The credibility of the prosecution’s star witness in the case against former police inspector David Gatt was called into question yesterday with defence counsel likening him to Monica Lewinski, the woman at the heart of the sex scandal that rocked former US President Bill Clinton.
Dr Gatt’s defence lawyer, Joe Giglio, called into question the reliability of PC Mario Portelli, the prosecution’s only witness, who, he pointed out, did not have a clean criminal record, unlike his client.
To make his point, the lawyer unearthed a 2002 brawl which saw PC Portelli convicted of making threats, fighting, breaching the peace and disobeying the orders of colleagues on duty (at the time of the incident he was off duty). The case was first mentioned last week by lawyer Giannella Caruana Curran in an unrelated hearing which, however, concerned Romeo Bone, who the police claim was a member of Dr Gatt’s alleged criminal gang.
Dr Giglio used the incident to draw parallels between his client and PC Portelli.
Despite having been sacked from the police in 2001 for alleged inappropriate conversations he was caught having with criminals, Dr Giglio said his client had never been arraigned over the matter. Dr Gatt had even won a constitutional case against the government and the police for unfair dismissal on the basis that he was not informed of the proceedings against him and was not given the opportunity to defend himself.
Making a third request for bail, which will be decided on Tuesday, Dr Giglio argued it was not his client who was “untrustworthy”, as the Attorney General had described him, but “the Monica Lewinski”.
Dr Gatt, who became a lawyer after being dismissed from the police, is accused of masterminding some of the more notorious hold ups carried out over the past few years.
PC Portelli has testified Dr Gatt styled himself as Malta’s version of the infamous Sicilian mafia boss Toto Riina.
In a bizarre portrayal of Dr Gatt, PC Portelli described him as an obsessive character immersed in the iconography of the Cosa Nostra, to the point he would nickname members of his gang after elements of Riina’s organisation.
The sitting yesterday was largely dedicated to reports submitted by court appointed experts’ reports. Dr Giglio asked the experts, Police Inspector Sandra Zammit, who investigated the failed heist at the HSBC headquarters, ballistic experts Jesmond Cassar and Christian Harmsworth, whether his client was ever mentioned in their documents and they all said he was not.
Police Sergeant Jeffrey Gerada said he had elevated a number of items from both the flat which Dr Gatt used as an office and his home. These items included a board game called At Dinner With The Mafia, five mobile phones, three licensed guns and two DVDs featuring Bruce Lee, Robert De Niro and Al Pacino.
Dr Giglio asked the officer why he had elevated the items, sarcastically wondering whether if it was illegal to keep a DVD of Bruce Lee, himself having one at home.
The officer said he was simply following orders.
At the end of the sitting, Police Inspector Michael Mallia asked Magistrate Antonio Micallef Trigona to freeze all of Dr Gatt’s assets, a request that was provisionally upheld.
Lawyers Edward Gatt and Mark Vassallo also appeared for Dr Gatt.