The relentless attacks on Anġlu Gafà originate from the ardent Defnisti, who are fervently pushing for Keith Arnaud to replace him, heralding Arnaud as their champion.
The irony is palpable, given Arnaud’s mysterious dismissal from the Drug Squad just months prior, under circumstances shrouded in secrecy. Yet, the Defnisti are seemingly nostalgic for the chaotic mafia-like status quo that prevailed under John Rizzo. During Rizzo’s tenure, the Degiorgio brothers’ criminal empire flourished, bolstered by a slew of unresolved mafia-style murders.
John Rizzo’s era as commissioner is infamously marked by a series of heinous mafia-style killings that baffled authorities, leaving questions unanswered and justice unserved. It was in this lawless environment that the Degiorgio brothers rose to the zenith of the criminal underworld, virtually untouchable.
Despite suspicions and whispers of their involvement in serious crimes, they evaded accountability under Rizzo’s watchful eye. This damning portrayal of Rizzo’s tenure is compellingly captured in an article by former NET journalist Neil Camilleri for the Independent, which exposes these unresolved murders as emblematic of the lawlessness that pervaded his time.
24 April 2008
The murder of car dealer Raymond Agius, 49, was probably the first of several Mafia-style killings in Malta. The victim was inside the Butterfly Bar in Birkirkara when two men wearing motorcycle helmets with their visors down walked up to him and one of them shot him in the head. The killers then walked out of the bar and sped off on a motorcycle. No one has been charged with the murder and it was widely believed that the perpetrators were foreign contract killers.
The killing of businessman John Camilleri on Monday is not the first Mafia-style murder that took place in Malta.
Camilleri was killed when the car he was driving in St Paul’s Bay exploded in what police believe is a car bomb.
Over the past years, several incidents have taken place which reminded many of similar situations in nearby Italy.
24 April 2008
The murder of car dealer Raymond Agius, 49, was probably the first of several Mafia-style killings in Malta. The victim was inside the Butterfly Bar in Birkirkara when two men wearing motorcycle helmets with their visors down walked up to him and one of them shot him in the head. The killers then walked out of the bar and sped off on a motorcycle. No one has been charged with the murder and it was widely believed that the perpetrators were foreign contract killers.
4 April 2009
This grisly murder took place in St Paul’s Bay, inside the victim’s father’s workshop. Nicola Romano, who owns a gypsum business, was horrified when he found that his son’s body had been placed into an industrial furnace. Upon closer inspection investigators found that the man had had some 20 nails fired into his skull by a nail gun. Some residents had complained about the use of the furnace, more so after a small explosion took place, but the crime remains unsolved.
23 November 2010
Joe Baldacchino, the managing director of the Baldacchino Group, which owns the Kempinski hotel in Gozo, was shot by an unidentified motorcyclist in a Valletta car park. The shooting took place in broad daylight near Hastings Garden. The victim had unwittingly informed the motorcyclist that he had dropped his licence plate. Seconds later the rider unzipped his jacket, produced a gun and shot the businessman in the back. Mr Baldacchino, 51, died in hospital a month later.
The businessman was involved in many court cases related to property and business interests, leaving the police with a long list of potential suspects. A car with Mr Baldacchino’s car number plate number was later found inside the car of convicted criminal Romeo Bone. But the police did not find enough proof to charge anyone with the murder.
16 November 2011
Canon Bonnici Street in Hamrun was shaken by a car bomb explosion at 9.30am. The car had just been parked there by Keith Galea, who had got out from prison just a week earlier. The car exploded moments after he walked into his mother’s home. Three bystanders were injured in the blast. Mr Gelea served time on prostitution-related charges. Had the bomb gone off an hour earlier it might have injured a number of children who were walking to a nearby school.
15 March 2012/13 December 2012
A firefight inside an underground garage complex in Marsascala left Kevin Gatt ‘iz-Zibga’ dead and two injured. Steven Zammit succumbed to his wounds some months later. Joe Cutajar ‘il-Lion’ – the third man wounded in the incident – was later charged with murder. But he was shot to death inside his car on a rainy day in December that same year. The Mosta shooting took place shortly after another man, Joseph Grech known as ‘il-Yoyo’, was shot and killed in Bahar ic-Caghaq. Grech had been shot in the head by a small calibre pistol.
1 October 2012/31 May 2013
Paul Degabriele, known as ‘is-Suldat’ saw a person placing an object underneath his pick-up truck in Fgura and informed the police, who later confirmed the package was a bomb.
Mr Degabriele’s luck did not last long, however, for he was shot and killed in Marsa the following May. The man was shot at close range in front of Sammy’s Bar by a man wearing a baseball cap. The victim was accompanied by a friend, who did not recognize the killer. The killer used a 9mm pistol to shoot Degabriele thrice in the head and twice in the chest. The man sped off in a stolen van. The police believed the killer was a foreign hitman – probably a Sicilian. A couple of months earlier Mr Degabriele had been interrogated by the police in their investigations on the murder of ‘il-Lion.
1 October 2012/31 May 2013
Paul Degabriele, known as ‘is-Suldat’ saw a person placing an object underneath his pick-up truck in Fgura and informed the police, who later confirmed the package was a bomb.
Mr Degabriele’s luck did not last long, however, for he was shot and killed in Marsa the following May. The man was shot at close range in front of Sammy’s Bar by a man wearing a baseball cap. The victim was accompanied by a friend, who did not recognize the killer. The killer used a 9mm pistol to shoot Degabriele thrice in the head and twice in the chest. The man sped off in a stolen van. The police believed the killer was a foreign hitman – probably a Sicilian. A couple of months earlier Mr Degabriele had been interrogated by the police in their investigations on the murder of ‘il-Lion.
