UPDATED WITH A HOT SCOOP: SMOKIN' JOE SAMMUT LETS HIS PROFESSIONAL SECRECY SLIP. AND YES, HE IS THE GADDAFIS' MONEY MAN.
Snoop Dogg: he thinks Mutassim's man Joe Sammut is smokin'.
Some days ago you read on this website about a New York Post report which claimed that $185,000 were wired from Joe Sammut, described as “a Maltese financier” to Nikki Beach in St Barts as payment for a party thrown by Mutassim Gaddafi.
Before running the story, I rang Mr Sammut, a Labour activist and former Labour Party treasurer, to see whether he had issued a denial. No, he had not. So I asked him whether he would like to give me a denial before I ran the piece, and he said that he can’t comment “because of professional secrecy”.
I pointed out that professional secrecy only applies to clients: ethical rules prevent professionals from saying who their clients are, but not from saying who their clients are not. So I would take his refual to speak as confirmation that the Gaddafi family are his clients and that he looks after their money and pays the bills for their parties. Mr Sammut reiterated that he wouldn’t speak because of professional secrecy.
Having read the detailed biography on his website, I knew that at some point the ‘arani ma’ desire to show off would overwhelm all that talk about professional secrecy. The need of the smalltime-boy-made-big to boast would prove irresistible. As it turns out, it had done so already.
Back in August 2008, Joe Sammut – then a regular columnist for L-Orizzont – wrote a piece for the newspaper (read it further down) in which he described how music star Snoop Dogg had nicknamed him Smokin’ Joe. Snoop Dogg, he wrote, was one of the performers contracted for a party which “foreign clients” had asked him to “control financially” for them that month in Porto Cervo, Sardinia. He had been organising these parties for the same clients for the last few years, he wrote.
I wasn’t going to ring Joe Sammut again to ask him to confirm or deny whether all these parties in Porto Cervo and elsewhere, including the August 2008 party at which Snoop Dogg performed, were for the Gaddafis, because I knew that all I’d get is that same spiel about professional secrecy. Apparently, professional secrecy doesn’t prevent him writing L-orizzont articles about the parties he paymasters for clients and who he pays to perform for them, but it does stop him answering questions when journalists call.
But who needs Joe Sammut to answer questions when you have YouTube? And sure enough, there it was: a video of Snoop Dogg’s performance in Porto Cervo, filed as GHEDDAFI PRIVATE PARTY WITH SNOOP DOGG AND NICKY WIDE. It was uploaded by Nicky Wide, resident DJ at Sopravento in Porto Cervo, in September 2008.
Joe Sammut also mentioned in his article that over the years of ‘financially controlling’ parties for these same clients, he had met performers Nelly Furtado and Enrique Iglesias, among others.
A couple of clicks on the internet, and there they were. Nelly Furtado performed for the Gaddafi brothers in a hotel in Italy in 2007, was paid $1 million and a few days ago, when the Libyan crisis erupted, said that she would donate $1 million to charity because she was ashamed of having done the job.
Enrique Inglesias performed for Saadi and Mutassim Gadaffi on 31 December 2005 at Nikki Beach, St Barts.
It’s time for the Maltese sanctions enforcers to take a very close look at Joe Sammut’s financial transactions and bank accounts. He is clearly ‘controlling financially’, as he puts it, the high-rolling parties thrown by the Gaddafi sons in the Caribbean and Sardinia. When Mutassim Gaddafi denied paying for the party in St Barts last year, he was technically correct, because the money came from Malta.
Sanctions apart, there are now some important questions that must be asked and answered. Who recommended Joe Sammut to the Gaddafis as a reliable keeper of their purse in Malta? Given that he was the Labour Party’s treasurer, it is pertinent to ask whether the relationship between Muammar Gaddafi and the Malta Labour Party is not just political but also financial.
Did Gaddafi bankroll the Labour Party in the same way that he bankrolled Dom Mintoff’s social services programme? Is the Labour Party still now receiving money from Libya which would account for its reluctance to commit itself in this crisis?
He who pays the piper calls the tune. Too bad Smokin’ Joe couldn’t keep his mouth shut.
——————-
L-Orizzont – It-Tnejn 25 ta’ Awissu 2008
“Smoking Joe”
minn Joe Sammut
Imma jien ma npejjipx. Kont, iżda m’għadnix. U nittama li ma npejjep qatt aktar. U allura ma stajtx nifhem għaliex wara biss ftit ħin beda jsejjaħli proprju hekk. Il-lingwaġġ tal-mużika RAP ma nifhmux. Imma miegħi, għal jumejn sħaħ kelli r-re tal-mużika Rap, Snoop Dogg (ritratt). U, ħaġa ta’ l-iskantament, sirna ħbieb sew.
“Smoking” RAPeristikament tfisser xi ħaġa totalment differenti. L-aktar definizzjoni viċina probabbilment hija “rassiguranti”. U Snoop, bl-aġġettiv li faqqagħli, ried juri l-apprezzament tiegħu għall-fatt li miegħi ħassu komdu. Trankwill. Bla problemi. Għalija xejn ta’ barra minn din id-dinja.
Dak proprju kien mistenni minni. Imma għal Snoop, l-atteġġjament tiegħi kien ħafna ’l fuq minn dak li kien jistenna minni jew minn dak li normalment jistenna minn ħaddieħor b’missjoni eżatt bħal tiegħi. U allura sparali l-kelma “smoking” quddiem ismi.
