Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/893950
MATTHEW VELLA THE police are expected to arraign a minister's aide and canvasser on charges of extortion in the com- mission of works for the Foundation for Tomorrow's Schools. Edward Caruana, 57, formerly a chief canvasser of education minister Evarist Bartolo, will be charged in court on Monday over allegations of fraud and corruption in public procurement. Caruana – whose brother Joseph was the educa- tion ministry's permanent secretary as recently as June – will be charged with having demanded pay- ments from suppliers of the FTS, where he was pro- curement officer, as bribes to facilitate outstanding payments. He will also be charged with extortion, and for trading in inf luence and use of falsification. The charges come in the wake of national outrage against the Maltese police force in the wake of the assassination of journalist Daphne Caruana Gali- zia, where protestors have demand- ed the resignation of the Commis- sioner of Police, Lawrence Cutajar. Minister's aide to be charged with extortion over FTS contracts 19-27 Newspaper post SUNDAY • 29 OCTOBER 2017 • ISSUE 938 • PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY AND SUNDAY SUNDAY • 29 OCTOBER 2017 • ISSUE 938 • PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY AND SUNDAY • PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY AND SUNDAY maltatoday YOUR FIRST READ AND CLICK OF THE DAY WWW.MALTATODAY.COM.MT END OF SUMMERTIME SAVIOUR BALZAN A SURVEY of paid-up PN members com- missioned by one of the candidates run- ning for deputy leader, has revealed that a significant 8.3% of members voted Labour in the 2017 election. The data, seen by this newspaper, shows that while 8.3% of the PN's 15,000 card- carrying members voted Labour in 2017, another 2.1% declared they did not vote at all. This would indicate that as many as 10% of the Nationalist Party membership did not translate their membership loyalty to a vote for the PN at the ballot boxes last June. Did you remember to turn your clock one hour back last night? PN members' poll: 10% voted Labour or abstained in 2017 A terrifying culture of impunity 14 15 zia, where protestors have demand- PAGE 9 Evarist Bartolo's (left) former permanent secretary Joseph Caruana (centre), was recently transferred to the finance ministry. His brother Edward Caruana (right) has spent the last 11 months under investigation over fraud and extortion, and charges will be filed on Monday PAGE 6 Italians tapped Debono's phone for two years OPERATION DIRTY OIL BEST IN SUNDAY COMMENT remember remember to turn your clock one hour back last night? €1.75 Historian Henry Frendo: 'A lot of civic and public space is taken up by politicians in Malta' SUNDAY • 29 OCTOBER 2017 • ISSUE 938 • PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY AND SUNDAY today today • PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY AND SUNDAY today • PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY AND SUNDAY MATTHEW VELLA ITALIAN police investigators had been intercepting phone-calls from Darren Debono for two years in a bid to disman- tle a €30 million fuel smuggling ring. The former Malta international foot- baller, today a restaurateur, used his fishing boats to transport smuggled fuel out of Libya so that it could be re- sold in Italian ports. He was arrested last week on the island of Lampedusa. last week on the island PAGE 3