One of the defence lawyers for the Gzira gang is…..the Gzira mayor
Gzira - where the mayor cleans gang-members off the streets and then ties to get them off in court
Members of the Gzira gang who have beaten up, robbed and terrorised passers-by over the last several months were defended in court by none other than the Gzira mayor himself, Labour councillor Chris Bonnett, who removed his mayoral hat and put on that of defence lawyer instead.
This is pure, utter insanity – just the sort of behavour which undermines public trust in the system.
So, as mayor of Gzira, Chris Bonnett promises to work to eliminate gang crime in the town. And then when gang members are caught by the police and prosecuted, he acts as defence lawyer.
As somebody a lot younger than I am might say: WTF?
There’s more. Other gang members were defended by the mayor of Pieta, PN councillor Malcolm Mifsud. While Pieta isn’t Gzira and you don’t have that shameful element of hypocrisy, with the Gzira mayor defending Gzira gang-members, it still doesn’t look good at all.
This is the kind of farce we have been led to believe is unavoidable because ‘Malta is small and everyone has the right to the lawyer of his or her choice.’
Wrong. And wrong again.
This is what is known as conflict of interest. You can’t be a mayor who promises to clean up gang crime in your town and also the defence lawyer for the very gang members who are causing all the trouble.
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I am utterly speechless. Quo vadis Malta? What exactly is happening in this island of ours?
Are you making a fuss out of it just because the mayor happened to be a Labourite?
[Daphne – G-R-O-A-N. I am making a fuss about it because it is completely unacceptable (to the point of madness, in fact) and shouldn’t be allowed to slip past public notice. You may also have failed to notice that I highlighted the involvement of the mayor of Pieta, who is Nationalist.]
First the people complain to the police about this ruthless gang which was terrorising Gzira citizens and tourists alike, and I think that the council was four square with its citizens!
Then when these criminals are caught, the mayor ignores his own townspeople and instead of acting as parte civile in favour of his residents, he defends these criminals. This is political suicide. But when one knows that this petty lawyer Chris Bonnett was one of Pulse’s members at the university, then I am not surprised.
Nothing to get excited about. In such cases, if the mayor is called in as witness for the prosecution, the cross examination is conducted by means of a large mirror. Standard procedure.
Good one!
And thank you, Daphne, for bringing out this “minor” detail. It escaped The Times’ attention, apparently.
@Macduff – To be fair, although the names of the defence lawyers did not appear in the afternoon online version of The Times (http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20100502/local/gzira-sliema-gang-charged), they were mentioned in the report of the following day (http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20100503/local/gzira-youth-gang-members-convicted).
[Daphne – Yes, but they didn’t point out that defence lawyer Chris Bonnett and Gzira mayor Christian Paul Bonnett are one and the same person.]
Unfu…n believable!
This is like a very close relative of a deputy prime minister defending a person accused of attacking the assistant of the prime minister!
It was ridiculous then as it is ridiculous now!
[Daphne – Again, why not mention names? You’re talking about Giannella Caruana Curran taking up the brief to defend Meinrad Calleja on charges of attempted murder of the prime minister’s personal assistant, when her father was deputy prime minister.]
Actually I wasn’t sure YOU wouldn’t cut out the names but yes, we all know about that ridiculous case! Apologies!
In fact I still wince when I think about it.
AND I’m surprised we haven’t seen Gianella Caruana Curraan in Labour’s business forum!
Just like the notary who lambasted a huge development project in the parliament and then cheerfully rode the gravy train. The same notary who was recently questioned the values of the Prime Minister in relation to the power station contract.
They are certainly a case for cutting edge philosophical and psychological field work!
[Daphne – Why not mention his name? This information is in the public domain already: Charles Mangion.]
Unbelievable and goes to show the hypocrisy that we live in.
Nice article, but you have a typo in the caption :P “tries”, not “ties”.
Pajjiz tal-Mickey Mouse – avolja huwa insult ghal Mickey Mouse.
Mickey Mouse may be funny to some. Living here with all these goings-on is not.
Sounds like an episode straight out of “The Simpsons”.
I’m sorry, I just had to laugh.
Typical ‘thick thinking’. The local law degree program must be attempting to compete with ‘Dumb and Dumber’.
