APPOINTING AN ANTI-MAFIA PROSECUTOR IS INSUFFICIENT TO CLEAN UP MALTA, EUROPE'S FAILED STATE

                                    "Rubble, rubble, boil & trouble" by COSIMO
      

A call to appoint a government prosecutor in Malta to specifically target the Mafia-type organized crime which infects every phase of Maltese life, is simply insufficient to reform a governmental system where the courts, the executive, and the law enforcement agencies do not follow the Rule of Law, and are corrupt through and through, with no possibility of reform.

Such a governmental system, which we compare to that of pre-war Iraq, cannot be salvaged, and requires  nothing less than the abolition of the Labour Party, an organization that is best described as a cult, and which rules the three branches of government with an unforgiving iron fist. Perhaps analogous to de-Ba'athification in post-Saddam Iraq, or even more powerful, such as de-Nazification as practised in 1945 Germany, Labour's "Champagne Socialism." funded through crime, simply must disappear. To do anything less will fail, utterly, and democracy, which has never truly taken root in Malta, may have a chance to appear.

Radical, extreme measures are rarely popular, but sometimes are brutally necessary. To fill the void, may we suggest a Reform Party be established, and to insure that the intentions of the original government be fulfilled, bring back the Constitution Party, thereby creating a multi-party system. 

Change Malta's institutions from the inside out, or face the consequences.

                                      The Wall of Shame, 2100 A.D.  by COSIMO

 

NEW EVIDENCE IN THE UPLHOLSTERY SHOP MURDERS INDICATES VICTIMS WERE NOT CRIMINALS

 

                                          Police could find nothing ... by COSIMO

 As additional investigations into the Daphne Caruana Galizia assassination are undertaken by foreign law enforcement agencies, as they broaden the scope of their existing inquiries into financial crime, new information regarding the so-called Upholstery Shop Murders, thus far unsolved, has surfaced. You may find some of this new details disturbing, but the case serves as yet another example of how Malta has become, per capita, the crime capital of the European Union. No wonder its people emigrate.

(1) For those readers not familiar with the matter, in November 2017, an unknown assailant entered a garage owned by Raymond Grima known for its automotive upholstery repairs, and called Raymond Upholstery, and shot the owner, as well as customer Anglu Mangion, several times each.

(2) Mangion died at the scene, but Grima was hospitalized in critical condition. Then the spin doctors went to work.

(3) Thereafter, Maltese media, detailing the motive for the attack, spun a dark story about Mangion, asserting that he was deeply involved in narcotics, illegal betting, and contraband. His family robustly denied these allegations. 

(4) Maltese Police raided Mangion's residence and garage, but found no evidence of criminal activity. This was an intentional effort at disinformation, conduced by a corrupt law enforcement agency, to make the victim appear to be a career criminal, therefore explaining his murder as one criminal taking the life of another. Who was orchestrating this clever scheme ?

(5)  Grima was an integral part of the assassination, and had to be eliminated lest he name who hired him to repair the front seat in the practice car.  Mangion was simply an innocent customer of Grima, who had to be eliminated as a potential eyewitness.

                                    The Crime Scene, November 2017. 

(6) We now know that Yorgen Fenech was paying local media to spin all stories away from the real culprits. Pierre Portelli's sworn statement confirms this.

(7) In truth and in fact, Daphne's killers had borrowed a vehicle similar to Daphne's. for the purpose of practising how to quickly and correctly install the bomb, to achieve the designed outcome, to wit; a fatal explosion. Investigators believe that Grima was brought the old, original car seat from the practice vehicle, which was in poor condition, with springs and cushions damaged, to restore. He had no idea that he played a small part in Malta's most notorious crime.

(8) Raymond Grima's condition improved; he was no longer in critical condition, but still in the Intensive Care Unit, and there were all expectations that he would make a full recovery. Soon after, however, he passed away from was described as "complications." He was isolated, but the doctors who prescribed his medications had total access. Were his meds altered ? Did any of the attending physicians make any large purchases for Christmas 2017, or take any international vacations ? Who signed the Death Certificate attesting to Cause of Death ?

