Dear Pietru Pawl… this one’s big

Saviour Balzan opines that Pietru Pawl Zammit, the new Police Commissioner, must read the auditor's report and investigate Rita Schembri.  And why did The Times send a blind copy (BCC) of a question to John Dalli to Gonzi's Office of the Prime Minister?

Well if there is one issue I have with this government it has to do with the fact that details on the corruption and nepotism that took place in the last years of the Gonzi administration have yet to surface.

I have this funny feeling that someone does not want to rock the boat. 

There is no point in forgetting about the malpractices that took place in the last years and then do nothing about it.

If there was need for evidence of the sheer extent to which the rot had set in, Rita Schembri's appraisal in the auditor's report is shocking and scandalous.

If a Commissioner of Police were obliged to act on 'circumstantial evidence' - as the former John Rizzo did - then this report should set Inspector Gafa into high gear and off to arrest Rita Schembri.

I will not mince words and I will point directly to three major issues. None of these issues concerns Schembri's blatant use of her time and her office for her own private gain. That abuse is totally unrelated to the bigger picture.

When MaltaToday revealed how Schembri was basically making a mockery of her highly respectable and reputable post and job, Godwin Grima decided to do fuck all.

Worse still, the former Prime Minister - who, as we all know, will be remembered for ignoring the writing on the wall - opted to describe Rita Schembri as an individual of great integrity when asked by Joe Azzopardi (the man who still appears on PBS: the national station still run by CEO Anton Attard).

Now, the real points I wanted to mention are the following. To start with, Rita Schembri's role in the John Dalli investigations by OLAF need to be clarified. They could not have been clarified under John Rizzo, because John Rizzo - like those who seemingly orbited round Lawrence Gonzi - believed that Dalli was as guilty as hell. 

I do not believe I am wrong in this assumption.

What we need to do is first of all to have a good look at the OLAF report. I am sure the OLAF report will show that this amazing conspiracy is based on a whole load of circumstantial bullshit. 

'Circumstantial' is the word coined by that Germanic/Quixotic character by the name of Giovanni Kessler.

It also brings to the fore the overzealous excitement that had gripped the Gonzi administration when they imagined they had cornered the 'bastard' again.

I have seen John Dalli on his return, and I will reiterate what I have said before. He is not only innocent but the police involved in the conspiracy behind this accusation should be the ones who should be questioned.

Rita Schembri, who knew Richard CachiaCaruana very well and who worked in close conjunction with the Office of the Prime Minister, knows things that no one else knows. And it is time the tables are turned.

The second item which concerns Schembri is her role as indicated in the auditors' report that refers specifically to inducing subordinates to remove documents from registry files.

Well, I know that it is Pietru Pawl Zammit's second day in the job, but read this one carefully. 

A whistleblower who wishes to remain anonymous (until the day a Whistleblower's Act is enacted) told me that sensitive investigations into two spheres were particularly meddled with.

The first one referred to the use of EU funds by various entities.... in the sense that, after abuses or discrepancies were discovered, or accounting glitches were brought to light, Schembri's department went into overdrive to cover it all up to ensure that no funds were lost.

What a noble thought!

The other more serious matter was the way a very lengthy and thorough investigation linked to the bluefin tuna industry was 'reconstructed' to dampen the implications of the conclusions in the report.

Again this information was revealed by a whistleblower.

The third aspect was Rita Schembri's pally behaviour with individuals who were not only central to many of her business interests, but more importantly close indirectly or directly to the mega-million dollar tuna business.

I refer specifically to her meetings with two lawyers who were legal advisors to a renowned tuna magnate.

I asked this question before in another opinion, but of course former Police Commissioner John Rizzo did not contact me.

He did contact me when the Prime Minister asked him to look into the oil scandal either.

Now, I do not expect Pietru Pawl Zammit to miss his Sunday mass and coffee and croissants and come rushing over to talk to me. But I would like to point out to him that this is all just the tip of the iceberg.

The story about Rita Schembri has nothing to do with Rita Schembri - it has to do with a former government that allowed its civil service to degenerate because the political class was also in a state of rot.

Schembri was not a normal permanent secretary. She headed the internal and investigation audit department. She was expected to uphold high standards; but instead she ran her department like a market place and was only interested in her own personal gain.

Worse still, she had no fear of being stopped and when she was questioned about the fact that she had not paid rent for a bar she had leased from a certain Joe Borg (a completely different different whistleblower) her complaint was dealt with speedily and with high regard by the police, namely Inspector Pullicino.

In the end Joe Borg was arraigned and sent to Kordin. He was 74.

I have no doubt that the police would not have been so enthusiastic about their request for incarceration had it not been Rita Schembri - please remember a top civil servant with very close contacts with the police.

But this is speculation.

What is not speculation, and finally I have seen evidence to prove this, is that the conspiracy against John Dalli was controlled by the PN-friendly press and of course PBS.

Beyond the fact that everyone has a right to have their own pet hates, it does not stop me from revealing that in the correspondence sent - in particular, an important and relevant email sent to John Dalli by The Times - a copy of the same email was sent to a very senior aide to Lawrence Gonzi.

To be precise I should say it was a blind copy... as in a 'BCC'. ('BCC'... no, not 'RCC').

Which is not surprising, considering that pet hates can become obsessive.

At least here at MaltaToday we give Mario de Marco quite a decent chance in spite of his association with The Times. 

Well, the moral of this quite amazing story about Rita Schembri is that Commissioner Pietru Pawl Zammit should really delve deep into this one. It promises to be juicy, messy and full of surprises. 

And I can assure him that there will be no need for delusional 'circumstantial evidence' or any reference to preposterous statements by the likes of Kessler: the Pink Panther character from the Sud-Tirol.