Degiorgios seek help from Chris Cardona, but were ignored – Theuma; Fenech bail request refused

The middleman who was granted immunity to reveal details on the plot to assassinate Daphne Caruana Galizia said today he was worried that when the Degiorgio brothers – two of the three men accused with the murder – did not receive bail they would mention his name.

He later said that the fact that he had gotten involved in the case had affected him in this manner. “I had too much weight on me – I had to go to Mario; then to Yorgen for money; then I didn’t know whether Yorgen thought I was taking the money for myself; I was very scared – I was fed up. Fed up”, he tells the court. 

Melvin Theuma was testifying in the compilation of evidence against Yorgen Fenech, a businessman, who is charged with complicity in the murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia on 16 October 2017.

He said that the Degiorgio brothers tried to contact Labour deputy leader and (then) minister Chris Cardona when they were about to apply for bail, but they had been ignored.

There were some tense moments in court there were doubts on a word that was said during one of the recorded conversations. An expert later testified that it was “Keith”, and not “kif” (what in Maltese), but not before the sitting had to be suspended as two pairs of headphones she was given to decipher the word did not work.

The court later rejected a request for bail submitted by the defence.

Three men are facing a separate trial, charged with committing the murder.

The case is being heard by Magistrate Rachel Montebello.

The defence lawyers are Marion Camilleri and Gianluca Caruana Curran. The prosecution is being led by inspectors Keith Arnaud and Kurt Zahra, assisted by the attorney general. Lawyers Jason Azzopardi and Therese Comodini Cachia are appearing parte civile for the Caruana Galizia family.

Follow the minute-by-minute proceedings below. 

2.40pm: Court is adjourned to 27 March at 12pm and then to 2 April at 11am. The next sitting after that will be on 16 April, and then either the 20 or 21 April.

2.34pm: Magistrate Montebello orders that Johann Cremona, Keith Schembri, and Kenneth Camilleri should testify as part of the compilation of evidence.

2.32pm: Fenech’s request for bail is rejected. In rejecting Fenech’s bail request, Magistrate Montebello explained in her decree that it is aware of several dangers, not least due to the fact that the investigations are still very active. It emerges that there are possibly greater risks of tampering of evidence, the court said.

2.28pm: Magistrate Montebello returns to the courtroom.

2.02pm: The sitting is suspended for a few minutes till Magistrate Montebello makes a decision.

2pm: “The presumption of innocence is the rule. That someone is kept arrested is the exception. There is no reason why this case should be treated any differently”, Camilleri, another defence lawyer, states. She also argues that Fenech was granted police bail numerous times inspite of their concerns over the potential for Fenech to impinge on the evidence. “Where were these concerns then?”

1.58pm: The prosecution notes that this is the same argument that the defence had made previously, and that they will stick to their previous response to the request. Caruana Curran argues that a lot has changed since the last request. Marion Camilleri meanwhile adds that the prosecution has the advantage that they have complete control over the witnesses – so what is being said is already preserved as evidence. This means, she says, that the prosecution’s fear of impingement on certain evidence has no basis.

1.56pm: The request for Fenech to be given bail is now before the court. A bail request is being made by Fenech’s defence lawyers. Caruana Curran is noting that when the police themselves had granted Fenech police bail, he had followed all conditions and remained completely available. Caruana Curran is questioning the credibility of Melvin Theuma, and is noting that people mentioned in the tapes – such as Joseph Muscat and Keith Schembri – are free to do outside as they please while Fenech is stuck behind bars, sometihng which Caruana Curran states is not fair.

1.49pm: A debate is currently ongoing for Fenech to be given the recordings on a set of CDs so that he can listen to them in prison. Magistrate Montebello grants permission to Fenech’s legal team to do just this.

1.40pm: Arnaud is asking to exhibit certain statements made by Fenech at a later date, because they would like more time to investigate that which is alleged in it. Certain names are mentioned within the statement, and which are currently under investigation. Magistrate Montebello states that the court will not wait until investigations are concluded, and that there are other remedies which can be sought so that those names are not made public. The courts accept the prosecution’s request, but make it clear that the evidence has to be presented during the next sitting, with the reservation that all measures are taken for investigations not to be prejudiced.

