Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1178032
ONE of the suspects accused of the as- sassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia, told police, over a year and a half ago, the name of a middleman implicated in the journalist's murder. Vincent Muscat 'il-Kohhu', 57, gave po- lice the name of the middleman, in a bid to obtain a pardon only after police in- vestigators corroborated the information they had. But a source close to the investigation insisted with MaltaToday that the name was already known to police, and that Muscat refused to collaborate by offering up information on past hold-ups and gangland murders. The information Muscat offered was not presented to the Attorney General, but taken directly to police investigators. Yet Muscat did not give police any more information on other cases that might be connected to the deaths by car bombs in Malta – 19 in the last 10 years alone – or cases such as the 2010 HSBC heist, in which Muscat is accused for his part in the robbery. Muscat had been out on bail since November 2010 before his arrest in December 2017. In June 2018 he was due to stand trial for his role in the HSBC heist, but Muscat claimed his right to a fair hearing would be breached due to the negative pre-trial publicity on his alleged involvement in the Caruana Galizia murder. Police are becoming even more wary of attempts by Muscat as well as the Degiorgio brothers in their bids to file rafts of constitutional cases, which could breed a sufficient "pre-trial publicity" with which to attack future jury selections. MaltaToday's source said, however, that since Muscat offered up the information, both Maltese and foreign investigators have considered a double-tiered layer of whoever commissioned the Mafia-style execution of Caruana Galizia: a criminal ring, or handler with ties to the material executors of the car bomb that killed the journalist on 16 October, 2017 – and a mastermind, financially or ideologically motivated to commission the murder. maltatoday 2 today SUNDAY • 20 OCTOBER 2019 • ISSUE 1042 • PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY AND SUNDAY PAGE 2 today today YOUR FIRST READ AND CLICK OF THE DAY WWW.MALTATODAY.COM.MT What if our writers were paid by the State? PAGE 10 Issued by Bank of Valle a p.l.c., 58, Triq San Żakkarija, Il-Belt Valle a VLT 1130. Bank of Valle a p.l.c. is a public limited company regulated by the MFSA and is licensed to carry out the business of banking in terms of the Banking Act (Cap. 371 of the Laws of Malta). REWARD YOURSELF AT THE POINT SHOPPING MALL Talk to us | 2131 2020 | bov.com BOV CARDS Earn points in the BOV Loyalty Rewards Programme every single me you use your BOV Premium Cards Former PD leader Godfrey Farrugia Why I am leaving politics 16-17 PD leader 2 JAMES DEBONO FINANCIAL insecurity caused by housing costs and debts is likely to be a factor contributing to loneli- ness, besides age, disability and a low level of education. A study by the University of Malta's Faculty for Social Well-being and the National Statistics Office found that of the 1,000 people surveyed, a significant amount of 43.5% said they were either moderately (41.3%), severely (1.7%) or very severely lonely (0.7%). The first results of the study were published in May. And 53% of respondents who live in rented accommodation are experiencing severe or moderate loneliness, compared to 43% who own their house. While only 28% of those whose mortgage has already been paid experience loneliness, the percentage rises to 49% among those still paying their mortgage. The study 'The Prevalence of Lone- liness in Malta', authored by Marylin Clark, Andrew Azzopardi and Jamie Bonnici, shows people are more like- ly to be lonely if they live alone, are widowed, separated, or divorced, are disabled, or rate their general physi- cal health as bad. Housing costs, poor education make us lonelier Police were given middleman's name but wanted information on past hold-ups and car bombs Revisiting Malta's criminal landscape 14-15 Suspect told to give names in past crimes 2 €1.95 INSIDE FILM JOKER The burning powder keg of our modern times Teodor Reljic BREXIT DELAYED How much longer, Boris? PAGE 32 Order! British MPs delay final Brexit law Judge claims court actions on promotions have demoralised judiciary PG 3