Malta's corrupt Police Department has never solved the murder nor arrested the shooter. Let us see if a fresh perspective will be successful, and if justice can be done, four years after.

 

THE SLOPPY POTATO SHED GANG PLACED THE WHISTLEBLOWER IN MORTAL DANGER

 

                                                The Scene of the Crime by COSIMO

 

While all of Malta was avidly reading Vincent Muscat's sworn testimony, concerning the preparatory planning by what we shall refer to as the Potato Shed Gang of assassins, one reader who described the story as "awful;" learned, to her horror, that, but for fate, she also would have also been blown up and killed in the bombing. That person is Malta's Whistleblower, Maria Efimova, and she considers herself very lucky to be alive.

Apparently, the plotters, who were conducting surveillance of Daphne's car, were only looking for the vehicle, and not tracking the occupants.  Maria told me "There were times when I was traveling with Daphne in her car. One time we went to that Phoenicia Hotel together. I could have been killed too." 

Maria's statements are incredibly damaging; " The convicted killer said that they would've activated the bomb, no matter who else was in the car with Daphne, and there were times when I was in her car with her." This confirms that these were cold-blooded contract killers.

And she is not shy about assigning blame for the murder ; " They were ready to kill people as collateral damage on the order of a guy who has bribed the whole government." this is an indictment of Malta's systemic corruption, and you can be assured that the European Commission is closely observing the investigation as it unfolds, and will certainly govern itself accordingly in its future dealings with Malta.

In a parting shot at the EU, for its inaction in the Daphne case, she said " I don't understand how can the EU sanction and criticize Russia, while one of its Members is governed by assassins." wise words, directed at a European Union whose actions to date have been wanting, when a crusading journalist exposing corruption is eliminated with no consequences within its borders.

There's Malta's new motto for its tourist authority, "Visit Malta, governed by Assassins." If the shoe fits...

                                       British tourists, Welcome to Malta

 

 

 

MALTA'S WHISTLEBLOWER DISPUTES PIERRE PORTELLI'S LIES

 

                                      Something Wicked this way Comes  by COSIMO

It is the mission of this Blog to call out the deception and misrepresentations that are the hallmark of the Egrant scandal. As you know, we speak Truth to Power here, calling out lies where and when we see them.

Today's article in Malta Today, quoting extensively from the disgraced former Malta Independent  Editor and PM Media Chief Pierre Portelli, whose credibility took a huge hit when news broke that he had reportedly accepted payments from Yorgen Fenech under dubious circumstances, causing him to resign from the party, discussed the Egrant scandal.

Portelli's negative assessment of Malta's most prominent Egrant whistleblower, Maria Efimova, is not helped by the interviewer's obviously non-objective perspective, as he fails to state neither that the charges filed against Efimova have been vigorously disputed, nor that the Magisterial Inquiry, which ruled that Michele Muscat was not Egrant's owner, was not supported by findings of fact. Malta's mainstream media has long been accused of partisan journalism, favoring PL leaders and their supporters, lest they lose lucrative advertising revenues.

Maria Efimova has responded to our questions about Portelli's statements during his interview, and we detail them herewith with verbatim quotes, so that there is no question regarding her meaning:

1. " Portelli still avoids to say who gave him the "forged" documents which he then passed to the Magistrate. At least, this time he didn't say it was me." 

2."Is he saying that he knew the [Egrant] documents are "forged" at the time he gave them to the Court ?"

3. "I would like to say that I offered several times to testify in inquiry into Daphne's assassination via video-conference."

4. "I am still available if the Inquiry Board will deem my participation necessary."

Any intelligent person knows very well that if Maria Efimova appears in person in Malta, all sort of bogus, politically motivated criminal charges will magically surface, that she will be detained, denied access to an attorney, and possibly killed while in custody, lest she implicate Michele Muscat and her husband. 