Fl-aħħar snin, eżatt fil-festa ta’ Santa Marija, klijenti barranin inkarigawni biex finanzjarjament nikkontrolla festa privata li jagħmlu għal diversi mistednin distinti f’Porto Cervo, f’Sardegna. Finanzjarjament ifisser ħafna drabi “hands on”, jiġifieri preżenza fiżika biex tassigura li l-affari ma toħroġx barra mill-kontroll tiegħek. Li jfisser allura li f’dawn l-aħħar snin iltqajt ma’ persuni li qatt ma ħlomt li nista’ niltaqa’ magħhom wiċċ imbwiċċ.
Shaggy, Nelly Furtado, Enrique Iglesias u tlieta, erbat ijiem ilu lil Snoop Dogg. Biex ma nsemmix għadd ta’ persuni oħrajn ta’ l-ispettaklu Taljan li jkunu mistiedna appuntu għal din il-festa. Imma, bla ebda disrispett lejn ħadd, inħoss li l-aktar li laqgħatni minnhom kollha kien proprju Snoop. Intelliġenti, famuż u fl-istess ħin umli. Anzi umli żżejjed. Fuq kollox imma b’qalb ta’ tarbija u tad-deheb f’daqqa. Insomma, 180 grad differenti minn kif tpinġih il-midja lil dan ir-re tar-Rap.
Stennejtu kif konna miftehmin f’‘lounge’ partikolari fl-Ajruport ta’ Fiumicino. Jien wasalt qablu anke jekk waħda miż-żewġ titjiriet li kelli nagħmel biex nasal Ruma telqet siegħa tard. L-ajruport ta’ Katanja huwa kaos organizzat. Jinbidel il-bini. Imma l-mentalità tibqa’ l-istess. Kjuwijiet kontra kjuwijiet. U ħadd ma jagħmel xejn. Kulħadd donnu kuntent. Ħlief dawk li jridu jivvjaġġjaw.
Waqt li kont qed nistennih fil-‘lounge’ ta’ l-Ajruport ta’ Ruma “ħbatt” ma’ Renzo Arbore. Kien sejjer Sqallija biex jagħti ‘show’ hemmhekk. Ilni niftakru minn meta twelidt. U quddiemi rajt persuna li donnu ż-żmien, biex inkun pulit, għamel miegħu inqas milli għamel ma’ ħaddieħor. Imma le. Illużjoni ottika. Aktar naħseb “ix-xogħol” plastiku. Tipo Berlusconi. Il-bqija krema u “ice-cream” kosmetiku. Ix-xjuħija tista’ taħbiha, iżda taħrabha qatt.
Ftit minuti u waslet il-persuna li għall-jumejn ta’ wara kelli noqgħod magħha. Tant biex niżgura li kif jgħidu l-Ingliżi, ma jitħalla xejn “to chance”. L-affari kellha tibda, tkompli u tispiċċa bl-aktar mod trankwill possibbli. L-ebda problema u l-ebda ntopp. Wara dawn is-snin sirt kważi espert u l-problemi tibda xxommhom mill-bogħod. U tgħallimt anke nbassarhom.
Ftit kliem tal-bidu… dak li l-Ingliżi jgħidulu “small talk”. Titjira kif kienet? Los Angeles kif ħallejtu? Insomma, ridt “nikser is-silġ”, bħalma jgħidu fl-Ingliż. Sadanittant, ‘hostesses’ minn hawn u persuni oħrajn minn hemm, kollha jridu jieħdu ritratt miegħu. Ma nafx minn fejn bdew ħerġin. Lanqas is-CNN ma jasal daqstant veloċi.
Kellna titjira privata. F’inqas minn tliet kwarti konna diġà fl-Ajruport ta’ Olbia, f’Costa Smeralda. Minn hemm dritt lejn villaġġ turistiku fil-qrib, qalb l-għoljiet li jdawru Olbia, imma b’faċċata mill-bogħod lejn il-baħar. U hawn konna, jien f’kamra u Snoop fil-kamra ta’ ħdejja. Ġirien totalment differenti. Jien mill-Mosta. Hu minn Los Angeles. Hu r-“Re tar-Rap” u jien lanqas naf xi tfisser.
Wara ftit irċevejt messaġġ mingħandu li ried ikellimni. Mort għandu mill-ewwel. X’ħin rani ġie jgħannaqni. Minkejja t-tul li għandu (kważi kważi jiekol minn fuq rasi – u jien m’inix qasir) ħassejt li kienet tgħanniqha ta’ tifel żgħir qed jgħannaq lil missieru. Naħseb li minn hawn ġiet l-istorja ta’ “Smoking Joe”.
Talabni żewġ affarijiet u qdejtu mill-ewwel. Tkellimna qisna konna ilna nafu lil xulxin snin twal. Rajt f’għajnejh serenità assoluta. S’issa, imma, ma kontx għadni qed nara l-intelliġenza li eventwalment rajt aktar tard. Imma l-umiltà iva. Diskorsu kien qisu ta’ tarbija. L-ebda traċċa ta’ qżież li normalment huwa assoċjat ma’ min in-natura tatu dak il-ftit aktar u allura seta’ jagħmel żewġ mili aktar fil-ħajja.
U r-relazzjoni bejni u bejn Snoop bdiet minn hawn. Kultant iċempilli u kultant jibgħatli messaġġ li ried ikellimni. Anke fis-sagħtejn ta’ filgħodu. Ma ġara xejn. Xogħli kien li ma jiġri xejn li jista’ jitfa’ f’riskju l-festa privata. U allura waqt li ried nara li dak li kont responsabbli għalih jibqa’ għaddej kif ippjanat, ridt nassigura wkoll li Snoop ikun fl-aqwa kundizzjoni psikoloġika. B’hekk jirrendi ħafna aktar fil-valur meta jiġi t-‘turn’ tiegħu fl-okkażjoni organizzata.
