The star witness in this case was PC99 Mario Portelli.
“Taking the stand again, star witness PC99 Mario Portelli recalled a time when David Gatt had put a gun to his head – similar to the one presented in court – while telling him: ‘you’ll soon hear enter the dragon.'”
“Portelli pointed out that the weapon was a ‘Ruger’ and the same one prosecutors elevated from Gatt’s apartment and exhibited in court.”
“When he put the gun to my head, I made David remove it and told him not to joke like that with me,” the witness said, adding that he didn’t quite understand what the accused meant when he mentioned the dragon.”
“Portelli said that three weeks after the attempted heist on the HSBC headquarters in Qormi, he had met with David Gatt in a restaurant in Sliema.”
“’Gatt told me that he had organised that heist and had been planning it for five months, and with the help of a bank employee he obtained information on how to enter the bank,’” Portelli said, adding that Gatt looked very worried as Darren Debono had been injured by a bullet fired by the police who returned fire in the shootout that ensued.”
“Star witness PC99 Mario Portelli admitted to having continued to frequent Gatt socially during the week, when cross-examined by Lawyer Joseph Giglio who is appearing for the accused.”
“The witness added that Gatt explained to him that during his conversation with the doctor he said: ‘You’re a doctor; I’m a lawyer.‘”
“The doctor – identified by his nickname ‘Goofy’ – was approached by Gatt to examine Darren Debono soon after the foiled heist on the HSBC headquarters, but could not assist at that time, as an X-Ray was necessary and any haphazard intervention could permanently disfigure the injured man.“
“During his evidence, PC99 Mario Portelli told the court that David Gatt had shown him the doctor’s clinic in Balzan when they had once driven close to it.”
“According to the witness, David Gatt was particularly worried at the prospect that a doctor with whom he [Gatt] contacted, might mention his name in court.”
And then, we have the title of the article of MaltaToday: “Witness admits he continued to frequent David Gatt even after he threatened him with gun.” Was the media, with the usual pledge to twist the direction of thought of the readers, trying to make Portelli’s credibility null because of the fact that he continued to be in the company of the Gatt? What about the saying that goes “Keep your friends close and your enemies closer” by Sun Tzu? What about the possibility that Mario Portelli had chosen so, so to keep on getting more information from Gatt as much as possible, as it has transpired with information that has reached this site?
“Because the discernible pattern in criminal assassinations over the last few years in Malta is that diesel smugglers are blown up by bombs in their cars, and drug smugglers are shot dead by hired hitmen.”
And Daphne had also made an important, sharp, observation: “And everybody pretends there’s no pattern. The diesel smugglers are described as ‘fishermen’ or ‘restaurateurs’, and the drug smugglers are called long-distance lorry drivers or hauliers, or ‘unemployed family men’ or ‘businessmen’, though some of them are occasionally described as ‘known to the police’.”
Renzo Borg was described as a businessman by the Times of Malta. He was shot twice in Xemxija and died later in hospital, over a drug deal gone wrong.
Raymond Abela is described as a restaurateur.
Then again the defence team, with lawyer Joe Giglio railing “at the decision to prosecute Gatt on the strength of PC99’s evidence, which the lawyer described as being both fantastic and incredible. ‘You end up not knowing whether to laugh, cry or be angry.'”
“Pointing to the accused, the lawyer mocked the fantastical claims made by the witness. ‘This man has been involved in God only knows how many murders, how many arson attacks… he said he burned Saviour Balzan’s car, he said he was going to burn down the Attorney General’s house, burn down Eddie Fenech Adami’s house. You get the impression that the accused is not so much a capo dei capi, but a Dio degli Dei!'”
Magistrate Micallef Trigona had clarified “that this PC Portelli’s evidence was based on things the accused had told him and not because the witness was actually present during the events he mentioned.”
In lieu of the above testimony, and the statements by the defence team and that of the magistrate, what do you, readers, make of this information, which we find, once again, in the Degiorgios’ press release?