1.37pm: Theuma departs the stand.

1.36pm: The recording is stopped. It seems that there are several mistakes or missing parts in the transcript. Magistrate Montebello puts hearing the recording off until the transcript is re-done properly.

1.35pm: The recording starts with more footsteps. A knock on a door is heard. The conservation is again between Theuma and Fenech, but again it is not all that clear.

1.34pm: Another recording is being heard by the court.

1.23pm: That brings Azzopardi’s questions to a close.

1.22pm: Azzopardi returns to the point where the name “Alex” is mentioned. Azzopardi reads the transcript: “I will speak to Alex to see what happened.” Theuma says that he has no idea who the Alex being referred to is. “Do you know who Keith Schembri’s deputy was? Did Yorgen Fenech ever mention Alex Muscat?”, Azzopardi asks. Theuma states that Fenech never did and that he has no clue who the Alex referred to is, and adds that he did not ask.

1.18pm: Theuma is asked about the monetary support given to the Degiorgios. “Up till when I was arrested, I was passing on money from Yorgen Fenech to Mario Degiorgio”, Theuma states. A reminder that the recording we have heard today is from April 2018 – over a year and a half before Theuma and eventually Fenech were arrested.

1.14pm: The mention of Chris Cardona in the recording is now attracting more attention. Theuma explains that Mario Degiorgio had told him that the Degiorgios had tried to contact Cardona for help in getting the pledge, but that Cardona had ignored them. Both Azzopardi and Magistrate Montebello are curious as to why the Degiorgios had specifically asked Cardona for help and not any other MP who had a legal background – but Theuma again states that he did not ask, and that Mario had never told him.

1.11pm: Theuma now says that he didn’t think that Cardona was one of the four, but had just seen his name being mentioned on television. Magistrate Montebello does not seemed convinced about his explanation, and takes note.

1.10pm: Theuma is asked about his assertion that there are four others involved, but he does not give any basis to the remark. “It just came into my head – but nobody ever came up to me and told me that they are involved”, Theuma said. He states that Yorgen had told him that “Kohhu doesn’t know about the others” and that is what prompted his remark. He states that he thought that they were involved with the Degiorgios. Magistrate Montebello asks whether he had asked the Degiorgios how they had organised the murder – to which Theuma replies in the negative. “So how did Fenech know that there were others involved with the Degiorgios?”, Montebello asks. “I didn’t ask”, Theuma replies. Montebello continues to press where he got this idea from. “I was seeing things on the television – other names; Cardona, and the diesel scandal”, Theuma replies that he can’t say anything under oath though because he does not know.

1.01pm: Theuma states that Mario Degiorgio had told him that his brothers had “helped everyone, but had found no help from anyone” – but he again states that he does not know what or who Mario was referring to. Theuma states that at this point he had not told Mario that he was involved in the murder – but notes that “if he did the pluses and minuses he would have reached that conclusion”. He is absolutely certain however that the Degiorgios did not know about the involvement of Yorgen Fenech.

12.58pm: Azzopardi now asks about a point in the conversation when the FBI was mentioned. Theuma states that he was here referring to the testimony that FBI officials had given in the compilation of evidence against Muscat and the Degiorgios. In the recording, Fenech told Theuma that the FBI had nothing on them.

12.56pm: Theuma says that Mario Degiorgio had told him that the bail request for his brothers would be filed in front of Judge Antonio Mizzi. Theuma said that Mario had hoped that someone could speak to Mizzi to get a positive outcome for them.

12.54pm: Theuma says that he was afraid that the Degiorgios would expose him. He is asked about a remark where he asked Fenech not to be “calm”,with Theuma saying that he had expected Fenech to do much more. “Wasn’t Fenech giving you all the money?”, Azzopardi asks. “Money is nothing when you’re inside (prison)”, Theuma replies.