U proprju hekk kien. Għax fil-Pevero Club, Snoop Dogg faqqa’ spettaklu mill-aqwa. Mużika mill-isbaħ u lirika mill-aktar intelliġenti. Anke jien li kważi ma nifhem xejn fil-mużika, ħassejt li dak li kien qed jagħmel Snoop kien ta’ l-ogħla livell dinji. Hekk wkoll smajthom jgħidu l-mistednin distinti li minn warajhom bdejt nagħqad ħalli niskandilja r-reazzjoni tagħhom. Insomma, serata tal-ġenn.
U hekk kif spiċċa, minn fost u minn qalb dawk in-nies kollha, ġie jgħannaqni. U erġajna. Tgħanniqa ta’ tifel żgħir lejn xi ħadd li fih u miegħu seta’ jafda. Min jaf x’qalu dawk il-mistednin VIP. Jgħidu dan min hu??? Mur għidilhom li dan hu t-tifel ta’ Kurċi ta’ ħdejn l-Iskola tal-Mosta. Għal Valeria Marini, Bobo Vieri u oħrajn li kienu hemm, forsi dan il-fatt ma kien ifisser xejn. Imma għal ommi Kurċi konvint li jfisser ħafna.
Il-festa għaddiet u ftit sigħat wara, Snoop u jien erġajna flimkien fuq titjira oħra privata minn Olbia għal Ruma. Wasalna Ruma s-Sibt li għadda fis-7.30 ta’ fil-għodu. Hu kellu ‘connection’ għal Los Angeles fid-9.20. U allura dritt dritt għas-sala tat-titjiriet internazzjonali. L-aħħar tgħanniqa bejn ħbieb veri. U mill-ġdid l-espressjoni “Smoking Joe”. Indur warajja u nara diversi tfajliet jistennew biex jieħdu ritratt ma’ Snoop.
Imxejt lejn ‘taxi’ biex teħodni lejn lukanda f’Ruma li l-klijenti tiegħi kienu bbukkjaw għalija. Irkibt u waqt li x-xufier kien qed jistartja rajt lil Snoop għadu mdawwar jieħdulu r-ritratti. Ma jafx jgħid le. Qatt, meta staqsewh, ma qal le. Dejjem iva. U b’qalb sħiħa u mhux b’nofsha. Dan huwa Snoop Dogg… totalment differenti minn kif ipinġuh jew kif tpinġih il-midja.
U f’Ruma, waqt li dieħel fil-lukanda u waqt li dieħel fil-kamra ma stajtx ma nosservax il-lussu u l-kumdità ma’ kulfejn tħares. L-Exedra tinsab bejn il-Quirinale u l-Istazione Termini, jiġifieri bejn il-Palazz tal-President u l-istazzjon tal-ferroviji.
Ftakart l-ewwel darba li sifirt f’għomri. Ftakart id-dettalji kollha. Fejn mort noqgħod f’Ruma, Corso Principe Amadeo, f’waħda mill-‘pensioni’ eżistenti u li biex tuża l-kamra tal-banju trid tħallas żejjed u trid toqgħod fil-kju. Darba minnhom, biex niffrankaw, konna dħalna tnejn flimkien fil-kamra tal-banju. Kienet is-sena 1976. Tnejn u tletin sena ilu.
Imma l-aktar li ftakart kien il-fatt li kont ngħaddi minn quddiem lukandi ta’ lussu, proprju waħda minnhom l-Exedra, u kont ngħir għal dawk in-nies li kont nara deħlin fihom. Huma f’dak il-lussu u jien f’biċċa ‘pensione’, b’kamra tal-banju li trid taqsam mal-bqija ta’ dawk li kienu fil-lukanda u bl-ikliet ta’ fil-għaxija li kienu jirrispettaw ferm aktar il-prezzijiet milli dak li kien qed jiddetta u jistenna l-istonku.
Iż-żminijiet u l-fortuni jinbidlu u jinqalbu. Imma ma trid qatt tinsa minn fejn tlaqt. U waqt li qiegħed fl-Exedra, waħda mill-aktar lukandi lussużi, ma nistax ma niftakarx kemm hawn persuni li jixtiequ jkunu hawn u ma jistgħux. Eżattament bħalma kont jien 32 sena ilu. Kemm hawn persuni li mhux talli ma jistgħux jiġu hawn, talli lanqas fejn joqogħdu m’għandhom.
Kemm hawn persuni li mhux talli jridu jistennew wara xulxin biex jużaw il-kamra tal-banju, talli m’għandhom l-ebda faċilità sanitarja. Kemm hawn persuni li mhux talli l-prezzijiet ma jirrispettawx dak li jiddetta l-istonku, talli jqumu u jorqdu bil-ġuħ. Kemm hawn persuni li qatt ma ħarġu miż-żona ta’ fejn twieldu. Aħseb u ara kemm siefru.
U hawn kont jien. F’mument melankoniku nirrifletti kemm kont ixxurtjat f’ħajti. X’sagrifiċċji kbar għamlet ommi biex tarani tiela’ ’l fuq ferm u ferm aħjar minn kif telgħet hi. L-istudju li dejjem kienet issus warajja biex ma nittraskurax. L-ansjetajiet li dejjem qsamna flimkien. Il-ferħ u d-dwejjaq. Imma aktarx l-aktar ħaġa kbira li għallmitni hi li qatt ma ninsa minn fejn tlaqt.
