Former police superintendent cleared of accepting bribes in case dating back 14 years

A retired police superintendent has been cleared of accepting bribes relating to an illegal lotto operation, after evidence given by the prosecution’s star witness was declared inadmissible.

Patrick Spiteri, 63, was found not guilty of accepting bribes of €200 monthly from illegal lotto organisers, over a span of more than six years in return for tip offs about police raids.

Spiteri had won a related case eight years ago in which he claimed his fundamental human rights were breached by the fact that he had no access to a lawyer during his interrogation.

Magistrate Monica Vella said that there was no evidence that Spiteri had taken any money and that the principal witness in this case, who claimed to be Spiteri’s fixer, was not credible.

The fixer had later been interrogated and implicated in the case.

The court declared the fixer’s evidence inadmissible.

Spiteri had resigned from the police force when he was arrested in June 2006, after 27 years of service.

He was charged with trading in influence and abuse of power, as well as revealing official secrets and committing offences he was duty bound to prevent.

Former police commissioner John Rizzo, former deputy commissioner Joe Cachia, former assistant commissioner Michael Cassar had testified in the case, together with (then) inspectors Angelo Gafa (today police commissioner) and Ian Abdilla, (today assistant commissioner).

The magistrate ruled that it had in no way emerged that Spiteri had asked for money from the group of people. It however emerged that a certain Gejtu Zerafa had been pressing the illegal lotto organisers for money and name-dropping the accused.

In addition to this, the money would be passed on to a third person, and the illegal lotto organisers did not know whether he would pass on the money to the former police officer.

Zerafa had testified, telling the court that he would take the money and pass it on to the accused. The court found this witness to be less than credible, saying that it was hard to believe that someone would get involved in such a scheme for nothing “bar the worry it brought with it.”

Zerafa had claimed to have been present when the illegal lotto organisers had met the accused, but later said that he had never personally met them.

Magistrate Vella, who inherited the case from other magistrates, highlighted the fact that she had not seen Zerafa testify and could therefore not assess his demeanour on the witness stand.

But she had read his testimony several times and reached the conclusion that after Zerafa brought the illegal lotto organisers to the accused – people who he said he didn’t know very well – he didn’t think twice about shifting everything on the accused’s shoulders.

The court also said it found it hard to understand how people who barely knew Zerafa had trusted him to act as a go-between with the accused for their criminal arrangement, much more so without expecting anything in return.

Years after the accused’s arraignment, the court had heard how the prosecution had not taken any steps against Gejtu Zerafa. However, when he was summoned for cross-examination, this did not take place because he had been charged in the meantime.

Declaring Gejtu Zerafa’s testimony as inadmissible, the court threw out the case against Spiteri.

Lawyer Joe Giglio was defence counsel.