12.47pm: Azzopardi reads from the transcript that Fenech had pointed out that the magistrate hearing Degiorgio’s case would soon change, and that this would be a good thing. Theuma says that he did not understand this remark at the time, and hadn’t asked about it.

12.43pm: Azzopardi asks whether he remembers officials from Castille such as Glenn Bedingfield and Josef Caruana writing… – Theuma stops him there and says “Where is the laptop?” and notes that he remembers those words being written. This was on 16 April 2018, Azzopardi says in agreement. Azzopardi states that he is asking these questions so to draw a general indication of when the conversation heard earlier took place.

12.42pm: Azzopardi asks whether he remembers a banner about those laptops, to which Theuma replies that he recalls one being put up over the Santa Venera tunnels. That was on 17 April 2018, Azzopardi points out. The day after, Azzopardi notes, the Degiorgios opened a case in court related to the laptop – which Theuma also recalls.

12.40pm: That ends Arnaud’s questions – Jason Azzopardi now stands to ask the questions. He presses Theuma on when the conversation in the recordings took place. Theuma states that he can’t say for sure, but that since the laptops had been mentioned he assums that it was somewhere around the time when the laptops were in the news.

12.39pm: Theuma had told Mario Degiorgio that he has no power to arrange for the bail to come through, but said that Mario had continued to insist on it. “Weren’t you the one to offer help?”, Mario had told him. “Heq, tnejku bija” (Heq, they took me for a ride), Theuma said he had replied.

12.37pm: “I was ready to tell Mario (Degiorgio) that there is not going to be a bail request and that I will give him money, but that if he wanted to go rat on me, he could go ahead. I didn’t care anymore. I never got the courage to do it,” Theuma says.

12.33pm: Theuma is asked about a remark in the recording where he said he was “zdingat”. “My life was finished – I was sick of my life”, Theuma said when asked for an explanation. He said that the fact that he had gotten involved in the case had affected him in this manner. “I had too much weight on me – I had to go to Mario; then to Yorgen for money; then I didn’t know whether Yorgen thought I was taking the money for myself; I was very scared – I was fed up. Fed up”, he tells the court. Theuma got quite emotional at this point.

12.30pm: Some questions are raised over an “Alex” mentioned in the transcript, but Theuma states that he does not know of any Alex who was involved in the case.

12.29pm: Theuma testifed that he had taken receipts pertaining to Degiorgio’s defence lawyer – William Cuschieri – to Fenech to be paid. The receipts totalled to around 75,000 euros, Theuma said.

12.25pm: Theuma said that he had always supported Mario Degiorgio with money for legal services, but that Mario was lamenting the lack of support that they had received for getting the bail pledge through.

12.22pm: The transcript is read out: “if Cardona can’t help them, nobody will”, Theuma had said. The witness testifies that the remark because Cardona knew how the courts worked (midhla fil-qorti) because of his time as a lawyer. “He knows more than the old one” (midhla iktar mix-xih), the transcript reads. Theuma again confirms that “ix-xih” refers to Joseph Muscat.

12.15pm: During the recording, Theuma at one point mentions Chris Cardona. Testifying, he noted that he had only mentioned Cardona because he had seen on television that he was being suspected of being involved in the murder at the time. Theuma states that Mario Degiorgio had told him that Cardona had “ignored them” when he (Degiorgio) had tried to contact him for help with the bail pledge. Theuma has also stated that he has never met Cardona or anyone connected to him.

12.13pm: Returning to the stand, Theuma states that had heard that Kohhu (Vince Muscat) was going to rat him out. Fenech had told him, he said, that Muscat does not know about “the others” who were involved, to which Theuma said that he thought there were some four others involved in the murder apart from him and Yorgen. The court attempts to clarify where these characters fit in – Theuma states that he thought they were involved with the Degiorgios.

12.08pm: She returns to the stand, and confirms that the word uttered in the recording is in fact “Keith”. She is given her leave, and Melvin Theuma returns to the stand to continue his testimony.

12.06pm: There is perfect silence in the courtroom as the court experts, with a working set of headphones now, listens to the recording once more in an attempt to clarify the dubious word.

12.05pm: Magistrate Montebello returns to the courtroom and the sitting resumes.