She could also be asked to identify the powerful Maltese leaders involved in the money laundering that occurred at Pilatus Bank. Given that the Magistrate's Report on Pilatus allegedly named and shamed all the directors and senior officers of the bank, and she worked there, she could corroborate their guilt. That's one more reason why her health and safety are in danger in Malta.

 

HELLHOUNDS ON HIS TAIL, MALTA'S RUNNING MAN IS ADVISED TO MAKE A DEAL TO SAVE HIS SOUL

                                             The Running Man by COSIMO
 

Sources inside the Republic of Malta have reported that former Prime Minister Joseph Muscat has been advised by one of his attorneys to strongly consider cooperating with American law enforcement authorities, to mitigate his ultimate sentence for money laundering and Foreign Corrupt Practices Act violations It is not known whether the advice came from an American or Maltese criminal defence attorney, and whether he has agreed to follow it.

 Muscat could, if convicted, be sentenced to a long term in an American prison that would insure that he would never be released during his lifetime, making a decision Hobson's Choice, which is no choice at all. His counsel has certainly been made aware of the Leroy King case, where the United States tenaciously pursued the former Antigua government financial regulatory agency leader until it achieved extradition, and subsequently he was sentenced to to ten years in Federal Prison. That is but one example that Muscat must note when considering mounting a defence to criminal charges that will most certainly be filed in the near future.

Of course, should he take his attorney's advice, a large number of his associates, as well as his criminal assets, will be sacrificed, so that their leader will end up with a short sentence, served in a low security  facility. Will he become a pariah, hated by most of his co-conspirators ? Or go to prison, never to return ? As we said, thee are the hardest choices a person may ever have to make. We trust he chooses well.

CORRUPTION UNDER ATTACK IN THE CBI REPUBLICS OF EUROPE AND THE CARIBBEAN

                                     Corruption rides a Pale Horse  by COSIMO
 

 Recent events may signal a sea change in the ongoing battle against official corruption in those countries that offer Citizenship by Investment (CBI) passports to whoever has sufficient cash to purchase them. Whether you know them as IIM, or CIP, or by other names, these products invite money laundering, financial crime, and yes, even terrorist financing into the countries that offer them to "investors." Spawning rampant corruption in totally unrelated matters, they end up creating a culture of crime and dictatorship, even while supposedly ascribing to democratic principles.

Push back has taken different forms,. Antiguan regulatory leader Leroy King's ten year sentence in the US for protecting billion dollar Ponzi schemer Allen Stanford,'the Caribbean Court of Justice dismissing Dominica's Roosevelt Skerrit's appeal of an ore requiring him to appear to answer corruption charges for paying off voters;  The European Union's position condemning CBI sales in Malta, and anywhere else CBI is sold. All these acts, when taken as a group, may indicate that things are about to change for the better.

Pending American investigations, understood to be in the final stages prior to the issuing of indictments, against money laundering and FCPA violations in the CBI states, may be the proverbial straw breaking the back of corruption in those nations foolish to think that they can control CBI activities, while raking in lucrative, obscenely overpriced, passport sales programs.

Whether corruption will be dealt a major blow in 2021 remains an open question, but if the types of anti-corruption actions that we have seen of late continue, then systemic corruption in the CBI republics may be greatly reduced, all to the benefit of the law-abiding citizens of these developing countries.

 

CARIBBEAN APPELLATE COURT HOLDS THAT MAGISTRATE CAN SUMMON DOMINICA'S OFFICIALS ON TREATING CHARGES

 

 The Caribbean Court of Justice has dismissed an appeal by Dominica's Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit, and other government officials, who sought to cancel summonses, issued by a Magistrate Judge, compelling their appearance on charges of Treating. The case represent a major blow to Dominica's Labour Party, which has ruled the country with an iron hand for a generation, denied Dominicans the Right of Peaceable Assembly, violated their Civil Rights, committed unlawful arrests, maintained a paramilitary secret police component, and turned Dominica into a de facto dictatorship, Caribbean style. 