If I were a gang member I wouldn’t want to be defended by the person who has a vested interest in getting rid of me.
You can actually argue the reverse. It is in their interest to have at least one potential plaintiff on their side (payroll).
This is plain unethical behaviour. Most professions are governed by a code of ethics. This does not guarantee ethical behaviour, but at least the ethical principles and standards should be clearly spelled out.
what a joke
If we can still go around boasting we’re Catholics while we live like heathens, then the mayor’s step of donning the toga to defend the gang terrorizing his own town is par for the course.
Has anyone read James Tyrell’s letter to Malta Today on Wednesday. Now that, for me is hypocritical.
Will someone please metaphorically clobber him because he is nauseatingly daft. Fancy calling Gordon Brown an idiot when it is he who is!
What a joke!
This is crazy….bloody unbelievable.
Seems that the Mayor of Gzira is the sort of lawyer who would defend a man charged with raping his own daughter.
What’s stopping the people of Gzira from doing something about this guy, before one of his clients gets somebody killed?
[Daphne – They can vote him out at the next local council election, but first they have to be aware of what he’s doing.]
It’s not like the Maltese have a spectacular memory. Come next local council election everybody would forget and if you remind them, they’ll compare your behaviour to that of an STD.
I think the laws of democracy should be updated to protect people from filth like this.
If they can’t do their jobs, like everybody else they should be replaced with somebody who is relatively better.
Just like people are chosen by a board of company representatives to be employed, I see the politicians in the same light, with the differences that they’ve made up laws to protect their bullshit status and that a lot of ignorant people are choosing who gets the job.
I’m rather disillusioned with democracy. I’d much prefer a benevolent dictatorship by someone honest, fair, generous, intelligent, well-educated, hard-working and incorruptable.
Tim, I would fit that bill.
Tim, your sarcasm was noted, but I was suggesting a minor improvement on what we have, rather than an idealistic dictatorship.
Democracy may be the best form of government available, but this doesn’t mean that we cannot improve it. It’s this sort of closed minded belittling that allows people on top to do what they want.
If there is a flaw in the system that can be fixed they need not bother with it, because they have people like you to try and convince others that there is a big evil wannabe-dictator monster waiting to seize control if we ever try to change the system to our advantage. Each to his own I guess.
@ il-GINGER
Nahseb li qed tesagera hafna……is-sur Bonnett ma jixraqqlux
dak kollu li qed tghidu fuqu.
@ Daphne
Nemmen li kien hemm pampaluni avukati li hadu dan it-tip ta’ xoghol biss il-Gzira hu rahal zghir u kullhadd jaf il-kullhadd u Chris u tifel popolari , b’hekk sabu lilu.
Nahseb vera qed tghid li forsi kont aggressiv izzejjed fil-kummenti li ghaddejt, imma dawn l-affarijiet hafna jdejjquni ghax ghalija mhux talli mhux qed jaghmel dmiru w lanqas xogholhu, imma hadd ma jista jaghmilu xejn ghax ma ghandhux boss biex jsaqsieh x’kien qed jahseb meta ddecieda jaccetta xoghol li jmur kontra dawk li hu suppost qed jirrapressenta.
What a useless country we live in.
Well I suppose if the gang members are Gzira residents then the Mayor is just defending his constituents. After all they just made a ‘mistake’, or perhaps a good number of mistakes, and deserve all the help they can get.
I would suggest that he also act as lawyer for the persons that have been attacked, provided of course that they are Gzira residents.
And while at it he could no doubt also be a valuable witness.
Conflicts of interest should not have been allowed.
This is a report about the Gzira gang.
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20100427/local/gang-attacking-people-in-gzira-police-step-up-patrols
This is crazy. Are these people for real. This situation is absurd and incredible!
I see no conflict whatsoever. All this fuss is based on a misunderstanding of the role of a defence lawyer. A defence lawyer’s role is simply that of ensuring that his client gets what he deserves (nothing more and nothing less). This is essentially the basis of our adversarial system of litigation.
The fact that he is Gzira’s mayor does not mean that he cannot act as a lawyer and defend his client according to law. In my opinion you are making a storm out of a teacup.
