Ettore, mayor of Agde since 2001 and a former Conservative MP for the region, was charged with corruption over allegations he spent huge sums of taxpayers' money on a fortune teller.
Ms. Martinez, 44, had a reputation for being able to talk to the dead and had a long list of clients who wanted to contact deceased relatives and access her “powers” as a “medium, hypnotherapist and healer.”
< p>“I am a specialist in energetic cleansing of people and places,” says her Facebook page.
The charges against her include tax fraud. The police found large sums of money at her home.
Mr. D'Ettore detained on suspicion of corruption < p >It is alleged that when the 55-year-old mayor asked her to connect him with his late father, she was able to imitate the deceased's voice with incredible accuracy.
Ettore also regularly received anonymous calls from someone claiming to be Archangel Michael, the patron saint of Agde , who spoke «in a hoarse voice from beyond the grave» and told him to «protect Sofia and her loved ones.»
The Mayor was so infatuated with Ms. Martinez that he considered her his daughter. Last year he even walked her down the aisle at her lavish third wedding, which was rumored to have cost €80,000, the bill billed by Mr Ettore.
To pay her, Mr. Ettore allegedly enlisted the help of municipal employees and a company with ties to City Hall through a system of false invoices.
All was well for Ms. Martinez: she was treated to a new kitchen and deck, trips to Polynesia and Thailand, and school fees for two of her six children, whom he allegedly took regularly there mayor's driver. It is also alleged that he gave positions on the council to her husband and five family members.
Following a complaint from Mr Ettore's ex-wife who claimed he had been «bewitched» to embezzle council funds, police wiretapping was set up and they were amazed at her ventriloquist skills. At their request, she agreed to demonstrate this during the interrogation, which was filmed.
From the Grave
Prosecutor Raphael Balland said: “Her strategy was to change her voice, including communicating with members of her family and close people.» friends.
«By using this man's husky voice, she managed to make them think they were talking to a supernatural being from the other world.»
An officer told local newspaper Midi Libre: «When you looked at this woman and heard the sonorous voice of this man , you couldn't imagine it coming from her body. It is amazing».
When the footage was shown to Ettore, “he couldn’t believe it,” said Jean-Marc Darrigade, his lawyer. “We had to show him the video for him to understand that he had been deceived,” he told Le Parisien.
“He found himself involved with a completely evil character. This is the first case of embezzlement of funds, leading not to enrichment, but to personal impoverishment.»
Agd is a magnet for swingers. Photo: EDITORIAL UNIVERSAL IMAGES GROUP
But Luke Abratkiewicz, Ms Martinez's lawyer, said that although she admitted she had betrayed his trust, «this is not a case of manipulation because she admitted to what she did, and other clients, including doctors and architects, have said that she had mystical powers.»
One former customer who claimed to have witnessed such powers said that during visits to her home, objects moved inexplicably, and Ms. Martinez was able to provide details about her life, such as where she scattered the ashes of her best friend. < /p>
Rival politicians expressed surprise at the incident.
Thierry Nadal, opposition leader of the Agde council, said: “It stunned the entire population. This is a truly sad case that is damaging to our city, especially because of this strange story with the clairvoyant.”
Fabienne Varesano, a local politician from Marine Le Pen's National Rally party, called on the mayor to resign. . “He made a mockery of our city,” she said.
Mr Darrigade denies his client used council funds to pay for the session, claiming “the investigation has not yet formally proven this.”< /p >
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