Nickie Vella De Fremeaux accused her husband Adrian Delia’s close advisor Pierre Portelli of copyright theft as the two engaged in a public war of words on Monday.

In a public Facebook post which did not initially mention Mr Portelli by name, Dr Vella De Fremeaux accused the PN head of media of stealing the plot of new Net TV series Fattigi from writer Sandro Vella, which she said constituted a criminal offence.

Mr Vella has filed claims in court over the allegations. 

“I trust that this is simply owing to the fact that someone is ignorant of the law and didn’t consult with his lawyers before this all got out of hand,” Dr Vella De Fremeaux said in her post.

“I have refrained from referring to this controversy surrounding Fattigi because it directly involved concerns two friends of mine and therefore I once again for the umpteenth time call upon all those concerned urging them to sit round a table with their respective legal counsel in the hope that business integrity finally prevails; the scam ended [sic]; and any dissension erased once and for all.”

In a public reply, Mr Portelli said Dr Vella De Fremaux had been fed “lies and half-truths but didn’t take the time to listen to the other side of the story”.

You've let yourself be weaponized ... against the party your husband leads


“You have no idea what this man put me, my wife [who owns the TV production house Watermelon] and other people through,” he said. “I have refrained from commenting in public awaiting for reason to prevail but you’ve let yourself to be weaponized against me and my family, against Medialink, against decent cast and crew and ultimately against the party your husband leads.”

In a further post, Dr Vella De Fremeaux insisted Mr Portelli had dodged “countless” attempts on her part to organise a meeting over the issue - asking him to confirm with “your Kap”.

She also accused him of “trying to pass [her] off as a fruit basket” in meetings with his staff, referring to her already-public history of depression and defending her legal competence.

Mr Portelli has already been caught in controversy over Fattigi, rebuffing claims that scheduling a show produced by his wife’s company represented a conflict of interest. Mr Portelli said his wife was working on a purely voluntary basis and all advertising revenue would be retained by Net.

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