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Victor Balzan and the mafia

Victor Balzan who was present at a number of meetings regarding land dealings in the presence of the murdered accountant Lino Cauchi (in 1981) met Giovanni Bastone the mafia boss of Mazara del Vallo and Rino Bocina the disgraced mayor in 1994, according to Italian criminal investigators.

Victor Balzan, a businessman whose name surfaces over and over again in the corruption probes related to the Lorry Sant, Piju Camilleri and Joe Camilleri land scams, was recorded by micro receivers planted by the Servizio Centrale Operativo of the Italian Police. They were hidden in a meeting room at the Hotel Raphael and in the offices of a Sicilian lawyer in Rome. In the 90’s the central Hotel Raphael was the home of the disgraced and corrupt Socialist Prime Minister, Bettino Craxi.

The meeting between Victor Balzan was held together with individuals from the Sicilian criminal world to set up a mega casino at Manoel Island.

The whole project was shelved because the two Sicilians Bastone and Bocina ended up behind bars because of their criminal connections.

The Italian SOC had been following the seemingly innocent fishing boats from Mazara del Vallo to Malta because of reports that they were involved in the transportation of arms and drugs from Sicily to Malta.

If ever proof was needed that Omertà reigns in Malta, this must be it. While MaltaToday releases more details of the unsolved murder case of Lino Cauchi and the potential link to the trading of land and illicit profits in a cobweb of corruption and crime, the main political parties battle over light bulbs, culverts and the work done by local councils.

In today’s special report, we look at the intricate land deals that took place in the eighties and the legal hurdles that were left in place by a Nationalist government seemingly reluctant to root out corruption.

Many of the cases investigated by the Commission of Corruption were kicked out of the courtrooms because of prescription. And this is only the tip of the iceberg.