Joaquim Garcia, a 69 year-old building supervisor, was fined $30,000 after an award brought his six-year absence from work to light.

Garcia worked as a building supervisor for a water treatment plant in the Spanish city Cadiz and quietly collected an annual $41,500 salary from his superiors without showing up to work. The water company thought he was supervised by the local authorities and vice versa. Garcia won an award for his twenty years of loyal service when his absence was finally noticed. At first, local officials questioned if he had retired or died, but they found that he was still on the payroll receiving his annual salary.

Garcia had no answer for what he had been doing when questioned by the deputy mayor Jorge Blas and the Spanish newspaper El Mundo has dubbed him “el funcionario fantasma” – the phantom official. He has defended his actions, reportedly blaming bullying at his workplace for the long absence. He has also stated that there was no work to do. Garcia retired after the allegations were released, but he is still denying any wrongdoing on his part. The $30,000 fine that was handed down was the maximum amount and Garcia has written to the mayor asking not to have to pay. He will also ask for the fine to be reviewed by the city council.