Caritas usury spokesman admits to being casino consultant

A person representing the Church foundation that deals with victims of usury admitted on television yesterday to being a consultant to one of the casinos.

The admission was made when Reno Bugeja, host of Dissett current affairs programme, raised the issue of gambling as one of the reasons that pushed people into usury.

Caritas representative John Zammit was critical of the numerous gambling houses that opened up in every locality and argued that he would have preferred reversing the clock when there was only one casino.

"Gambling has increased and everybody knows this. Over the past 22 years we passed from a situation where we only had one casino, which was closed to Maltese citizens, to one where we have four casinos and I don't know how many gambling outlets. The situation is not nice at all. If it were up to me I would put the clock back 22 years," Mr Zammit said.

It was at this point that Mr Bugeja asked him whether he was a consultant to one of the big casinos.

A visibly stunned Mr Zammit confirmed he was a security consultant to a casino but denied having a conflict of interest because he was not involved in gaming issues.

"Yes, I do stand to gain from the casino but gaming has never been my friend. The first time I entered a casino was in 1998 at the age of 48 when I was appointed to the Gaming Authority's board. When I started doing freelance work, my financial position did not permit me to refuse clients and one of the casinos is a client of mine," Mr Zammit said.

Uncomfortable with the question Mr Zammit was spared further embarassment when the programme host stopped the discussion on the issue and tackled other arguments linked to usury. The Foundation for Victims of Usury was set up by Caritas in 2000 to help victims deal with the problem.

ksansone@timesofmalta.com