Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1278887
11 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 16 AUGUST 2020 NEWS conclusions given cold shoulder istrate David Scicluna, con- cluded his inquiry into the discovery of body parts at Bus- kett, identifying the victim as Cauchi. A month later, Cauchi's fu- neral took place and in July 1989, the Attorney Gener- al asked magistrate Scicluna to continue with the inquiry, which now had to delve into the disappearance and murder of Cauchi. It was only four years after his body was found and seven years after Cauchi's disappear- ance that investigations turned into a murder probe. Nobody has ever been charged with the brutal mur- der and Cauchi's case remains a mystery to this day. His widow, Anna, and their now 38-year-old son Paolo, whom Cauchi never saw, are now seeking compensation from the State. In a constitutional case filed last week, they claim Cauchi's murder was facilitated by the violent political climate of the time. But they also claim there was a lack of willingness to proper- ly investigate the case over the years. The fact that West's report appears to have been given the cold shoulder, is one instance flagged by Cauchi's relatives as a sign of the authorities' reluc- tance to go deep enough. Who was Cauchi? Cauchi was an accountant to Piju Camilleri, the right-hand man of then minister Lorry Sant, the only politician to ever be charged with corruption – a case that ended up being time- barred. Court testimony had placed Cauchi in at least two stormy meetings before the December election in 1981 where cor- rupt land deals were being dis- cussed. When Cauchi disappeared two months later, he was in possession of potentially in- criminating documents that were never found. There is no evidence to link Cauchi's disappearance with these corrupt land deals or the people involved in them. Camilleri has always denied any link with Cauchi's murder, insisting he only got to know of his disappearance from the newspapers. However, an investigation carried out by MaltaToday in 2002 revealed how the day after Cauchi's disappearance, a man from the Inland Revenue De- partment had gone knocking on Anna Cauchi's door, asking for some important files. The man was later revealed to be a certain Charles Zammit, an acquaintance of the Cauchi family, who had been doing the bidding of a top official at the department, a certain Micallef, known as 'Il-Mulej'. In a renewed effort to carry on the investigation, in 2002, the police interrogated Zammit but the man who sent him had by then passed away. Nobody knows what informa- tion those files contained and why was it so important for an Inland Revenue official to go and pick them up, less than 24 hours after Cauchi went missing. Cauchi's relatives claim in their constitutional application that this incident involving a tax offi- cial was never investigated prop- erly by the police. ksansone@mediatoday.com.mt 16 February 1982 An Inland Revenue official visits Cauchi's wife, Anna, at the family home and asks her to pass on certain files. She passes on the documents because the man is a family friend. Years later it transpires that this official was obeying instructions from a top official at the department by the surname Micallef, known as Il-Mulej. 17 February 1982 Cauchi's briefcase is found abandoned in the vicinity of Chadwick Lakes. The briefcase is empty and forced open. 15 November 1985 Human body parts wrapped in plastic bags are found in a well in Buskett in an area known as il-Bosk. The body cannot be identified. A mallet believed to be the murder weapon is also found in the well. 3 May 1988 In-Nazzjon reports that the remains belong to Lino Cauchi and were identified by Australian forensic experts. 20 March 1989 Magistrate David Scicluna concludes his inquiry into the discovery of body parts in Buskett and concludes the victim was Lino Cauchi. The report says the man was killed by a violent blow to the head with a heavy mallet found inside the well. The case now becomes a murder investigation. 24 April 1989 Cauchi's funeral takes place at the Immaculate Conception church in Hamrun. His son, Paolo, is now seven years old. June 1992 Cauchi's name crops up in the testimony Joseph Borg gives in a law suit he institutes against Joe Pace over the transfer of land. Borg describes in court what happened in a meeting held on 8 December 1981 with Piju Camilleri. Borg says Cauchi was present at that meeting as Camilleri's accountant. He also identifies Cauchi as the person responsible for drawing up a private agreement to settle a dispute between Borg and Camilleri. 7 April 1994 Testifying in court during a libel case against Il-Gens, Piju Camilleri denies Lino Cauchi was ever his accountant. He also denies any connection with him, an assertion he reiterates years later when summoned to testify in front of the inquiring magistrate. A mystery that still haunts Malta to this day: accountant Lino Cauchi was privy to knowledge of dodgy land deals