Probabbilment għalhekk “Smoking Joe”.
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Excuse my ignorance, Daphne, but I fail to see the significance of the above and labour’s financial involvement with tyrants such as Gaddafi. Perhaps the link lies in the clip aired on Bondi+, which I didn’t watch. I could probably have derived more pleasure out of counting all the tiles in my house and multiplying that manually to the number of hairs in my dog’s coat than reading that drivel. Could someone please spell it out.
[Daphne – I just have, in an updated version.]
Thanks Daphne. You keep reminding me why this is the first site I come to as soon as I switch on my laptop and the last one I visit before I switch off.
I quite enjoyed reading this. I had never read anything by this man. He writes well here. At the same time I reinforce my belief that what people are like in real life is never like what they seem from their writings.
Dery, you just don’t get it, do you. This is not about the quality of Joe Sammut’s writing.
You did not get what I meant either, did you?
The only thing I had read by this guy was a eulogy of KMB.
Dery, apparently you haven’t read Smokin’ Joe’s CV. It’s on his website (Profits not Principles posted a link below). I have only just read it, and it confirms Daphne’s comment about “arani ma.” Here is a short extract:
“In a nutshell, Joe tries to offload a forty hour day into a 24 hour one. Sleep comes last and in small dosage. He sleeps at midnight and wakes up at 05.00 for his customary 40 minute power walking exercise on the promenade at Qawra – St Paul’s Bay. Weekends are restricted to a mere Saturday morning. By Saturday afternoon, everything comes back to life especially from Libya where Joe maintains most of his professional and business contacts. It’s a long and bumpy journey. Asked if he would have changed anything, Joe responds with his customary “Do you have another question?””
Jaqq.
“Smoking Joe” jew “Hugging Joe”?
‘Smokin’ as in smokin shit? As in ‘smashed out of my brains with that shit I smoke? The way he rambles on in his piece makes one wonder.
I wonder what Snoop Dogg really thought about the crawling Gaddafi lackey from Malta, but then Snoop Dogg was prepared to do the job, wasn’t he.
Smokin’ gun.
Video of the Gaddafi party paymastered by Joe Sammut:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9z49cm0r_0
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-12618084
Joe Sammut writes in his piece that one of the singers who performed at these clients’ parties is Nelly Furtado. The BBC report here says that she performed at a party for the Gaddafi sons in a hotel in Italy in 2007.
Joe Sammut says that Enrique Iglesias was another singer who performed at his clients’ parties. Here are the details:
http://www.contactmusic.com/new/xmlfeed.nsf/story/enrique-performed-for-gaddafis-sons
Perhaps we should pronounce Labour as Libya. The Libya party…… sounds about right.
[Daphne – Not fair to Libya, though the Gaddafi Party should do it.]
The Gaddafi Party, literally. The Smokin’ Wally has been at it for years, too. That Enrique Inglesias gig took place in December 2005.
And Enrique Iglesias refused to socialize after the gig, preferring to remain in his VIP room. Maybe hindsight made him wiser.
Professional idiocy (at least in understanding the online environment).
Smokin’ Joe – cool nickname. Pity that we in Mosta know that his real nickname is Il-Pixtu.
Well, Daphne, no wonder the Labour Party does its best to bring you down.
I sincerely hope that the powers-that-be take a serious look into Joseph Sammut’s dealings. You’ve done a lot of the research for them.
You’re a true journalist.
Of course she is, and a good one at that. If only she and il-larry king tal-fqar put the same effort in rummaging into PN closets, for once, us readers and viewers, would indeed receive a true and fair picture – not a cleverly distorted one. But why would they want to do that, I ask?
No one should be spared. As we stand, though, unless you happen to be a PL constituent or a disgruntled PN element on the brink of being kicked out (if you haven’t already) there is no way you will be investigated by the Bondi and Daphne brigade.
[Daphne – Lou Bondi is a grown man and a separate entity and can answer for himself, but has it ever occurred to you that I don’t, say, write about the PN’s ex treasurer’s dealings with Muammar Gaddafi’s sons because he never had any? The trouble with people like you – you think of yourselves as dispassionate but really are not – is that you view the MLP and the PN as equal. They are patently not. The reasons why I have never voted and will – as things stand – never vote for the Labour Party are the very same reasons I find so much to write about them. And the inverse is the case with the PN. Another problem people like you have is that you think the way I write and what I choose to write about is due to prejudice or bias. It isn’t. I hate to break it to you, or even to mention it, but it’s due to sharpness. That’s why I can see that politicians taking a free trip on Muammar Gaddafi’s private jet is a whole lot more serious, with wider implications, than politicians taking a trip on a businessman co-national’s plane. Unfortunately, though, I work in an environment where some people are daft enough to criticise the prime minister for paying for his own plane (waste of taxpayers’ money) while praising the leader of the opposition for cadging a lift from Gaddafi (iffranka l-flus kemm hu wise).]
Daphne brigade?! Where do I join up?
Bajd u Laham, what’s stopping you or anyone else from ‘rummaging into (sic) PN closets’? Go ahead and do it, if you can.
The fact is that the PN have made a few cock-ups (I’d start with Joe Tabone’s tenure as CEO of KM) but nothing they’ve done compares even remotely with the ‘hnizrijiet’ that the PL/MLP have done.
It’s like criticising Churchill and Hitler. You don’t have to be Einstein to work out who has the longer list of atrocities, do you? Now look dispassionately at the PN and the MLP and you will see that the situation is highly comparable. It’s as simple as that.
