No evidence of link between alleged stalker and policeman

Police did not come across any evidence linking former prisoner Romeo Bone to whistleblower police constable Mario Portelli, two police inspectors said yesterday.

“Nothing illegal was found when Mr Bone’s house was searched and no evidence was found connecting him to PC 99 Portelli,” prosecuting Inspector Joseph Mercieca told Magistrate Silvio Meli yesterday.

Mr Bone’s residence was searched by the police after he was arrested on January 13 and later charged in court with stalking PC Portelli who is the main witness in three other major criminal cases.

PC Portelli had previously testified in the case against former police inspector and lawyer David Gatt that Mr Bone was a member of Dr Gatt’s gang that allegedly committed a number of crimes.

Questioned by Mr Bone’s defence lawyer Giannella Caruana Curran, Insp. Mercieca explained that the police had asked the Qrendi council for footage from security cameras placed close to a monument near PC Portelli’s property.

Mr Bone had directed the police to the cameras around the statue, which commemorated the death of five Qrendi youths in a car crash, to prove that he did not slow down in front of PC Portelli’s house because he did not know where it was, Insp. Mercieca said.

But the council informed him that there was no recording, the inspector added, which led to Magistrate Meli asking whether the council burnt the footage as soon as they opened their offices.

Insp. Mercieca also pointed out that the closed-circuit cameras were not directed at PC Portelli’s house but at the statue. “The stretch of road in front of PC Portelli’s house is not covered by the cameras,” he said.

However, when further questioned by Dr Caruana Curran, Insp. Mercieca admitted that he never saw any footage from the cameras and, therefore, did not know where these were directed.

Dr Caruana Curran also asked whether the police checked the footage from security cameras close to the house of Madam Justice Abigail Lofaro, who lives in the area, to see if Mr Bone’s car could be seen making a U-turn.

But Insp. Mercieca said he could not remember while Magistrate Meli noted, after clarifying with Dr Caruana Curran, that her house was quite far from PC Portelli’s residence.

Prosecuting Inspector Michael Mallia, who also testified, said Mr Bone had told the police to check the security cameras at the airport to confirm who was with him in the car.

However, the police did not lift the footage because Mr Bone had driven around the nearby roundabout which was outside the cameras’ reach, Insp. Mallia said.

He also confirmed that nothing that linked Mr Bone to PC Portelli had been found during a police search of his residence.

In a previous court sitting, PC Portelli reported that he had seen Mr Bone near his family’s farm. Giving evidence, PC Portelli said he knew Mr Bone through David Gatt.

He said the Commissioner of Police called him last January 10, telling him he had information that Mr Bone was planning to kill him.

PC99 said that on January 13, while smoking in the porch of his house, he saw a vehicle driving by slowly and coming up to his house where it almost stopped.

Mr Bone was inside the car with someone he did not know and both were looking in his direction. He knelt down so that they would not see him.