12.04pm: Fenech is back in the courtroom. It seems that the technical problem with the headphones has been resolved.

11.51am: The sitting has been suspended.

11.50am: Mifsud is handed a clunky pair of headphones to hear the recording through, while the recording itself plays out on the courtroom’s speakers as well. In spite of their size, Mifsud reports that the headphones are not working. A court attendant has been dispatched to find another pair which, hopefully, will do the job. A second pair did not work either.

11.47am: As a reminder from earlier – there was confusion over whether at a certain point the word “Keith” is said. Magistrate Montebello points out that she feels that this is pertinent to be clarified, which is why the expert has been called up.

11.44am: That’s where Theuma’s testimony stops for now. Magistrate Montebello bids him to depart the courtroom for now. Court Expert Marisa Mifsud has now taken the stand. She will confirm the earlier word mix-up which had been pointed out by Arnaud.

11.42am: Arnaud points out a remark that Fenech said in the recording: “I don’t think Kohhu (Vince Muscat) knows about the others”. Theuma states that he answered him saying “I think there are four more” but hadn’t asked who “the others” were.

11.40am: Magistrate Montebello asks Theuma about a remark which was said by Mario Degiorgio, wherein he said that his brother had “helped everyone” (qdew lil kulhadd). However, Theuma says that he had never asked Mario who the “everyone” in this sentence referred to. Theuma explains that Mario Degiorgio had once asked him over Whatsapp whether he was involved in the murder, to which he had replied “I am not involved in the murder, but I am ready to help you”. The Magistrate asks “So for Mario Degiorgio you are simply a person who was helping his brothers?” – “Exactly”, Theuma replies.

11.34am: Questions return to the bail request for the alleged hitmen – “I was worried that once they did not receive bail and would be put on trial the Degiorgios would start ratting on me”, Theuma explained before confirming that it was Mario Degiorgio who was pressuring him.

11.31am: Reference is made to a point where Theuma said that Fenech “is at one with the other one” (bicca wahda mal-iehor). He clarifies that “the other one” in this case is Joseph Muscat. He is asked why he had said that, to which he replied that he had wanted Fenech to go to Muscat to “fix things so me and Yorgen don’t end up in shit”. Asked what Fenech’s reply to that idea was, Theuma states “he told me ‘as if, that would be the worst thing I can do’.” That is greeted by more shakes of the head and smiles from Fenech and his legal team.

11.27am: Theuma confirms that part of the conversation was a discussion on the bail request for the three alleged hitmen. He indicates that he knew that the case was going to be filed the following Monday. Theuma states that he had told Mario Degiorgio that he could help them with money, but not with the bail request.

11.23am: Arnaud asks him about a part of a conversation where a reference to “laptops” is made. “What are these laptops?”, Arnaud asks. “These are the laptops belonging to Caruana Galizia”, Theuma says and adds that he had seen in the media that they were going to be brought to Malta and was afraid that once these laptops were opened, it would expose whom she had been writing about. Theuma says that he had asked Fenech whether it was a good thing for the laptops to be opened in Malta, to which, he said, Fenech had replied that “it’s better that they come here, because there are a lot of people whom she had written about”.

11.20am: Theuma says that the conversation that has just been heard took place at Fenech’s farmhouse in Zebbug. He isn’t sure when it took place, but he is sure that it was after he was approached about the bail request for the three alleged hitmen.

11.19am: The recording comes to a close, and Arnaud rises to begin his questions to Theuma.

11.15am: “I’m off Yorg”, Theuma is heard saying. It seems that the recording will soon come to an end. Theuma will then answer questions which, hopefully, give a bit more clarity to what the courtroom has been hearing. The conversation momentarily picks up after that with Theuma speaking of something at 9am on a Saturday, before he bids his final farewell and is heard walking off.

11.09am: Whatever the conversation was about, it seems to have been an animated one – the muffled sentences are frequently decorated with several expletives, which are the only things which stand out from the recording.

