A knave until the end
A little something for Noel Arrigo's Christmas stocking
Two years and nine months, and he has the nerve to appeal. You’d think he’d take this one last chance to behave like a gentleman and go down with a modicum of dignity after his excruciatingly embarrassing trial and the dreadful behaviour which preceded it. But no – a knave until the end.
The judge said he doesn’t believe Noel Arrigo is a bad person, but a weak one. I beg to differ. His real problem is that despite his social background, his education, his marriage and his connections, he has never been a gentleman – a definition that depends on a code of behaviour rather than false and superficial social manners.
The man is a knave.
The remorse which the judge noted is not remorse for his actions, but remorse for their consequences to himself personally. I would say that even the remorse he feels for his family’s suffering and shame is perceived from the perspective of how it affects him.
He should have done what Patrick Vella did: admitted guilt, showed true shame and remorse, accepted his prison sentence, served it, and disappeared.
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So the rosary beads and and the Lourdes tour worked another miracle.
I do have a dark sense of humour, but this is cruel:
Joe Camilleri (1 hour, 30 minutes ago)
He should be given a presidential pardon.
The good that he done to the country should not go up in smoke.
Mr Camilleri, do you have any idea what you are talking about? What good! i used to live in Siggiewi when he was ‘high and mighty’ and I have never seen such an arrogant human being in my life.
Apart from that, how in the hell do you know if any or all of the cases he judged were not a sham and paid for? We are talking about a person in whom our country placed its trust and who should not have been corruptible in any way. h
How do you know if there aren’t innocent people serving sentences just because people like Arrigo are bribed?
I agree with you completely, Daphne. How can the Catholic Church or the government or any other organisation talk about restoring values (actually we need to)? With Arrigo occupying such a prestigious and honourable post – one of the highest in the land – turning out to be such a knave, when his behaviour should have been a benchmark for values, then we really have scraped the bottom of the barrel!
I completely agree with you. I have heard from reliable sources (but did not witness this myself) that during a wedding reception he was invited to a couple of years ago, he had the bad taste to sing in public…Sinatra’s “My Way”.
Enough said.
Ian, I believe it was at his own son’s wedding reception, my best friend was there and couldn’t believe her eyes…or ears….
Yes, they did, because 2 years and 9 months are not appropriate in my opinion considering he was chief justice, did not admit guilt like his colleague etc.
Sorry for mixing topics, but please read the last sentence of this:
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20091126/local/one
He’s done it again!
Chief Justice Emeritus Giuseppe Mifsud Bonnici believes Noel Arrigo is a good character. He happens to be the uncle of the Minister of Justice, who is responsible for the prisons and presidential pardons. I hope no one will exert undue pressure on him. Patrick Vella served his sentence so should Noel Arrigo.
[Daphne – Looks like he’s going to serve it in the nuthouse, excuse the term.]
The man has been prosecuted for his crimes and that is civilised society’s only way of restoring some form of balance. We have to accept that or perish. On the other hand, no man or woman should be persecuted. To kick out and sink the boot into a human being when he or she is down on the ground is the worst form of blood sport. He may have no sense of shame, you might say, but I ask you, where is yours?
[Daphne – You know, ‘Pablo’, perhaps if all these things had been said when they should have been, then he would never have been made a judge and certainly not chief justice. This country operates on a code of silence which masquerades as decency but is really all about cowardice, not sticking your neck out, and sucking up. Noel Arrigo is not ‘down’. He is still trying to get off. Right now, he has managed to wangle his way into Mount Carmel and intends staying there for the duration. He spent precisely five minutes in prison, sped back out again, and his preferential treatment has caused an uproar among his fellow felons. So now I’m going to have something to say about that. If you don’t like it, just don’t look. The trouble with people like you is that you prefer to shoot down those who criticise disgraceful behaviour, rather than those who behave disgracefully. I’m not one of your mealy-mouthed, posturing kind, and I’m grateful for it.]
‘Pablo’ , because of people like you, people who try correct their ways and try reconcile for their wrong doings, end up getting the worst deal, while this fat old liar goes to Mount Carmel for nearly the same amount of time and gets preferential treatment.
“On the other hand, no man or woman should be persecuted”
Oh get over yourself, you bullshitter. I’d like to hear you say that if Noel Arrigo screwed you over because somebody bribed him.
Well said Pablo, Daphne , you have taken this one too far !
What a gem of a non sequitur. And on the contrary, I love seeing the way you’ve got everyone and everything figured out. You have every right to be self satisfied.
[Daphne – Yes, I know: I tend to be quite perceptive about people and situations. Some people know how to paint, others know how to see. That’s all.]
What a nerve! He wants to appeal. Does he thinks that we people are that stupid. He is fit to appeal but too sick to serve his sentence with the same men that he had sentenced. He is well off financially and he still likes to earn ‘easy’ money.
What justice is this? They should have given an example to all with his sentence so that this won’t happen again. He accepted the money from a drug pusher! He did it to say a big thank you to the police drug squad for fighting daily against drug pushers and abusers.
“Noel Arrigo is not ‘down’. He is still trying to get off.” Wanna bet? Lotsa beds at Mt Carmel….
Just calm down for a moment and realise that what you are saying is that a fair trial under our legal system which found the man guilty of all criminal charges brought against him is not enough for you. It will never be enough for you and that is what scares me. …”they took him down, but the crowd called out for more…”
Thank God, the mealy mouthed majority of which I am only one, are ready to accept that justice has been done and according to law. The shame is you cannot do the same.
[Daphne – There are two separate issues here: justice and freedom of expression. Both of them are not just rights, but also duties. The result of people failing in their duty to speak up is the islands we live in, where the abnormal has come to be seen as normal. I see nothing wrong with the sentence: like you, my view is that the court has decided and that is it. You will notice, in fact, that this is precisely what I wrote after the judgement against Patrick Vella: that now everyone should just stop it and let him rebuild his life. But here’s the thing: there were none of these shenanigans with Vella during the court proceedings and he went to prison like a man, not to Mount Carmel like a coward, pretending to be mentally ill. You miss the point: Noel Arrigo invited ridicule with his defence in court. He invited further ridicule (and speculation) with the character testimony of a soap-smuggler’s brother who took him to Lourdes. And now he has provoked ire by working the system to escape prison and go to Mount Carmel instead. If you think people should not comment on that, that they don’t have a duty to raise awareness about it, then you and I come from completely different cultures – and I don’t mean the sort that grow in test-tubes, either.]
I have no problem with your sacred mission in life. It’s admirable. And I find no problem with the culture gap between us. But I never referred to the Mount Carmel aspect before you had me figured out as an accomplice in all that you see as abnormal in these islands.
I am glad to hear that you see nothing wrong in the sentence. Neither do I. Neither do the majority.
And I love the way you apply guilt by association with pure abandon. It’s really fun stuff. Problem with that yardstick is that it goes haywire sometimes and smacks us in the bum.
[Daphne – Actually I don’t provide that last service, but you could always ask Noel Arrigo for some telephone numbers.]
Thanks for the useless tip, now say good night to the folks, Gracie.
Pablo, you paint some weird pictures. Thought you were dead.