A Civil Protection Department employee has been handed a suspended sentence and a general perpetual interdiction after being found guilty of acting as a go-between between consumers and corrupt public officials in a plot concerning electricity theft three years ago. 

Martin Cilia la Corte, had initially been accused of bribery of public officials and complicity in the corruption of a government employee, conspiracy to defraud and complicity in defrauding Enemalta out of over €12,500, after the company discovered that he had been approaching consumers and offering them tampered meters.

Criminal investigations against the accused were sparked off by a series of reports received by Enemalta that Mr Cilia la Corte had been acting as an intermediary offering to put consumers in touch with someone who would install low-reading smart meters against a one-time payment ranging from €1,200 to €5200.

READ: Third man pleads guilty to meters tampering

The scheme was devised during the switchover to smart utility meters.

The authorities had waived criminal proceedings against consumers who came forward so long as the tampered devices were deposited in court.

In the course of proceedings, 13 consumers had testified.

One of them, the owner of a furniture showroom, had recalled how the accused had visited his premises as an ordinary customer and ultimately tempted him with a tampered meter to cut down on electricity bills. The witness had finally handed over Lm700 to clinch the deal.

Paul Pantalleresco, the technician responsible for installing the tampered meters, was later charged in separate proceedings.

A police sergeant had explained how a device that could be used to tamper with the meters had been found in the technician’s garage.  

Magistrate Donatella Frendo Dimech, observed that the accused had singled out Mr Pantalleresco as a useful tool to be exploited and had even shaped his work schedule to allow him to service interested clients.

 Mr Cilia la Corte and Mr Pantalleresco had then split the takings, robbing Enemalta of thousands of euros worth of electricity.

Whilst declaring the accused guilty, when deciding upon punishment the court noted that Enemalta had successfully recovered €86,000 of the amount underpaid and that the accused had volunteered further information to the company leading to a breakthrough in investigations.

Noting that the accused was a public officer who had “craftily, possessed by greed for money at the expense of others, led several family men to the doorstep of criminality” the court remarked that what he had done was shameful.

On the other hand, the court took into consideration the accused’s role in identifying other cases of electricity theft and his efforts to address the damage he had caused.

The court condemned the accused to a two-year jail term suspended for 4 years, together with a fine of €12,565, equivalent to his unjust gains, further placing him under a supervision order for two years and ordering him to perform 100 hours of community service. The court also imposed a perpetual general interdiction on the man.

Lawyers Franco Debono and Amadeus Cachia were parte civile to Enemalta.

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