Court invites former MP to reconsider guilty plea

Three weeks after pleading guilty of misappropriating funds from public contracts which were to settle stamp duty and taxes, former Labour MP Sandro Schembri Adami has been asked to reconsider his guilty plea, in the wake of a legal technicality which may complicate his request to have all three cases put into one, under the article at law which regulates a continuous crime.

Summoned this morning for sentencing, Schembri Adami appeared before Magistrate Miriam Hayman, and was told that she has so far not accepted his request to have his cases put into one, because each case was committed during different times, and the charges are also different.

Magistrate Hayman warned that each case may carry a maximum of seven years in jail due to admission, however, she was giving the former MP until December 20 to reconsider his position.

Three weeks ago, Schembri Adami - who is already serving a two year jail term, and is expected to be released in six weeks time - informed Magistrate Hayman that he intended to register a guilty plea.

"I intend to register a guilty plea, because once I am out, there is no way I can pay up the monies I owe to my former clients," Schembri Adami said, adding that he wanted to serve time, "to move on with my life."

The 49-year-old disbarred notary was jailed last year by Mr Justice Michael Mallia, who converted a suspended jail term to an effective one, after two out of 16 creditors who were owed €6,500 between them, refused a request by Schembri Adami to extend the time given to him to repay them.

Schembri Adami owes a total of €78,000, and has another three cases pending for judgment by Magistrate Hayman, which she intends to deliver by the end of the year.

The former MP asked that his admission be taken into consideration by the court and include it with the other two and hand him one jail term for all three, under the article at law which regulates a continuous crime.

The court adjourned the sitting until next week to formalise Schembri Adami's submission.

Former Chief Justice Vincent de Gaetano had previously warned Schembri Adami that he has already been given five suspended sentences and that he would be jailed if conditions were not observed.

Schembri Adami, who was also interdicted by the court and could not exercise his profession as a notary, said that he intends to complete two books on international law he is writing in prison, and once he serves his time, would try to lecture at university, as he holds a PhD.

MaltaToday had broke the news that the former MP had not registered several notarial documents and the government duties paid to him by clients back in 2005, apart from other court proceedings he faced over the forgery of a power of attorney.

He joined Labour in the 1990s, getting elected twice, in 1992 and 1996. He was also appointed a director on the board of the state-owned Libyan-Arab Maltese Holding Company, where he remained there until 1999. By 1998 he fell out of favour with the MLP administration - he resigned as chairman of the parliamentary foreign affairs committee due to differences with leader Alfred Sant and in the 1998 elections failed to make it back to Parliament.