Unlicensed bouncers jailed for two months, fined €1,000 for brutal 2010 beating

Security guard Stephen Catania and 'customer care officer' Bernard Briffa were originally charged with the attempted murder of Luca Di Mauro  and Riccardo Miano

Two nightclub bouncers got away a slap on the wrist earlier this week after they were found guilty of having inflicted grievous bodily harm on two Italian patrons in 2010, who ended up with broken noses, missing teeth and facial lacerations after being ejected from a nightclub for allegedly making a nuisance of themselves.

Security guard Stephen Catania, 47, of San Ġwann and “customer care officer” Bernard Briffa, 31, of Valletta were originally charged with the attempted murder of Luca Di Mauro, 33, and Riccardo Miano, 41, when they delivered a savage beating outside Clique nightclub in Paceville during the early hours of Valentine's Day, 2010.

That charge, however had later been withdrawn by the Attorney General and replaced with that of very grievous bodily harm.

The Maltese pair were also charged with illegally working as private guards after their licences had expired.

The fight broke out when the bouncers had asked the two men to leave the club at about 4.30 a.m on the 14 February 2010.

Miano had testified that he had been having a good time drinking with some girls when Catania had walked up to him and ordered him and his friend Luca to leave. 

The Italians said they had complied but Catania had followed them. Di Mauro had gone to retrieve their belongings from the cloakroom and on his way out, found a group of bouncers waiting for him. Miano said he saw Catania walk up behind his friend, before hitting him in the neck. Di Mauro collapsed and the group of bouncers then laid into him, kicking him until he was unconscious.

Di Mauro gave a slightly different version, however, saying that on his way out, he heard a commotion behind him. Turning to see what was happening, he saw his friend Miano getting a kicking from the two accused. Di Mauro had asked them what was going on. His efforts were rewarded with a selection of choice insults and a punch to the face. After falling to the ground, he was also given a kicking, he recalled.

The Italians both denied doing anything to provoke the attack - a fact not contested by the defendants. 

During the compilation of evidence, Police Inspector Nikolai Sant had testified to hearing a witness say that she had seen the bouncers coming out of Steam nightclub, push the men, drag them by their feet and kick them.

Briffa had testified that at a point a group of Maltese people had come up to him and told him about some Italian men who had been “annoying everyone.” If the security staff were not going to do something about them, the bouncer was warned, the Maltese men would sort them out themselves. Briffa then called Catania for backup and the Italians were thrown out of the club. 

Catania had told the court that he had been outside when Briffa had called him over the radio to assist. He had decided to take the two Italians outside the establishment. On their way, a group of Maltese men had tried to remonstrate with the foreigners but were warned to keep away. 

Whilst escorting the Italians down the steps outside the club, all of a sudden, one of the Maltese group had run up behind them and thrown a punch. Catania had dealt with the local man as security guards from other establishments had started to arrive. He confirmed that he had not seen the Italians acting violently.

But the court pointed out several inconsistencies in the statements released by the men accused. Their account did not fit with that given by other witnesses, including the cloakroom attendant and barman, it noted.

It questioned the need for the bouncers to escort the men outside when everybody inside the club had been leaving anyway, as it was closing time. It also questioned why the accused felt the need to involve themselves in the conflict between the two groups outside the club, when they had previously insisted that they were only interested in keeping the peace on the inside.

Indeed while the dynamics of the incident did not emerge clearly from their testimony, the outcome was. A procession of doctors and medical consultants testified to the injuries sustained by the men.

Miano had suffered two lacerations at the back of his head, one on his nose, broken teeth, a broken nose and several bruises. Di Mauro had fared slightly better, suffering two facial lacerations, two further cuts to his head together with miscellaneous cuts and bruises.

Magistrate Doreen Clarke held that the injuries suffered by the men fell under the “grievous” category, as no evidence had been brought to show that the injuries brought with them the possibility of a permanent weakness or required over 30 days to recover.

Additionally, the court was of the opinion that the grievous bodily harm had been inflicted during an accidental affray and imposed a punishment of two months imprisonment. It also fined the men €1,000 each and ordered them to pay the costs of the case.

Inspectors Trevor Micallef and Nikolai Sant prosecuted.
Lawyer Veronique Dalli appeared for Briffa. Lawyer Alessandro Lia was Catania's defence counsel.