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13 NEWS maltatoday | SUNDAY • 29 JANUARY 2023 16 February 1982 An Inland Revenue official visits Cauchi's wife, Anna, at the fami- ly 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 iden- tified. A mallet believed to be the murder weapon is also found in the well. 3 May 1988 In-Nazzjon reports that the re- mains belong to Lino Cauchi and were identified by Australian fo- rensic experts. 20 March 1989 Magistrate David Scicluna con- cludes his inquiry into the dis- covery 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 investi- gation. 24 April 1989 Cauchi's funeral takes place at the Immaculate Conception church in Hamrun. His son, Pao- lo, 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 pri- vate agreement to settle a dis- pute between Borg and Camill- eri. 7 April 1994 Testifying in court during a libel case against Il-Gens, Piju Camill- eri denies Lino Cauchi was ever his accountant. He also denies any connection with him, an assertion he reiter- ates years later when summoned to testify in front of the inquiring magistrate. KURT SANSONE PIJU Camilleri, a developer from Luqa, was regarded as a suspect in the murder of Lino Cauchi, testimo- ny given by former police commissioner John Rizzo shows. Testifying in the constitutional case filed by Cauchi's heirs against the State, Rizzo said that dur- ing his time as commissioner the police reopened investigations on the case several times. "We had also arrested Piju Camilleri, who was a suspect, several times, but the investigations did not have the desired outcome," Rizzo said on oath. However, these interrogations only took place after 2001, many years after Cauchi went missing, making it hard for police to connect anyone to the murder in the absence of evidence that had not been preserved in 1982. Until then, Camilleri and others had never been spoken to by the police in relation to the Cauchi murder. Camilleri has always denied any involvement in Cauchi's murder, similarly refuting suggestions that Cauchi was his accountant. Camilleri, known as il-Ħawsla, was described by developer Joseph Borg as the "lunga manus" (the long arm) of public works minister Lorry Sant, who was responsible for issuing building permits. Both Camilleri and Sant had been indicted by the Permanent Commission Against Corruption as hav- ing extorted lands from developers between 1977 and 1987, in exchange for building permits. Police charges against the pair and others in 1991, howev- er, were thrown out by the court because they were time-barred. Borg has over the years provided key testimony on a heated meeting held on 8 December 1981, just days before the general election. The meeting was called by Camilleri who had a joint company with Borg and Victor Balzan, another person in the Lorry Sant clique. Fearing a change in government, Camilleri wanted to wrap up a number of agreements following a dispute with Borg over lands that were being sold by the joint company. In the meeting, a private agreement was drawn up by which Camilleri was to return to Borg sever- al plots of land in Luqa. The agreement was drafted by Lino Cauchi, who Borg insists was introduced as Camilleri's accountant. It transpires that Cauchi presented plans that showed how Camilleri was selling plots of land for a price but only declaring on contract a lower price. Camilleri was pocketing the difference behind his business partners' backs. This caused Camilleri to flip and use threatening language against Cauchi. The private agreement was held by Cauchi and he would not give Borg and Balzan a copy unless authorised by Camilleri. When Cauchi went missing, the agreement van- ished with him and the agreed transfer of plots to Borg never took place. Former deputy police commissioner Pierre Calleja, testifying in the constitutional case recounted how after 2001, Joe Pace, a businessman who owned the defunct Magic Kiosk in Sliema, had recounted a run- in he had with Lorry Sant after 1987. Pace, who has since died, was often used by Piju Camilleri to front contracts related to corrupt land deals. Pace told Calleja that Sant wanted to continue running the show after the change in government in 1987 and insisted he be involved in what plots of land are sold. When Pace wanted out, Sant purport- edly told him "you do as I say or I'll get Piju Camilleri to cut you up like he did to Lino Cauchi". Calleja said the police interrogated Camilleri sever- al times. "We heard a lot of witnesses who had nev- er been heard before, but because the murder had taken place a long time before it was difficult to find evidence," Calleja told the court. Today, Piju Camilleri is a man in his 70s, having passed over the shareholding of most of his com- panies to his two sons. He retains one company in his name and lives in a seafront apartment block in Sliema – a project he financed through a loan of Lm500,000 (€1.2 million) obtained from Mid-Med Bank in the mid-1980s. The loan was one of the irregular transactions highlighted in the 1993 Judge Anastasi Report that probed Mid-Med Bank's dealings prior 1987 after Judge Wenzu Mintoff (who had been a lawyer in the bank's legal office at the time) blew the whistle on the preferential treatment people close to the La- bour government at the time were being afforded. Camilleri had to make Lm780,000 (€1.8 million) from the sale of apartments in the Sliema project. He continues to enjoy the fruits of his 'labour' to this day. A suspect but no evidence Camilleri has always denied any involvement in Cauchi's murder, similarly refuting suggestions that Cauchi was his accountant