“This is because we were used by different people, including the ex-ministers Carmelo Abela and Chris Cardona, lawyers among whom David Gatt, who was very active, and high-ranking officers within the police corps and the army.
“We are also prepared to reveal, as we have already done, information regarding certain other serious crimes such as the HSBC heist in 2010. This case also involved prominent persons who up to this day are being given full protection. On this case we have already given information that involved two former ministers Chris Cardona and Carmelo Abela together with lawyer David Gatt. Also involved was a former SAG employee and another individual who was in the SAG, today the RIU. Vince Muscat, il-Koħħu was part of this team and ended being shot in his side. We have already told the police about the involvement of Minister Carmelo Abela and Vincent Muscat, David Gatt and Melvin Theuma in this case, however, no action was taken on the basis of this information despite the fact that we are prepared to testify.
We also know of the involvement of the former Minister Carmelo Abela and Chris Cardona, lawyer David Gatt and Vince Muscat who were involved in the hold-up of the security van carrying money which took place in Santa Venera as you pass the tunnels. We have more details on those involved in this case. In this case, there was the involvement of several well-known criminals and concerned a robbery worth over 2.8 million.
Besides, we already promised that we would pass on information regarding the three bombs that between 2012 and 2017 left individuals badly injured.“
Was one of these bombs that of Romeo Bone, by any chance, who was also mentioned by PC99 Mario Portelli, which happened on 20th February 2017?
So, dear readers, do you feel like crying, laughing, or getting angry about the Dio degli Dei?
Malta is so small. Same building with the stairs. Same crimes coming up. Same names coming up. Same village lawyer. Same David Gatt.
And yet he was acquitted from our courts and the mind continues to boggle.
The Trial of David Gatt – the Testimony of the Star Witness, Mario Portelli
The star witness in this case was PC99 Mario Portelli.
“Taking the stand again, star witness PC99 Mario Portelli recalled a time when David Gatt had put a gun to his head – similar to the one presented in court – while telling him: ‘you’ll soon hear enter the dragon.'”
“Portelli pointed out that the weapon was a ‘Ruger’ and the same one prosecutors elevated from Gatt’s apartment and exhibited in court.”
“When he put the gun to my head, I made David remove it and told him not to joke like that with me,” the witness said, adding that he didn’t quite understand what the accused meant when he mentioned the dragon.”
“Portelli said that three weeks after the attempted heist on the HSBC headquarters in Qormi, he had met with David Gatt in a restaurant in Sliema.”
“’Gatt told me that he had organised that heist and had been planning it for five months, and with the help of a bank employee he obtained information on how to enter the bank,’” Portelli said, adding that Gatt looked very worried as Darren Debono had been injured by a bullet fired by the police who returned fire in the shootout that ensued.”
“Star witness PC99 Mario Portelli admitted to having continued to frequent Gatt socially during the week, when cross-examined by Lawyer Joseph Giglio who is appearing for the accused.”
“The witness added that Gatt explained to him that during his conversation with the doctor he said: ‘You’re a doctor; I’m a lawyer.‘”
“The doctor – identified by his nickname ‘Goofy’ – was approached by Gatt to examine Darren Debono soon after the foiled heist on the HSBC headquarters, but could not assist at that time, as an X-Ray was necessary and any haphazard intervention could permanently disfigure the injured man.“
“During his evidence, PC99 Mario Portelli told the court that David Gatt had shown him the doctor’s clinic in Balzan when they had once driven close to it.”
“According to the witness, David Gatt was particularly worried at the prospect that a doctor with whom he [Gatt] contacted, might mention his name in court.”
And then, we have the title of the article of MaltaToday: “Witness admits he continued to frequent David Gatt even after he threatened him with gun.” Was the media, with the usual pledge to twist the direction of thought of the readers, trying to make Portelli’s credibility null because of the fact that he continued to be in the company of the Gatt? What about the saying that goes “Keep your friends close and your enemies closer” by Sun Tzu? What about the possibility that Mario Portelli had chosen so, so to keep on getting more information from Gatt as much as possible, as it has transpired with information that has reached this site?