Moreover a person is presumed innocent until proven guilty. Unfortuantely it appears that the rules on this blog are the exact opposite.
“Moreover a person is presumed innocent until proven guilty. Unfortuantely it appears that the rules on this blog are the exact opposite.”
The gang members pleaded guilty and were convicted, or hadn’t you noticed?
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20100503/local/gzira-youth-gang-members-convicted
@s. gauci – dont make me laugh “NO CONFLICT OF INTEREST” mela what is a conflict of interest to you. This is a case of I scratch your back and you scratch mine, come local council elections and they can vote for him again !
Dan ifisser ukoll li, meta jinqala xi incident iehor simili il-Gzira, is-Sindku ma jkunx jista jiehu azzjoni fil-kunsill jekk xi hadd mill-gang ikun klient tieghu, minhabba etika professjonali.
@ S Gauci wtf?!?! A defence lawyer’s role is to get his client off the hook! And not to ensure he gets what he deserves. That’s the role of the judiciary, if found guilty.
I’m afraid that you have a very mistaken impression of the way the judicial system works.
Isn’t there some Chamber of Advocates to ensure ethical behavior by lawyers?
[Daphne – Christian Bonnett the lawyer wasn’t doing anything unethical. Christian Bonnett the mayor was, though.]
So there’s nothing that can be done in this country to safeguard us from such a situation? This is plain sleaze!
It looks like not everyone realises that not all that is legal is necessarily ethically or morally correct.
As the town’s mayor, this defence lawyer’s priority should have been the “welfare” of his town, not the defence of members of the gang allegedly terrorising it.
Only in Malta.
Imagine something like this happening in the US.
Ara kif kienu joqomsu tal-Labour kieku Chris Bonnett kien mayor Nazzjonalist! SINDKU NAZZJONALIST F’ATT FAHXI KONTRA IR-RESIDENTI TAL-GZIRA.
Can’t the mayor of Gzira clear the streets of prostitution? If prostitutes are prosecuted for soliciting in public, will he defend them? It doesn’t seem to make any difference to him.
There is one word in English that says it all regarding this despicable behaviour: GREED. Translated faithfully into Maltese: HNIZRIJA. With apologies to our four-legged friends, purveyors of so many unforgettable Sunday roasts.
gimme a f**king break!
Take your pick!
http://www.flickr.com/groups/haveabreak/
Am addressing both mayors here, SHAME, SHAME on you both.
Mela insejtu il-gurament li hadtu meta ilhaqtu sindki li tnaddfu il-lokal taghkom minn kull hmieg, u dan mhux hmieg? X’sa tghidilhom lill-magistrat li dawn iz-zghzagh ghadhom halib-ommom-fi-snienhom? Li huma first-timers?
Mela ma taqrawx gazzetti biex taraw x’qed jigri barra minn Malta, li anke jaslu biex jaghmlu qtil bejn klikek? U dawn mhux ‘l hemm resqin? U il-qorti, nispera li ma ttihomx ‘suspended sentences’ jew xi multa.
Ahjar ittihom jaghmlu xoghol fil-kommunita. U ahna l-anzjani, minn jaf kemm minnhom bezghu jixirfu barra minn darhom, u issa li riesaq is-sajf, nistghu nohorgu fit-tard hdejn il-bahar ghax nibzghu minn xi ‘gang’.
Nappella lilhek, Daphne, il-kitba tieghek ghanda sahha aktar minn tieghi, aqbez ghalina l-anzjani please, u intkom, sinjuri sindki, ser tiddefenfuhom lill dawn, min jaf kemm sa jidhku bikhom in-nies ta l-affari taghhom, u tigux thabbtili il-bieb ghall-vot darba ohra.
Min jaf li kieku ommkom jew missierkom kellu jkun vittma ta’dawn iz-zghazagh? Xi tghidu imbaghad? Mela naghtu tghallima lill uhud li jithajjru isiru bhalhom, multa mil qorti x’ser tiswa? Please, please, give them a lesson, u halluna nghixu fil-paci.
And don’t tell me they do it for kicks, tnehhilhom in-n***k li ghandhom trid.
If it weren’t so shameful it would have been hilarious.