A former police inspector turned lawyer, who is accused of being involved in a string of major crimes, yesterday acted as defence counsel in a separate case filed by one of the officers who are prosecuting him.
Following a tip-off they asked the magistrate to take his fingerprints
David Gatt, whom the police believe is behind a few attempted robberies in recent years, represented a 24-year-old man from Valletta who was charged with theft by Police Inspector Michael Mallia.
Inspector Mallia is one of a group of inspectors who has charged Dr Gatt, currently out on bail, with running a criminal gang.
Dr Gatt’s client Keith Cremona has been charged with stealing around €465 (Lm200) in July 2005 from an elderly woman after breaking into her St Julians house.
Mr Cremona, who was 17 when the alleged crime took place, pleaded not guilty to committing a crime with other people, holding Bernardetta Meilaq against her will and seriously injuring her.
Inspector Mallia explained that the police had never linked Mr Cremona to the theft. However, following a confidential tip-off about his involvement, they asked the inquiring magistrate to take Mr Cremona’s fingerprints.
These matched those found on the scene of the crime, Inspector Mallia told Magistrate Neville Camilleri.
The theft took place at around 9.30 a.m. when a group of men knocked on the woman’s door, barged in and threw her to the floor.
Magistrate Camilleri upheld a request for bail against a deposit of €500 and a personal guarantee of €5,000.
Dr Gatt is defendingMr Cremona alongside lawyer Edward Gatt.
He is out on bail and is pleading not guilty to being involved in the theft of more than €1 million from the HSBC bank in Balzan in 2007; the failed heist on HSBC’s Qormi headquarters in June last year, which ended in a shootout with the police; a failed attempt to break into a security van carrying about €2.8 million in cash last year and the attempted robbery of a jeweller in Attard in December.