Not just – She is the ONLY journalist.
I mean how uncultured do you have to be not to know the meaning of the label “smokin'” – in itself a symbol of a sub-culture?
Mela dak qatt xamm spliff minn hogor il-mummy f’qieh il-Mosta?
The Malta Labour Party is just out of this world: a propaganda secretary who produces amateur porn with the party’s pom-pom girls in the party HQ. And now an ex (sorry, eks) treasurer who procures (singers) for Mutassim and Saadi Gaddafi, creams off a nice fat fee of ill-gotten gains and does a bit of smokin’ with Snoop Dogg while waiting for the Gaddafi jet (sorry, jat) to pick them up for the trip to Porto Cervo.
Partit tal-korrotti u kretini.
Daphne certainly deserves a medal.
It tfal jonqfu il-miljuni fix-xalar u il-povru missierhom irid jghaddi b’ 450 dinar fix -xahar li qal li jdahhal. Tghid ghandu lil Smokin’ Joe ukoll biex jghinu jkampa b’ dik il-mizerja?
The ex treasurer of the Labour Party is now the treasurer of the Gaddafi sons.
It is important to note that Beyonce gave her fee to charity a year ago, not now like Nelly Furtado did. Furtado waited until the crisis erupted. Beyonce did not. She realised immediately that she was wrong to perform for the Gaddafi sons.
So, whether due to career considerations or not, it was never regarded as ethical to do business with the Gaddafi family (as opposed to commercial ventures with the ‘government’).
I wonder which charity Joe Sammut gave HIS Gaddafi fee to – the Malta Labour Party, perhaps?
X’tahwid ta’ nies.
It’s bloody obvious now that the sanctions-enforcers who are trying to trace Saadi Gaddafi’s ‘boat’, the Che Guevara, which spent a lot of time on the hard at Manoel Island not too long ago, will find these contact details http://www.joesammut.eu/?q=contact helpful.
Apparently, he hasn’t updated his website in the last 24 hours. In fact, under “Latest News” he has “No news available at this moment.”
I think he should post a link to this blog – there is news about him here.
Daphne, Joe Sammut tried to fob you off by claiming “professional secrecy” while he himself let his “clients” down by dropping names, dates, places which eventually led back to his “clients”.
I agree with you the “arani ma” syndrome must have been too much for him.
I do not think the Gaddafi regime paid “children allowances” only. The Malta Financial Services Authority is going to have its work cut out getting to the bottom of this scandal.
Scandal? Be reminded that until a few days ago the Gaddafi regime was a legitimate one in the eyes of international bodies, and, well, almost everyone. Gaddafi’s sons have investments in truckloads of legitimate companies, e.g. Tamoil, Juventus, Unicredit – most of which are quoted on stock exchanges around the world. So take it easy there with your statements.
If we want to discredit companies and people who dealt with these tyrants, well, let’s not do it arbitrarily and instead do it with everything and everyone who had, in some way or the other, a relationship with them – from head of states giving them mementos and medals, others smooching the living daylights out of them only a few days ago (and only god knows what favours was asked of them), financial advisers processing their payments, countries transhipping weapons to them, so on and so forth.
It is not a scandal that Joe Sammut does not answer Daphne’s and Bondi’s questions. He has every right to do so, especially if he thinks that his answers might be misused and manipulated. It would be, yes, a scandal if he does not collaborate with the official competent investigative and regulatory bodies, which, to my understanding, hasn’t happened yet. So, again, easy there!
http://johnjohnsaidit.com/snoop-dogg-lights-up-smokin-song-for-prince-williams-bachelor-party/
A “safer” bet, I’ll bet!
Yet another nouveau riche bhal Johnny taghna dan.
Does this Joe Sammut have all the Gaddafi money in his name and if so, doesn’t the taxman ask were all the mula is coming from? Even the banks ask questions when a deposit excedes a certain amount.
Forsi ghalhekk mela ma riduhiex l-onorarja! Tghid bdejt nifhem xi haga.
http://www.suite101.com/content/furtado-beyonce-carey-and-usher-donate-gadaffi-money-to-charity-a356390
Furtado, Beyonce, Carey and Usher Donate Gadaffi Money to Charity
Nixtieq inkun naf jekk Gaddafi baghtx xi kemxa flus lil eks Tezorier tal-Partit Laburista, jew lil xi hadd iehor fil-Partit Laburista, ghall-bini tac-Centru Nazzjonali Laburista fil-Hamrun.
Niftakar li kien inbena f’inqas minn tlett snin. Minn fejn gew il-flus? Jista KMB jitfa xi ftit dawl? Jew Joe Sammut? Jew Reno Calleja?
Perhaps someone should ask the banks how much the Labour Party owes them.
Illum min attakkah lis -Sur Balzan u Malta Today, ghax mid-dehra ghandhom diffikulta u ma nistax nidhol.
The theme of this article, millionaires’ private parties and celebrities from the American music business industry, is surely not what one would expect from a workers’ union newspaper and ex-militants from workers’s party – but then again these are chavs we are talking about.
Nies li qatt ma hargu mid-dar.
I’ve translated Sammut’s L-Orizzont piece for those who don’t speak Maltese.
SMOKIN’ JOE
But I don’t smoke. I used to, but no longer. And I hope that I won’t smoke again. And so I couldn’t understand why after only a short while (after first meeting) he used to call me that. I don’t understand RAP lingo. But with me, for two whole days, I had the king of Rap music, Snoop Dogg. And,really surprisingly, we became good friends.
