Throughout all periods of history, there have been public servants who have taken advantage of their privileged position for their own personal benefit. In Tremp, between 1824 and 1829, an event took place that, if it happened now, would certainly make the news.
Antonio Pinto del Valle was a man who lived well. Coming from a well-connected family, he had secured a good position: he was the revenue administrator for the district of Tremp. His job was to collect certain taxes from the local inhabitants and, in addition, to gather the profits from the sale of government-monopolised products such as tobacco and stamped paper, which was essential whenever official documents needed to be presented.
In the eyes of the Madrid government, Tremp was a remote corner of the world. In the capital, Ferdinand VII’s men were busy pursuing the liberals who had been in power during the Triennium, leaving little time to worry about what was happening beyond the Court and the major cities. This suited Antonio perfectly, as he liked to do things his own way.
Map of Tremp. Atlas of towns, cities and territories of Lleida. Author: Burgueño Rivero, Jesús (2001).
In fact, he had turned his job into a family business, as both his son and son-in-law assisted him with the collection procedures. The problem was that they were neither meticulous nor particularly careful with the accounts. They simply carried on. They collected the money, Pinto sent a portion to his superiors, but the rest… Handling gold coins without anyone watching made it hard to resist temptation.
And so, the good Antonio Pinto del Valle watched the years pass. After 1824 came 1825, 1826, 1827, 1828… Meanwhile, things in Madrid were gradually being put in order, and there were those trying to oversee what was happening in the country. Thus, in 1829, the government in Madrid decided to launch a reorganisation campaign and sent Revenue Inspectors everywhere to ensure that everything was done according to the rules. Tremp was no exception.
Sketch of the road from Tremp to la Pobla. Atlas of towns, cities and territories of Lleida. Author: Burgueño Rivero, Jesús (2001).
When Pinto received the inspector, it was all a rush to try to hide the chaos of papers and account lists that made no sense and showed figures that simply didn’t add up. The inspector kept asking for paperwork, and Pinto no longer knew what excuse to offer to justify the mess (and the growing hole in the treasury).
1. Expense certificate. Documentary collection of the Lleida Comptroller General (Cadastre de Patiño). 2. Revenue statement. Documentary collection of the Lleida Comptroller General (Cadastre de Patiño).
With his back against the wall, Pinto devised a cunning plan to get himself out of trouble. As an advance, he handed over some tins of tobacco filled with gold coins, assuring the inspector that the following day they would certainly sort everything out once and for all. It was a lie. That night, the Tremp administrator gathered as much as he could and fled as fast as he could. Before escaping, however, he stopped by his daughter’s and son-in-law’s house to leave them 80,000 Spanish real coins, then headed towards Aragón with the intention of crossing the border into France to avoid capture. He did not succeed. He was arrested in Benasque, and the authorities charged him with capital flight.
Departure record. Documentary collection of the Lleida Comptroller General (Cadastre of Patiño).
Lleida Historical Archive
Antonio Pinto del Valle was tried alongside his son and son-in-law. During the trial, it was concluded that the three men had defrauded 252,586 Spanish reales and 6 maravedís, in addition to all the administrative irregularities accumulated over years of mismanagement. Pinto bore the brunt of the punishment: after spending some time in the Barcelona prison, in 1832 he was sentenced to forced labour on the galleys. Meanwhile, the supervisor and other tax officials had to untangle the mess left behind in the Tremp district’s accounts. Considering the vast number of pages in the case file preserved at the Lleida Historical Archive, it is hardly surprising if those tasked with sorting out Pinto’s misdeeds cursed him vehemently for the enormous workload involved in cleaning up that chaos.
View of the repository at the Lleida Historical Archive.
Do you want to know more details about this story?
Consult the original document on which this story is based at Arxius en Línia (Archives Online).
And if you want to consult it in person at the Historical Archive of Lleida, ask for the document “Causa contra Antonio Pinto, ex-administrador de Rendes del partit de Tremp per haver-se fugat amb cabals”, with reference code AHL260-19-T2-3940.
The importance of the document
And, if you still want to delve deeper, watch this video in which Maria Jesús Llavero, a senior technical staff member at the Lleida Historical Archive, explains the importance of the document chosen to tell this story.
