Beppe Fenech Adami was Gaffarena's lawyer, newspaper report reveals

Three members of the Gaffarena family were represented in court by Beppe Fenech Adami, today the Deputy Leader of the Nationalist Party, according to reports.

Excerpts from court documents, which appear to indicate that Fenech Adami, as well as David Gonzi – son of former Nationalist Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi – had been legal counsel to Marco, Christopher and Johann Gaffarena have been published on this morning’s Maltese-language newspaper it-Torċa.

The documents show that Fenech Adami or Gonzi had been involved in at least two separate cases before the Rural Lease Control Board in 2003 and 2004, as well a 2004 case before the First Hall of the Civil Court.

This flies in the face of a previous declaration by Fenech Adami himself, who had told journalists that he only knew Marco Gaffarena by sight. The Torċa article quotes an unnamed source as saying that it is unusual for Fenech Adami to be in court himself as he usually sends representatives, citing this as indicating that he had been giving these cases particular attention.

The article goes on to report that in one of the cases, Fenech Adami had terminated his representation of the client, shortly after being replaced by Gonzi. It adds that the son of the former prime minister has been mentioned in connection with investigations into Mafia money laundering by the Italian Police in recent days.