RAPeristically, “Smoking” means something completely different. The closest definition is probably “reassuring”. And Snoop, with the adjective he slapped onto me, wanted to show his appreciation for the fact that with me he felt comfortable. Tranquil. Without any problem. Nothing out of this world for me.
That’s exactly what was expected of me. But for Snoop, my behaviour exceeded his expectations by far, and was more than he’d normally expect from someone on exactly the same mission as I was. And so he shot the word “smoking” ahead of my name.
During the last years, on the feast of Santa Maria to be exact, foreign clients appointed me to control financially a private party which they threw for distinguished guests in Porto Cervo, Sardegna. Financially often means “hands-on”, which means physical presence to ensure that things don’t go beyond your control. So this means that over the last years, I have met people whom I could never dream of meeting face to face.
Shaggy, Nelly Furtado, Enrique Iglesias and, three or four days ago, Snoop Dogg. Not to mention a number of other people involved on the Italian entertainment scene who were invited specifically to this party. But, without any insult to anyone, I feel that the one who struck me most out of the lot of them was Snooop, Intelligent, famous and yet, humble. Too humble. Although, above all, with the heart of a baby and yet of gold at the same time. Anyway, 180 degrees different to how this king of Rap is painted in the media.
I waited for him as we had planned, in a specific lounge at Fiumicino Airport. I arrived before him, although one of the two flights I had to catch to arrive in Rome left an hour late. The airport in Catania is organised chaos. The building changes. But the mentality remains the same. Queue upon queue. And nobody does anything. Everyone seems to be happy. Except those who want to travel.
While I was waiting for him in the airport lounge in Rome, I bumped into Renzo Arbore. He was going to Sicily to give a show there. I remember him since I was born. And in front of me, I saw somebody for whom time, to be polite, took its toll on him less than it did to others. But no. An optical illusion. More, I think, plastic “works”. Kind of like Berlusconi. The rest, cream and cosmetic “ice cream”. You may hide old age, but you may never escape it.
A few minutes (later) and the person with whom I was to spend the next two days arrived. So, to make sure – as the English say – that nothing is left to chance. “The thing” was to begin, continue and end in the most tranquil way possible. No problem and no obstacle. After all these years, I became almost an expert and could smell problems from afar. And I even learnt how to foretell them.
A few words to start off … that which the English call “small talk”. What was the flight like? How did you leave Los Angeles? Whatever, I wanted to break the ice, as the English say. Meanwhile, hostesses from here, other people from there, all wanting to take a photo with him. I don’t know from where they kept appearing. Not even CNN arrives so swiftly.
We had a private flight. Within less than three quarters (of an hour) we were already at Olbia airport on the Costa Smeralda. From there straight to the tourist village in the vicinity, amidst the hills surrounding Olbia, but facing the sea in the distance. And here we were, me in a room and Snoop in the room next to mine. Completely different neightbours. Me from Mosta. Him from Los Angeles. Him the “King of Rap” and I don’t even know what rap is.
Shortly afterwards, I received a message from him saying that he wanted to talk to me. I went to him straight away. When he saw me, he came to hug me. Despite his height (he could almost eat off my head – and I am not short), I felt that the hug was that of a small boy hugging his father. I think that this is from where the “Smoking Joe” story came about.
He asked me for two things, and I served him (qdejtu) immediately. We spoke as though we had known each other for a long time. I saw absolute serenity in his eyes. At the time, I had not yet seen the intelligence I would eventually see. But the humility, yes. His discussion was like that of a baby. No trace of airs and graces which are normally associated with those given that much more by nature and who could thus go two miles ahead in life.
And the relationship between me and Snoop began here. Sometimes he rings me up and sometimes he send me a message saying that he wanted to talk to me. Even at two o’clock in the morning. It doesn’t matter. My work was (to ensure) that nothing happens which could put the private party at risk. And so, while I wanted to see that that which I was responsible for went as planned, I also wanted to ensure that Snoop will be in the best of psychological positions. That way, he would show more value when his turn came in the organised event.
And that’s how he was. Because in Pevero Club, Snoop Dogg gave one of the best shows ever. The best of music and the most intelligent of lyrics. Even I, who hardly understand anything about music, felt that that which Snoop did was of the highest level internationally. That is also what I heard the distinguished guests whom I stood behind to gauge their reaction. Anyway, a ‘bomb’ of an evening.
And when it was over, from amongst and out of all those people, he came to hug me. And again. A hug of a young man to somebody whom he could trust in and entrust with. Who knows what those VIP guests said. They would say who is this??? Imagine telling them that this is the son of Kurci of next to the school in Mosta. To Valeria Marini, Bobo Vieri and others who were there, maybe this fact meant nothing. But I am convinced that it meant a lot to my mother Kurci.
The party was over and a few hours later, Snoop and I were together again on another private flight from Olbia to Rome. We arrived in Rome last Saturday at 7.30am. He had a connection to Los Angeles at 9.20. And so straight on to the international departures hall. The last hug between true friends. And again the expression “Smoking Joe”. I turn around and see various young girls waiting to take a photo with Snoop.
I walked towards a taxi to take me to a hotel in Rome which my clients had booked for me. I hopped in and while the driver was starting I saw Snoop still surrounded having his photo taken. He doesn’t know how to say “no”. Never, when they asked him, did he say no. Always yes. And whole-heartedly never half-heartedly. This is Snoop Dogg … totally different from how the media paints him.
And in Rome, while going into the hotel and while going to my room I couldn’t help but observe the luxury and comfort wherever you look. The Exedra is between the Quirinale and Termini station, meaning between the president’s palace and the railway station.
