editorial

Solving the Lino Cauchi mystery

It is incredible; corruption and crime have simply never become an issue in Malta, if they ever had done, then the Labour party should have disbanded in 1987.

Better still, if the corruption and crime of the 80’s had been partly addressed and solved we would have had words of praise. But we do not.

But all we can say is that the inquiry and conclusions about corruption have only proved just how grossly incompetent the executive has been.

The past is irrelevant to many younger people, but we cannot forget that in 1982 an accountant by the name of Lino Cauchi disappeared, was murdered, frozen and then cut into pieces and dumped in a well (years later).

We cannot look the other way when we know a magisterial inquiry on the case, the second inquiry of its kind, has been concluded and the key people who could shed light on the case were dealt with in an ineffectual way.

When Lino Cauchi disappeared, he was working as an accountant for Mr Piju Camilleri.

Mr Piju Camilleri has been and still is indicated in several corruption scandals. He was also involved in beating up people in a savage way. He was the late Lorry Sant’s right hand man.

Mr Camilleri is not someone you can easily trust. And it is unfortunate that some Labour parliamentarians are still hovering around to the man in a professional and social way.

When people fell foul of the likes of Mr Camilleri, Alfred Sant, then President of the Labour Party, could only describe these critics as ‘enemies of the worker’.

When Lorry Sant was minister he had the reputation of a Latin American feudal lord.

When Lino Cauchi disappeared, Mr Lorry Sant was interior minister.

The police who investigated the case at the time did not interrogate Mr Camilleri. It would have been normal procedures to have done so, considering that Lino Cauchi was Mr Camilleri’s accountant and knew certain things because of his position.

The police inspector who led the investigations was Dr Anglu Farrugia, then Inspector Farrugia.

Today he is a lacklustre Labour deputy, at the time he was one of the most faithful acolytes of the former convicted Commissioner of Police, Dr Lawrence Pullicino.

His investigations into the case led nowhere.

We shall not proceed with more comments here, lest the overzealous and sensitive MLP parliamentarian contrives a vexatious libel action against us as he has done before.

Mr Camilleri was well known to act on Lorry Sant’s behalf.

He was a works manager at the works department and he played a key role as to when, which and what permits were issued.

He also dabbled in the sale and resale of plots. And his methods were far from conventional or acceptable. They have been described in detail in numerous magisterial inquiries.

He became a tycoon, driving a Ferrari and owning rich and diverse properties. Worse still, he was a façade for Lorry Sant.

In 1982, the police did not investigate Mr Piju Camilleri.

Today, the police after having been presented with the conclusions of a new inquiry, have questioned him.

But it has been a feeble attempt.

This government has not taken the fight against corruption seriously enough.

Magistrates Scicluna (before) and Meli (now) should be commended for having called for a widening of the scope of the case.

This government has not broken any records in the fight against crime.

The case of Raymond Caruana and others can be cited as examples.

It is high time that the government confronts the issues here and rallies the executive arm to uncover the truth and bring the vile culprits to justice.

A pathetic campaign

There are few words to describe the political debate on local councils. It is pathetic to say the least.

The percentages of achievements quoted for each and every council has become a big joke. The culvert controversy fuelled by the Nationalist party is a pathetic attempt to kick up mud where there is little or none existing.

We will be very surprised if the local council campaign makes an impression on the electorate. Our feedback is of a bored public too preoccupied to listen to the nauseating sound bites on culverts, pavements and pilfered trunks.