                                              Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit 

Treating, for those who are not familiar with that term, is  a criminal act involving the illegal provision of financial benefits, such as food, drinks and entertainment, to a voter, with the corrupt aim of influencing that individual's vote. Voters in Dominica have been bought off with free international air travel, job offers, cash in hand, and various items delivered to voters, to insure they vote for Labour and Skerrit in each election.

Readers who wish to review the complete text of the Judgment can access it  on the CCJ website here.

Whether this decision is the shape of things to come in the Commonwealth of Dominica remains to be seen, though persistent rumours of impending money laundering indictments of its senior leaders in the United States in 2021 have put the Labour Government on edge of late. Indications that Skerrit was under criminal investigation in the US have been verified.

 We shall be monitoring the developing situation in the United States, and report the filing of any relevant indictments forthwith.

 

MOST WANTED PALESTINIAN TERRORIST RESIDING IN JORDAN

 

MARTINELLI'S SONS' LAWYERS TRY DILATORY TACTICS TO STOP THEIR EXTRADITION TO THE UNITED STATES

 

 

If you were wondering why there was no order of extradition handed down last Friday, regarding the United States' efforts to arrest the two sons of Panama's former president, Ricardo Martinelli, who face charges of accepting multi-million dollar bribes from the Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht, their attorneys were able to delay matters. 

Guatemala counsel for the Martinelli sons moved to have the Court recuse (disqualify) itself, which triggers appellate action. Is this a cheap, purely dilatory move ? Is there not any other conclusion to arrive at The evidence against their clients is most likely very powerful; remember, Odebrecht has already settled with the United States, and you can be assured that a bulletproof case awaits the Martinelli brothers in a American courtroom. No wonder their father sought to break them out of prison, and spirit them to Panama, where they would be immune from American legal action.

Let justice now be served; the Martinellis need to face their accusers, and let a jury decide.

HOW MANY TIMES DID MUSCAT RECEIVE KICKBACKS FROM HIS PARTNERS IN CRIME IN MALTA ?

                                       The Wages of Sin is ...   by COSIMO
 

While there has been much made of the evidence proving that kickbacks were paid out to Keith Schembri & Konrad Mizzi, causing their resignations (but not convictions, in Malta's fundamentally corrupt judicial system), most media articles are pointedly ignoring the eight hundred pound elephant in the room, namely former Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, the central player in this sordid scandal.

To fully understand Muscat's power, you must first be familiar with the culture of organized crime, which most certainly is essential to A comprehension of precisely what went on, and continues to occur, in  Malta's corrupt government each day. While most of Malta's media has shied away from spelling it out, their readers deserve to know the brutal truth.

As in any organized crime, or racketeering, family, the titular head, in this case Muscat, is always entitled to a portion of any criminal profit earned by his subordinates. Known sometimes as "a Taste." it means that all the individuals whom the leader outranks must remit, timely, part of the proceeds of their crimes, whether they like it or not, even if it severely cuts into their profit margin.

Therefore, whatever bribes & kickbacks that Schembri or Mizzi, or any other member of Muscat's criminal crew, received, a segment would be remitted to him, generally through some untraceable method, This means, cash, instruments of value that can be held without disclosing the owner, barter, or other alternative payment, to insulate the recipient from any possible investigative finding of ownership.

How much Joseph Muscat received from his gang members is a mystery, but it was certainly substantial and its remains ongoing, as he has not been removed from  power, nor has he taken himself out of the kingpin position. No wonder some observers believe he ha €300m socked away, awaiting the time when he can quietly access it.

TO AVOID LIFE IN AN AMERICAN PRISON, WHO AND WHAT WILL JOSEPH MUSCAT GIVE UP ?