11.05am: The recording continues – it is still muffled and at times footsteps are heard over-riding the conversation. Fenech remains one of the more animated people in the courtroom, as he is huddled around his lawyers, following the transcript – moving around in his chair and occasionally shaking his head and pointing at something in the transcript.

10.59am: The recording continues.

10.57am: The recording is suddenly stopped – Fenech and his lawyers have reacted to something with shakes of the head and ironic, silent, laughter. Keith Arnaud meanwhile has asked for a part of the recording to be replayed – he isn’t sure whether the word uttered is “Keith” or “Kiefer” (how). It’s difficult for anyone to make out what exactly was said. Arnaud now suggests that they ask Theuma for clarification. Parte Civile lawyer Jason Azzopardi suggests that the court expert is allowed to hear the transcript with headphones before the witness is asked about it. “I know what will happen otherwise”, Azzopardi says – to which Magistrate Montebello agrees. Azzopardi points out that this would be in everyone’s interest as whether the word is “Keith” or “kiefer” makes a big difference. Keith, in this case, would ostensibly refer to Keith Schembri – former Prime Minister Joseph Muscat’s Chief of Staff, who has been mentioned more than once in these recordings.

10.50am: “They will get bail soon – within three weeks or a month”, Fenech is heard saying. “We can’t keep waiting”, Theuma replies before also noting that he was under pressure by the Degiorgio family – their brother Mario namely – to get the matter over with it.

10.46am: The subject of the recording seems to be the bail request which had been filed by the Degiorgos and Vince Muscat – the three accused of being the hitmen behind the murder. It’s a subject that has been discussed in previous sittings. Theuma testified that he had met Kenneth Camilleri – a security official who works at the Office of the Prime Minister – in connection with the request, who had said that the trio would be granted bail on a sitting meant to take place on the 22nd of either April or May in 2018. It was supposed to be held before Judge Antonio Mizzi, but never materialised.

10.44am: Fenech is in deep discussion with his lawyers as the recording plays. Theuma meanwhile has spent the past few minutes looking at nothing but the floor in front of the witness stand.

10.40am: In any case, the exchanges between Theuma and Fenech are difficult to make out once again. Meanwhile in the courtroom, Fenech is sitting between his two lawyers – Gianluca Caruana Curran and Marion Camilleri – as opposed to his usual spot on the front bench. He and Theuma, who is on the witness stand, haven’t exchanged so much of a glance.

10.38am: Journalists have been ordered to be a bit more attentive in their live reporting, with Magistrate Montebello noting that particular details within the recordings may still be under investigation and may be subject to a publication ban.

10.36am: The courtroom being used today is smaller than usual, but at least that means that the recordings can be heard a bit more – even though they remain somewhat inaudible. The court fast-forwards past the first 16 minutes – where nothing is said – and stops at the sound of footsteps. Theuma had said in a previous testimony that he used to hide the recorder in his sock when recording the conversations.

10.33am: A recording of a conversation between Theuma and Fenech is being played.

10.29am: Melvin Theuma, who was granted immunity to provide details on the plot to assassinate Caruana Galizia, takes the stand.

10.25am: The court said that some of the transcripts have been published in the media verbatim. The Magistrate referred to a decree on 30 January when the court had instructed on what happens with the transcripts, making it clear that this ban covered the recordings and the transcription, and any publishing of this information will be considered as contempt of court. The court made it clear that journalists can report what is being played out in court but cannot have a copy of the transcripts or the actual recordings.

10.22am: The court expresses concern about comments in the media about the transcripts, and the inaudible audio. She asked whether the Caruana Galizia family has any issue with the transcripts. Azzopardi said there is no issue. The defence counsel, the prosecution and the parte civile all said that they had no issue with the transcribers appointed by the court.

10.19am: Marisa Mifsud is the first to take the witness stand. Mifsud was appointed to listen to recording 003 and correct the transcription as needed. Mifsud presented a copy of the transcription in court.

10.17am: Magistrate Rachel Montebello enters the courtroom.

10.08am: Fenech is already in the courtroom, seated at the dock between two officials from Corradino Correctional Facility.

9.50am: The sitting is expected to start at 10am