Overview
- The El Ventorro owner told the court that Carlos Mazón arrived in a shirt and jacket and left dressed the same, contradicting claims that he put on a sweater during the meal.
- He said he neither saw a phone in Mazón’s hand nor heard him speaking on calls, diverging from Maribel Vilaplana’s account that Mazón stood to take phone conversations.
- He described a small VIP room on a second floor with a single oval table for five and hesitated to provide photos or a room plan, citing heavy media pressure on the restaurant.
- Romero placed Mazón’s arrival around 14:15–14:30, Vilaplana’s near 14:50–15:00, and both departing between 18:30 and 19:00 as the last to leave, reinforcing a timeline that still leaves a ‘dark hour’ before Mazón reached the Palau.
- He testified the booking was made days earlier from the Generalitat by a woman and that the meal was later invoiced and paid by the Partido Popular via bank transfer, as the judge summons Mazón’s team, escorts, and driver next, with José Manuel Cuenca due to testify on November 26.