                                           My Bark is Worse than my Bite  by COSIMO
 

 It goes without saying that, should you be charged with leading a racketeer-influenced criminal organization disguised as a national government of an EU Member state,  you will be looking at a sentence that the Guidelines recites as 360 months (that's thirty years) to Life in Federal Prison, in a country that has abolished Parole. Former Malta Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, due to his expected eventual long sentence after a conviction, has two difficult choices: keep the faith with his co-conspirators, and accept the fact that he will never live to see the world outside prison as a free man, or give up a number of his associates, as well as disgorge his ill-gotten gains to the United States.

the answer is clear: he will be working with American authorities, like it or not, to save his soul from decades of imprisonment with career drug traffickers, which are generally not good company under the best of circumstances. I have had the experience from both sides of the bars, and he is definitely not suited for long-term incarceration. 

 

Feeding Time  by COSIMO

 

The other significant factor is his wife, Michele. Without Muscat's cooperation, a possible twenty-year sentence for laundering his bribes & kickbacks through Malta's local fashion industry looms large in her future. She's going to serve at least a couple of years, even if he gives up tens of millions, but if he doesn't, he may find there won't be anybody home to  perform child care for an extended period. That's one more reason why he must roll over, as the sooner he accepts his fate, even with the personal danger that such a decision brings with it, the better it will be for all concerned.

Don't look for him to immediately change his plea and cooperate; some high-priced "dream team" of defence attorneys will assure him that they can obtain a not guilty verdict, or a reversal of his conviction on appeal. We hope he does not buy into that fantasy, and take charge of reality with both hands. That will, of course, be a very bad day for many of Malta's other guilty individuals.

Otherwise, if he puts the Government through the effort and expense of a major trial, the outcome will surely be a personal nightmare, from which he will not survive.  

                                            Taking his Just Deserts by COSIMO

 

HEY HEY, EVERYBODY WANTS TO BE MY RASPUTIN NOW

                                                   Under my Thumb by COSIMO

 

This is a Parable for every ambitious schoolboy who wants to rule the world. As a boy he knew instinctively that he wanted to rise to the top of the pyramid, but he also knew he wasn't much of a backstabber, and that was a necessary trait to stay on top. He knew he was too weak to wield the knife.

Fortunately, his path was  paved by a cooperating foreign supporter who only wanted  permission to make obscene profits in his domain, and he readily agreed. The appropriate assistance was rendered, and soon he had the title, and all the trappings of power.

There was just one problem, who would perform all the dirty acts needed so that he could stay at the top of the heap ? Enter his personal Rasputins, individuals who would stay in the proverbial shadows, whilst pulling the appropriate strings, and disposing of the victims as and when necessary.

He ended up with three such very capable, and thoroughly amoral, individuals in his toolbox.

 First, a right-hand man not afraid to do anything, if it was necessary to achieve his master's goals, including the elimination of threats, "with extreme prejudice, " to revive an old term from the war in Vietnam. 

Second, a person not afraid to employ his Mafia Associate image to intimidate, and overcome, obstacles, even if it meant going outside the law to do that. Ruthless might be an understatement for his virtues.

                                               I'll make him an Offer he Cannot...  by COSIMO

Third, a technician to perform such tricks and stunts that required what we like to call Special Qualifications. he thought of himself as a technocrat, but he was, in truth and in fact, a fixer.

When taken, together, these modern-day Rasputins, while controlling of our hero,  were extremely competent, and therefore effective on a high level. Their assistance, in tandem, worked very well for a long time until it didn't. 

One day, they ventured into forbidden territory, from which they could not come back, and it cost him his job, and probably his future. Like a fish out of water, he struggled to breathe, but his condition was terminal. At the end, he realized that his facilitators, while on a mission on his behalf, were out of control and sealed his fate. He wondered why he had ever nursed such ambitions in the first place, but then he was gone and would not be missed.

 

                                        "The Wages of Sin is ...  by COSIMO
 

If you had to break windows on your journey, sooner or later you will be cut.

______________________________________________________

This article is a work of fiction; any similarity or resemblance to any person, living or dead, is coincidental. The caricatures that illustrate it are also fictional, and not intended to portray or depict any person, living or dead, and any similarities are completely coincidental.