Portelli had also claimed that “the accused had been in contact with prison inmate Romeo Bone (Bone lost his legs in a car bomb explosion years later). Portelli went as far as alleging that childhood friends Gatt and Raymond Abela, a restaurateur were implicated in the murder of Renzo Borg, over a drug deal gone wrong.
Didn’t Daphne Caruana Galizia, in her blog “Car bomb explosion victim named as John Camilleri k/a Giovanni tas-Sapun” write:
“Because the discernible pattern in criminal assassinations over the last few years in Malta is that diesel smugglers are blown up by bombs in their cars, and drug smugglers are shot dead by hired hitmen.”
And Daphne had also made an important, sharp, observation: “And everybody pretends there’s no pattern. The diesel smugglers are described as ‘fishermen’ or ‘restaurateurs’, and the drug smugglers are called long-distance lorry drivers or hauliers, or ‘unemployed family men’ or ‘businessmen’, though some of them are occasionally described as ‘known to the police’.”
Renzo Borg was described as a businessman by the Times of Malta. He was shot twice in Xemxija and died later in hospital, over a drug deal gone wrong.
Raymond Abela is described as a restaurateur.
Then again the defence team, with lawyer Joe Giglio railing “at the decision to prosecute Gatt on the strength of PC99’s evidence, which the lawyer described as being both fantastic and incredible. ‘You end up not knowing whether to laugh, cry or be angry.'”
“Pointing to the accused, the lawyer mocked the fantastical claims made by the witness. ‘This man has been involved in God only knows how many murders, how many arson attacks… he said he burned Saviour Balzan’s car, he said he was going to burn down the Attorney General’s house, burn down Eddie Fenech Adami’s house. You get the impression that the accused is not so much a capo dei capi, but a Dio degli Dei!'”
Magistrate Micallef Trigona had clarified “that this PC Portelli’s evidence was based on things the accused had told him and not because the witness was actually present during the events he mentioned.”
In lieu of the above testimony, and the statements by the defence team and that of the magistrate, what do you, readers, make of this information, which we find, once again, in the Degiorgios’ press release?
“This is because we were used by different people, including the ex-ministers Carmelo Abela and Chris Cardona, lawyers among whom David Gatt, who was very active, and high-ranking officers within the police corps and the army.
“We are also prepared to reveal, as we have already done, information regarding certain other serious crimes such as the HSBC heist in 2010. This case also involved prominent persons who up to this day are being given full protection. On this case we have already given information that involved two former ministers Chris Cardona and Carmelo Abela together with lawyer David Gatt. Also involved was a former SAG employee and another individual who was in the SAG, today the RIU. Vince Muscat, il-Koħħu was part of this team and ended being shot in his side. We have already told the police about the involvement of Minister Carmelo Abela and Vincent Muscat, David Gatt and Melvin Theuma in this case, however, no action was taken on the basis of this information despite the fact that we are prepared to testify.
We also know of the involvement of the former Minister Carmelo Abela and Chris Cardona, lawyer David Gatt and Vince Muscat who were involved in the hold-up of the security van carrying money which took place in Santa Venera as you pass the tunnels. We have more details on those involved in this case. In this case, there was the involvement of several well-known criminals and concerned a robbery worth over 2.8 million.
Besides, we already promised that we would pass on information regarding the three bombs that between 2012 and 2017 left individuals badly injured.“
Was one of these bombs that of Romeo Bone, by any chance, who was also mentioned by PC99 Mario Portelli, which happened on 20th February 2017?
So, dear readers, do you feel like crying, laughing, or getting angry about the Dio degli Dei?
Malta is so small. Same building with the stairs. Same crimes coming up. Same names coming up. Same village lawyer. Same David Gatt.
And yet he was acquitted from our courts and the mind continues to boggle.