I remembered the first time I ever went abroad in my whole life. I remember all the details. Where I went to stay in Rome, Corso Principe Amadeo, in one of the guesthouses there were and where to use the bathroom you had to pay more and queue up. Once, to save money, two of us went into the bathroom together. It was 1976. Thirty-two years ago.
But what I remembered most was the fact that I used to pass in front of the luxurious hotels, one of them being the Exedra, and how I was jealous of those people I would see going into them. Them in that luxury and me in a little guesthouse, with a bathroom that had to be shared with the rest of the people in the hotel and with the evening meal which would show more respect to prices than to that which the stomach wanted and expected.
Times and fortunes change and turn around. But you must never forget from where you left off. And while I was at the Exedra, one of the most luxurious hotels, I can’t help remembering how many people there are who wish to be here and can’t. Exactly as I was 32 years ago. How many people there are who not only can’t come here, but who have nowhere to live.
How many people there are who not only wait behind each other to use the bathroom, but who have no sanitary facilities. How many people there are who not only do the prices not respect what their stomach dictates, but who get up and go to sleep hungry. How many people there are who never left the zone where they were born. Let alone went abroad.
And here I was. In a melancholy moment I reflect how lucky I was in life. What great sacrifices my mother made to see me reaching very high and much higher than she ever did. The studying which she always pestered me to do to make sure I didn’t avoid it. The anxiety we always shared together. The happiness and sadness. But most probably the biggest (best) thing she ever taught me was to never forget from where I left off.
Probably that’s why “Smoking Joe.”
Thanks Maurice, arduous task no doubt.
However, I have one question for Sammut, ”who gives a shit?”
Err Joe …I think the name of the Rome hotel is “Esedera” not “Exedra” .
So Mr. Sammut appears to have organised private parties for a number of VIPs, which may have included Ghaddafi and sons… So… what’s the story? Is there one?
Let’s not forget that until two weeks ago, it was still legit for anyone to do business with Ghaddafi and Co., irrespective of whether business meant the party business, oil and gas projects or real estate.
Mr. Sammut could either have denied this story, which if proven true meant lying, or by confirming it meant being in breach of the Professional Secrecy Act. Mr. Sammut chose a half-baked solution, which failed dismally.
Moving on… It would be a story, if despite the UN sanctions, Mr. Sammut were sill dealing obo Ghaddafi and Co. Nothing suggests this, so I ask again, where is the story?
In a similar vein, why not run a story about professionals or businessmen who hads interest with say.. Iran (IRISL – Freeport springs to mind) BEFORE the UN sanctions? It would be a story, if such business subsists despite the embargo.
Quite frankly, I am uninterested if it is conclusively proven that Mr. Sammut’s portfolio of clients USED to include Ghaddafi and sons. In my books, Mr. Sammut is only accountable for his actions post UN sanctions.
His business with the Gaddafis was most probably entirely legal, though it wouldn’t be now in view of sanctions. I don’t think anyone is questioning that.
Whether it was morally acceptable is another thing entirely, especially when he is/was also the Labour Party’s treasurer.
The problem is that many people here do not seem to think there was anything wrong about Gaddafi and his family until the events of the past few days, and incredibly for many even after.
Once L-Orizzont thought it fit to publish that story, then as a responsible, independent newspaper it should have run a more appropriate headline: “Ara il-Pixtu kemm lahaq”.
Jack, if you can’t see the story then you live in a little world of your own. Of course it’s a story that all these parties which have variously made the international headlines, with big stars like Beyonce and Nelly Furtado involved in scandals over their Gaddafi fees and pressured into handing them to charity so as not to be tainted, are planned and paid for by a Maltese accountant working out of a non-descript house in a Mosta sidestreet. Get a grip.
How one can sleep easily after reading this http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/World-News/Libya-Tanks-And-Planes-Bombard-Zawiyah-As-Rebels-Reject-Talks-With-Colonel-Gaddafi/Article/201103215947824?lpos=World_News_Carousel_Region_0&lid=ARTICLE_15947824_Libya%3A_Tanks_And_Planes_Bombard_Zawiyah_As_Rebels_Reject_Talks_With_Colonel_Gaddafi defies my imagination.
How one can sleep easily knowing that his income is derived from inhumane or criminal activity or through the suffering of others defies my imagination further.
Daphne, here is something unrelated to this issue.
Here is the most upsetting video I have ever seen in my life, about what is happening in the Ivory Coast. To be honest I did not watch all the video, it made me sick. This video shows people getting burnt alive in front of the police by president Gbagbo’s supporters:
http://video.senego.com/cote-divoire-brules-yopougon/des-individus-brules-vive-davant-la-police-de-gbagbo-attention-ames-sensibles-video_96cc1f24b.html
Have you seen the latest?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-12679222
[Daphne – I got a shock at first, but after checking, I’m relieved to see that the BBC story is several hours out of date: http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20110308/local/malta-defends-national-interests-as-eu-approves-new-sanctions and here’s the latest one http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20110308/local/sanctions%5D
Thanks, Daphne. I hadn’t yet seen the Times of Malta story. I was pretty shocked, to say the least.
[Daphne – There’s been another update just now http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20110308/local/sanctions ]
“National” interest? The interest of a few oligarchs, more like.