CARIBBEAN FINANCIAL REGULATOR APPEALS TEN YEAR SENTENCE HANDED DOWN BY US COURT

 

Leroy King, Antigua's lead financial regulatory authority executive, has filed a Notice of Appeal from the 120-month sentence imposed by a US District Judge in the Stanford International Bank case. King had entered a guilty plea to a pair of Obstruction of Justice counts, avoiding a potential Life Sentence had he chosen to go to trial, but he appears to have received the maximum sentence from the Court.

He is believed to have cooperated with US law enforcement agencies, but it is not known which present or former Antigua and Dominica government officials and PEPs he has implicated. He is known to be seriously ill, and is not thought to be able to survive his sentence. Whether he will live to testify is a open question.

DID MALTA'S PRIME MINISTER AID THE RUSSIANS IN THEIR INTERFERENCE WTH THE 2016 US PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS ?

 

As we have been reviewing the findings of fact contained in the Mueller Report, regarding the role of the Maltese academic Joseph Mifsud, now missing in action, and factoring in both his close relationship with former Prime minister Joseph Muscat in 2016, when the Russian intelligence services were actively interfering, in a number of ways, with the US Presidential campaign and election, and the fact that pending investigative matters were redacted, we ask aloud what involvement did then-PM Muscat play in the Russian scheme to destroy Hillary Clinton, and elect Trump. Des his name appear in the classified version of the Report ?

Muscat, known to his detractors as a "Champagne Socialist," meaning a politician espousing Socialist views, but quietly (and covertly) accumulating personal substantial wealth, through corrupt means, all the while publicly subscribing to an agenda that devotes all resources to the greater good, opposed Malta's Membeship in the European Union, though he later took a lucrative EU position in Brussels. His Labour Party, since the time of its early leader Dom Mintoff, followed the official Neutrality stance in the Cold War, while maintaining close relationships with the Communist dictatorships in the East. Muscat has shown that his perspective is not Pro-West; he has been involved in dodgy matters with Russia to line his pockets, and add to his offshore wealth.

The number of Russian nationals who hold Malta's IIM (Citizenship by Investment) passports is believed to be substantial; Russian account holders at the now-closed Pilatus Bank, where they maintained substantial deposits, are known to have been in close contact with Joseph Muscat; their role in Malta  remains unknown.

Was Muscat paid by Russia to assist Mifsud, as well as Russian intelligence agents inside Malta ? A new investigation, which began in late January, continues to probe the extent of Muscat's role in Mifsud's efforts to deliver information from Russian sources to the 2016 Trump Campaign. We will be following this matter as it unfolds, and report back to our readers.

US FOILS EFFORTS TO FREE MARTINELLI'S SONS IN GUATEMALA, SOUGHT HERE ON MONEY LAUNDERING CHARGES

 

Authorities in Guatemala have seized a private aircraft that flew in from Panama, reportedly carrying the wife of former Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli Berrocal, and a wife of one of his sons, who were seeking to free Martinelli's two sons, being held while they fight extradition to the United States. Confidential sources have indicated that the seizure of the aircraft was carried out on the orders of the United States.

LUIS ENRIQUE MARTINELLI and RICARDO ALBERTO MARTINELLI, who face Money Laundering Conspiracy charges in the Eastern District of New York, are in custody in Guatemala since 2020, based upon an INTERPOL warrant issued by the US. They are being held in the Mariscal Zavala military prison, in Guatemala City.

                                    Ricardo Martinelli and his sons,  Luis and Ricardo Alberto.

 They are accused of receiving $28m in bribes and kickbacks from the Brazilian construction company ODEBRECHT, to be funneled to their father, so that the company would receive lucrative construction contracts in the Republic of Panama.

According to nonpublic sources in Panama, the bizjet seized, N799RM, contained cash that was allegedly intended to be used to bribe government officials, to accomplish their illegal release, after which they were to be flown to Panama, whose laws forbid extradition of Panamanian nationals. The brothers were previously arrested in Miami for immigration violations, and released upon $1m bail each. They later absconded.