News • 29 September 2002

Allegations of freemasonry return to haunt judiciary

By Matthew Vella

The scandals of the judiciary have rekindled the debate on the alleged close links between members of the judiciary and freemasonry.

Earlier this week, Bondi+, aired on PBS featured the recent case involving the alleged bribery of ex-Chief Justice Noel Arrigo and ex-Magistrate Patrick Vella.

The uproar caused by the judiciary’s misdemeanours brought into discussion the involvement of Magistrates in masonic lodges. Justice Minister Austin Gatt declared on the programme that he would take immediate steps to remove any member of the judiciary involved in any secret society.

But the name that caused a decade-old enigma to resurface was that of Magistrate Carol Peralta.

Reports on the Magistrate’s involvement in the society of secrets gained prominence in the months surrounding Dr Peralta’s appointment as Magistrate on April 18, 1990.

In the ensuing months, the Malta Labour Party’s newspaper Il-Helsien had published a series of articles affirming the Magistrate’s name had been listed in the police force’s alarm book as the contact person when the alarm goes off at the masonic lodge in Villa Blye, Paola.

The MLP weekly had even alleged that Magistrate Carol Peralta’s masonic title was that of ‘Worshipful Master’.

The articles had also set out to contradict a statement by then-Deputy Prime Minister Guido de Marco that no masonic lodges were registered with the police force.

The masonic lodge in question was The Masonic Social Club, situated at Villa Blye, Corradino Hill, Paola, registered with the police as file Club/Dist/3/26.

The news first started making waves when Magistrate Peralta was reported by Il-Helsien as having made statements relating to his involvement in a masonic lodge during a Magistrates’ meeting that had taken place on 26 July, 1990. The meeting had been held with regards to a series of statements criticising the judiciary.

In the press report following the meeting, certain Magistrates were adamant in omitting any references related to Magistrates’ claims that they were freemasons.

Following the allegations made by the MLP weekly, the newspaper had reported that a person had phoned the paper on 4 June, 1990, to dissuade the editor from pursuing the story. The caller had made explicit references to the masonic confraternity, in particular the judiciary and Magistrate Peralta, telling the paper they were "treading on dangerous ground".

Il-Helsien had claimed their investigations had prompted the judiciary’s reactions, some of which were bold enough to express the wish of seeing the back of Magistrate Peralta.

The Alternattiva Demokratika fortnightly Alternattiva was also in possession of a list of freemasons that used to meet at the St John and St Paul Lodge at 6,7 Marsamxett Road, Valletta. The list of members was dated 28 February, 1990.

The facts clearly pointed out the undeniable existence of masonic lodges whose members occupied powerful roles in society.

Alternattiva had also published a March 1991 agenda for the initiation of new members of Leinster Lodge No 387 I.C. The telephone number on the agenda had corresponded to that of William Davies, who the paper contended was a high official of Villa Blye’s masonic lodge.

Interviewed by the paper on 3 August, 1990, Magistrate Peralta had refused to answer any questions which were not related to his public role as member of the judiciary. He was asked by the paper whether he was a freemason, Magistrate Peralta said he would not answer any questions having to do with private aspects of his life.

The same question was met with silence when Alternattiva interviewed all members of the judiciary. Magistrate Peralta, the paper reported, said: "For all that’s been said about me a motion for my impeachment has been presented in Parliament and for that reason I refuse to have anything to say with any Alternattiva representative".

The mystery surrounding Magistrate Peralta’s involvement with freemasonry reached a surprising end after Magistrate Peralta sent Prime Minister Fenech Adami a declaration denying his involvement with any masonic lodge in February 1991.

A motion for Magistrate Peralta’s impeachment had already been presented in Parliament during August, 1990. On 2 February, 1991, Alternattiva reported the motion had not yet been discussed although then-Minister of Justice Guido de Marco had saiddiscussions would start in October, 1990.

The saga temporarily suspended, a satisfied Dr Fenech Adami accepted Magistrate Peralta’s declaration that he was not a freemason and that he had only acted as advocate to the masonic lodge.

Il-Helsien contended that Dr Fenech Adami’s silence and passive withdrawal had been prompted by a group of Maltese and British freemason lobbyists who intended sabotaging the government’s EEC application at the time.

But Dr Fenech Adami’s acceptance of Magistrate Peralta’s declaration was even more startling due to the fact that the PM himself had stated in a public interview on 20 July, 1990, that "freemasons do not deserve the people’s faith". According to Il-Helsien of 10 August, 1990, Dr Fenech Adami had suspected politicians and businessmen were in fact freemasons.

In an interview with Dr Fenech Adami on 18 May, 1991, Alternattiva had asked the Prime Minister whether he had been satisfied with Magistrate Peralta’s simple declaration that he had never been a freemason.

His answer read: "It is not a question of being happy with just the declaration, but in being objective and the declaration I have says that he is not member of any masonic society."

Asked by the newspaper Alternattiva whether he would be ready to publish this declaration, Dr Fenech Adami answered that he saw no need to publish the declaration seeing as he had already revealed its contents and thus having nothing to publish.

The Nationalist leader’s and PN Secretary General Austin Gatt’s initially strong stance against freemasonry had been forceful all throughout the months surrounding Magistrate Peralta’s appointment, prior to and after his April 18 swearing in.

Then PN Secretary General Austin Gatt had told the MLP weekly that freemasonry was "incompatible" with the ideals of a democratic political party and that he would expel any party member involved in such secret societies.

Much of the furore surrounding freemasonry in Malta had occurred throughout this period, spurred on by the existence of lists of freemasons and agendas of masonic lodges in the hands of newspapers Il-Helsien and Alternattiva.

Their tough stances had however seemed to be at loggerheads with Prof. Guido de Marco’s statement in Parliament, that no masonic lodges had been registered with the police force.

It was unclear why as Leader of the House, Prof. de Marco had not yet started discussion with regards to the impeachment when it was first presented in August.

It was also unclear why procedures for the impeachment of Magistrate Peralta had dissipated quietly following the Prime Minister’s acceptance of his declaration that he had never been a freemason.