Yes, I see your point, but then again picture the fall-out if those businesses are cash-strapped to the point where they can no longer operate. The Maltese government will have to contend with the fall-out which will have considerable impact on such a small economy, even if it’s just the employees of a hotel chain and the price cash of the holding company’s bonds. I do agree with you, though, that people who went into business in Libya for the high gains should have worked out that high gains are usually associated with high risks, in this case, the very real risks associated with doing business in a non-democratic environment.
Country Risk Assessment anyone? Gaddafi has been in power for 42 years. What did these investors expect, that he would go on forever a la Titanic? Even if he had handed over power to his sons, the infighting between them for power would have brought them down. Tardare si, scappare no.
I’m sorry Profits not Principles, but that is a load of balls. You could invoke the negative fall-out for any Maltese firm in difficulty, from Air Malta to ST Microelectronics Malta. But you cannot build your strategic foreign policy on the short-term business interests of the CEOs at Corinthia, plus a few John Dallis. Because that is what it boils down to.
It’s not as if we’re investing in hi-tech stuff in Libya, or in R&D, or sending our genius graduates to develop new technologies which will strengthen our innovation and whatnot. This isn’t 1972, when you could employ a few hundred chambermaids and waiters, and they’d think they were on top of the world.
In short, if Corinthia goes bankrupt, which it won’t, I wouldn’t give a flying wotsit, and it wouldn’t make a blind bit of difference to the future of thousands of Maltese citizens. Ditto if John Dalli’s firm is kicked out of Libya.
Mhux ghalhekk partita sangesugi fil-Partit tal-Lejber u kolla jiehdu l-eluf tal-euros f`pagi, imbaghad biex jitfaw il-bzar fl ghajnejn jaghmlu il-maratona biex jigbru il-fondi.
The “Ahleb Gus” syndrome is still floating at the Red House. When funds dry up there is always uncle Muammar to supply
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20110308/local/libyan-opposition-demands-eu-recognition-at-euro-parliament
Anyone remembers what the “Gaddafi Girls” from the late 70s early 80s were? Was it something to do with Wardakanta? My memory fails me…
Oh for the awful Wardakanta memories … http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6iniguDx4s
Joe Sammut has a special section dedicated to glamour and VIPs. And most of his requests come at the 11th hour: well, that’s the problem when you’re the fixer for Mutassim and Saadi:
http://www.joesammut.eu/joe/content/vips
He just needs to update his section about Business in Libya:
http://www.joesammut.eu/joe/content/business-libya
Alex Crawford and Lisa Holland for Sky have just concluded their thirty-minute damning report on the situation in Libya, today Tuesday. They are award-winning journalists of untarnished repute.
No, Dalli, it was not filmed in Hollywood. The shots, bombings and wounds are real. The corpses are also real. There is no carnival in Libya. It is all heart-rending genuine human suffering, courtesy of our business partner Muammar.
I am not carried away easily by close-ups of blood and gashes and disfigurement and men crying.
I have lived my working life in this milieu in a way.
But when all this human tragedy is man-made I feel I have to object and make my voice heard.
Shame on anyone who dreams of condoning or even mitigating what is going on a few miles to the south of our country.
Shame.
Condemnation ought to be universal, unequivocal and unreserved.
Exactly. Well said, Anthony – I’ve just forwarded the clip to Dalli’s office.
ANYONE SEEN THIS? http://john-dalli-a-biography.blogspot.com/
or this? http://www.thedailybeast.com/cheat-sheet/?cid=hp:cheatsheet1#cheatrow_24812
@ Profits Not Principles
I don’t expect you to understand. Alas, you’re blinkered and unable to make a balanced assessment of matters.
At the outset, I will clarify that I do not know Mr. Sammut personally (never met him) and I am not a Labour supporter – so I have no personal interest on the matter.
My point is that everyone is quick to distance himself from Gaddafi. However, despite the man’s lunacy and whims, doing business with him / entourage was legit until 2 weeks ago. (Libyan law mandates the need for a Libyan partner to do business in Libya, and it is easy to deduce that only partners hand-picked / close to Ghaddafi will get the biscuit.)
However, I can’t recall you, or anyone in particular, taking this high moral ground, and scoffing at Gaddafi / Joe Sammut.
My point, which you have/are evading is simple – if it was legit then, albeit morally questionable, what’s the story? Why not run a story on BP’s oil exploration in Libya, Lafico’s equity participation in Juventus F.C., or if you wish to retain a local flavour, Corinthia’s investment in Libya? These story are less fancy without Beyonce and Nelly Furtado thrown in, but, with hindsight, equally questionable.
And please, let’s put morality aside here, and stick to legality. If we go into the moral issue and distance ourselves from what we perceive as an oppressive anti-democratic regime, then we should all boycott Chinese goods for starters.
http://www.nypost.com/p/pagesix/mystery_money_E3YfXILGKCLg1SR6bzf3LM
http://www.independent.com.mt/news.asp?newsitemid=101310
http://www.allvoices.com/news/5177985-mystery-behind-beyonces-2million-dollars-performance-deepens
http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/entertainment/mystery-behind-beyonces-2m-performance-deepens_100315846.html
http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Mystery+behind+Beyonce's+'2m+dlrs+performance'+deepens.-a0218376621
http://stbartstalk.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=4413&PN=2
http://in.movies.yahoo.com/news-detail.html?news_id=78837
http://www.topnews.in/light/mystery-behind-beyonce-s-2m-performance-deepens-221561
http://www.andhranews.net/Entertainment/2010/February/6-Mystery-behind-Beyonce-65.asp
Jack, are you Johnny’s buddy by any chance?
Has the Pixtu issued any denials in the last 24 hours?
For him, that would be 40 hours, so that’s giving him a reasonable period of time.