Ex-Gozo Channel HR manager in court over forged certificate

Police charges have been filed against the former Gozo Channel human resources manager in connection with a forged certificate issued to a boatswain.

The charges against Joseph Angilleri were issued after Angelo Demanuele, a boatswain employed with the ferry company, admitted in a court case to asking him to issue a forged certificate to get a promotion.

Mr Demanuele ended up in court after ferry captain Mario Grech filed a judicial protest in September 2009 contesting, among other things, the lack of qualifications of the boatswain.

Mr Demanuele, who was given a two-year suspended jail term, had named Mr Angilleri as the person who helped him obtain the false certificate allowing him to move up from security officer to boatswain.

As a result, Mr Demanuele was, and remained, suspended from work on half-pay until he faced the company’s internal disciplinary board according to the terms stipulated in the collective agreement, Gozo Channel chairman Joseph Grech confirmed.

“I can’t really comment because disciplinary action has to be taken according to the collective agreement,” he said.

Dr Grech said the disciplinary board had not yet met because the company was awaiting the outcome of Mr Angilleri’s court case.

Mr Angilleri no longer works for Gozo Channel because he was employed under a period contract that expired. In addition, he had reached retirement age, Dr Grech said.

The police have confirmed that charges have been issued against Mr Angilleri and that he would appear in court in October.

Mr Demanuele was promoted on the recommendation of a board that was told by Mr Angilleri that the candidate was in possession of an efficient deck-hand certificate, a document crucial for the position as it certifies a person had spent at least a year at sea.

Capt. Grech had questioned the qualifications and asked to see the documents.

Mr Demanuele had claimed he lost it and approached his superior for a new one. In turn, the superior spoke to Mr Angilleri who issued another certificate bearing a serial number of another person.

The forged certificate was raised by Capt. Grech who was taken off the roster pending the outcome of an internal inquiry into allegations he made on the ferry line.

Among other things. Capt. Grech had raised safety issues revolving around life-saving equipment, emergency training and the presence of the potentially-deadly Legionella bacteria in the water supply of three ferries.

The inquiry, called by Finance Minister Tonio Fenech, dismissed all but one of Capt. Grech’s claims – that of the forged certificate.

He dropped a lawsuit he had filed against the company and is still formally suspended. Discussions are still going on between his lawyer and Gozo Channel, Dr Grech said.

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