Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/916779
Newspaper post We have to talk about Marsa €1.75 YOUR FIRST READ AND CLICK OF THE DAY WWW.MALTATODAY.COM.MT maltatoday today today SUNDAY • 17 DECEMBER 2017 • ISSUE 945 • PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY AND SUNDAY Murder suspect was associate of 2016 car bomb victim MATTHEW VELLA ACQUAINTANCES, friends, associates in business, and final- ly, feuding in court over monies owed. Murder suspect George De- giorgio 'ic-Ciniz' had been fend- ing off a claim in court by his former friend John Camilleri for thousands of euros owed on a property deal under threat of eviction since 2011. But on 31 October 2016, the arc of life brought 67-year- old property dealer 'Giovann' Camilleri 'tas-Sapuna' to a vio- lent end, blown up in his car as he was drove away from his Bu- gibba flat at 7am. Almost 12 months to the day, Degiorgio now faces charges of executing the assassination by car bomb of the journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia. The similarities stop there: a pattern of unsolved car bombs targeting members of the Mal- tese criminal underworld and associates. But the arrests of Degiorgio and his brother Alfred 'il-Fu- lu', and heist suspect Vincent Mifsud 'il-Kohhu' in connec- tion with the Caruana Galizia assassination may have broken new ground: a trove of mobile phones dumped at sea just off the Marsa dock where Degior- gio ran his business, that police hope will shed light on the car bomb murders. GAME OF COURTS Why investigators fear suspects could demand recusal of new magistrate Mayor Frans Debono "The government had no real strategy to deal with the crisis; perhaps because it never expected it to get so bad" get so bad" 14 15 MALTA – A TAX HAVEN? 8 After a close call at the hands of the European Parliament, is Malta's tax system under threat? 10 11 Degiorgio 'ic-Ciniz' dined at John Camilleri's Bugibba restaurant, bought one of his properties and a speedboat, and even stalked his ex-wife for €7,000 PAGE 2 31st October 2016 The third car bomb of that year claims the life of property businessman John Camilleri, 67, in Bugibba PHOTO IVAN CONSIGLIO SAVIOUR BALZAN POLICE investigators are expect- ing the defence team of the men charged with the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia, to pro- long the compilation of evidence against them with recusals of pre- siding magistrates. The first magistrate, Donatella Frendo Dimech, recused her- self on Thursday when she de- clared having known the sister of the deceased, and sending her condolences the day the murder happened. While the choice of Frendo Di- mech as duty magistrate was se- lected by lot, the selection was actually carried out in full view of CCTV cameras on request of the Attorney General, n a bid to take all precautions and ensure the choice of magistrate was a trans- parent one. Following the rec- usal, however, it fell to Chief Justice Following the rec- PAGE 2 • Home Affairs minister not privy to details of Marsa raid • Accused in isolation Santa's little helpers set Christmas truly alight