Four arraigned for peddling influence and involvement in bribery

Drug trafficker Mario Camilleri paid out Lm17,000 through middlemen to judges hearing his appeal, for some "help" which eventually translated itself into a reprieve of four years, the police commissioner told the Magistrates' Court yesterday.

Camilleri had been handed a 16-year sentence by the Criminal Court.

The appeal judges were promised Lm10,000 each but, on the day of judgment, Camilleri instructed his son Pierre to hand over only Lm5,000 to each judge who had opted to "help".

The judges in the Court of Criminal Appeal were former chief justice Noel Arrigo, Judge Patrick Vella, both of whom have now resigned, and Mr Justice Joseph Filletti, but the latter was never involved in the matter, police commissioner John Rizzo said.

Camilleri's son handed the money to Joseph Zammit hours after the appeal court handed down judgment and Camilleri and Zammit agreed, behind Mario Camilleri's back, to go halves on the third Lm5,000 earmarked for Mr Justice Filletti.

Mr Rizzo testified at the arraignment of the four men taken to court yesterday afternoon and charged with trading in influence and aiding and abetting in the bribery of two judges.

Camilleri, 40, and his son Pierre, 20, Anthony John Grech Sant, 55, and Zammit, 57, appeared before Magistrate Abigail Lofaro at about 3.30 p.m. and were led away two and a half hours later when she denied them bail.

All four were also charged with conspiring to commit a crime while Zammit alone was charged with defrauding Mario Camilleri and/or other people out of some Lm5,000, and a second count of trading in influence.

Zammit and Camilleri were also charged with relapsing.

Mr Rizzo gave evidence after he was asked to explain why the police felt they had to arraign the four men under arrest.

He told how the police investigations kicked off after they received information at the beginning of July that there had been an attempt to approach two judges in connection with the appeals of Mario Camilleri and George Spiteri.

The commissioner said the police learnt that the four men were aware of the contents of the judgment which had still to be handed down and immediately started looking into the matter.

Quite a few people were arrested, including the defendants and the two judges. Mr Justice Joseph Filletti was also questioned, Mr Rizzo said.

The investigation yielded the information that there had been "insistent" communication between Zammit and Grech Sant and former chief justice Noel Arrigo and Judge Patrick Vella in a bid to get them to "help" in the appeal of Mario Camilleri.

Mr Rizzo said the judges were promised Lm10,000 each if they "helped" and two judges decided to help. The two judgments were handed down on July 5 with Spiteri being acquitted and Camilleri obtaining a reprieve of four years on the 16-year jail term originally handed down by the Criminal Court for drug trafficking.

On the same day, Mario Camilleri instructed his son Pierre to meet Zammit for a transaction which turned out to be Lm5,000 for each judge, and not Lm10,000.

Zammit was not very pleased to learn that the sum had been halved but accepted to pass on the money to the two judges. A third Lm5,000 had been earmarked for the third judge, Mr Justice Joseph Filletti, but he had never been involved in the plan and Zammit and Pierre Camilleri decided to share the spoils behind Mario Camilleri's back, Mr Rizzo said.

Zammit was also promised Lm3,000 for his part, of which he only saw Lm1,000, which he also shared with Mario Camilleri's son.

Mr Rizzo said the payments were made on July 5 and Grech Sant and Zammit were eventually arrested and cautioned. Both cooperated with the police, particularly Zammit, when "we showed them we knew everything".

The police learnt that Grech Sant was involved in the matter for a time but when he learnt that the Camilleris had not kept their word and the promised sum had been halved to Lm5,000 he wanted nothing else to do with the matter and told Zammit to go and pick up the money alone.

The judges were eventually questioned and Judge Vella opted to return the Lm5,000 without prejudice to his case. The chief justice admitted he had been somewhat indiscreet, mostly because he wanted to help out Grech Sant, who was a very good friend of his. Their friendship went back to their school days at St Edward's College.

Mr Rizzo said the police had evidence that the chief justice had in fact accepted a sum of money as a gift.

When the police commissioner stepped off the witness stand, Magistrate Lofaro ruled that the arrest of the four men had been justified.

The defendants were then subjected to routine questioning during which Grech Sant, through his lawyer, Dr Joseph Brincat, did not file a plea but simply declared that he stood by the statement he gave police.

Magistrate Lofaro ruled that Grech Sant's declaration would be taken as a plea of not guilty.

She then heard submissions on bail during which Police Commissioner John Rizzo claimed that Mario Camilleri had forked out a total of Lm17,000.

He also claimed that the Camilleris' lawyer, Dr Franco Debono, had gone to police headquarters unasked and told the police commissioner he would get one of his clients to cooperate if the police helped him. The commissioner said he told Dr Debono that he had a job to do.

Dr Debono said things did not happen the way the commissioner was painting them but he did not feel he should go into the matter.

After all the parties had had their say, Magistrate Lofaro denied bail on the grounds that there was a tangible fear of tampering with evidence and that at least Grech Sant, Zammit and Pierre Camilleri could abscond. Mario Camilleri is still serving time.

She also cited the seriousness and the nature of the charges faced by the defendants.

Magistrate Lofaro heard the arraignment after duty magistrate Consuelo Scerri Herrera abstained in the morning. The arraignment had originally been scheduled for 11 a.m. and the police and defendants were in court at 10.30 a.m.

It was not immediately clear which of the grounds laid down in the Code of Organisation and Civil Procedure was invoked by the magistrate in her abstention, which did not take place in open court.

Section 734 (1) of the Code of Organisation and Civil Procedure in fact lays down that a judge (or magistrate) "may be challenged or abstain from sitting in a cause -

"(a) if he is related by consanguinity or affinity in a direct line to any of the parties;

"(b) if he is related by consanguinity in the degree of brother, uncle or nephew, grand-uncle or grandnephew or cousin, to any of the parties, or if he is related by affinity in the degree of brother, uncle, or nephew, to any of the parties;

"(c) if he is the tutor, curator, or presumptive heir of any of the parties; if he is or has been the agent of any of the parties to the suit; if he is the administrator of any establishment or partnership involved in the suit, or if any of the parties is his presumptive heir;

"(d) (i) if he had given advice, pleaded or written on the cause or on any other matter connected therewith or dependant thereon;

"(ii) if he had previously taken cognizance of the cause as a judge or as an arbitrator:

"Provided that this shall not apply to any decision delivered by the judge which did not definitely dispose of the merits in issue or to any judgment of non-suit of the plaintiff;

"(iii) if he has made any disbursement in respect of the cause;

"(iv) if he has given evidence or if any of the parties proposes to call him as a witness;

"(e) if he, or his spouse, is directly or indirectly interested in the event of the suit;

"(f) if the advocate or legal procurator pleading before a judge is the son or daughter, spouse or ascendant of the said judge;

"(g) if the judge or his spouse has a case pending against any of the parties to the suit or happens to be his creditor or debtor in such manner as may reasonably give rise to suspicion of a direct or indirect interest that may influence the outcome of the case.

"(2) A judge may be challenged or abstain from sitting in a cause when he has previously taken cognizance of and expressed himself on the same merits of that cause when sitting as a judge in the Civil Court, Second Hall."

The case continues.

Attorney General Anthony Borg Barthet, police commissioner John Rizzo, deputy commissioner Joseph Cachia, assistant commissioner Michael Cassar and Superintendent Pierre Calleja prosecuted. Dr Joseph Brincat appeared for Grech Sant, Dr Chris Cardona for Zammit and Dr Franco Debono for the Camilleris.