OMG. Spettore Gadget strikes again.

Published: May 31, 2010 at 12:30am
Once li l-leader qieghed l-Awstralja, jien se jkolli nservi ta' Stepney.

Once li l-leader qieghed l-Awstralja, jien se jkolli nservi ta' Stepney.

Typical Old Labour mentality. But that’s what happens when you’ve got Inspector Anglu Farrugia as deputy leader. By the way, had I mentioned that he’s defending the ultra-right wing, ultra-xenophobic Dr Lawrence Galea (LGalea, denizen of the internet comments boards) in court?

At 1am he was in parliament, wearing his party deputy leader hat and shouting and screaming about Mario Galea’s Yes vote and Justyne Caruana’s No vote, and at 9am he was in court, wearing his lawyer’s hat and defending a rabid racist.

What a country. Will the last one to leave please turn off the light.

timesofmalta.com

BWSC should be fined – PL deputy leader

BWSC, the company which has won the tender for the Delimara power station extension, should get a 10 per cent fine for failing to declare that three of its sub-contractors were involved in corruption cases, Labour Party deputy leader Anglu Farrugia said.

Speaking during an interview on One Radio, Dr Farrugia said that on a contract worth €200 million, this would save the government €20 million.

Should the government fail to carry out this procedure it would be protecting those involved in corruption. The government, he said, was duty bound to embark on legal procedures against BWSC.




44 Comments Comment

  1. Mario Frendo says:

    Mela ma tistax torqod, Daphne? Couldn’t help it, studying can be quite boring at times.

    [Daphne – Here we go again. Where I come from, it’s quite normal to be awake at 1am. We don’t go to bed mat-tigieg. I always find it weird when adults have bedtimes – like 10pm or 11pm or whatever. Bhall-babies.]

    • Mario Frendo says:

      Well you go to bed meta jqumu it-tigieg. I have to agree the night is more beautiful, especially here in Malta.

  2. RA says:

    Was the 10% based on some clause in the contract or just an arbitrary figure with a nice ring to it?

  3. Joseph A Borg says:

    Anglu Fenech qed ifakkarni meta għamilt żball u mort nixtri żarbun għand ħanut li kellu ‘sale kbir’. Kien hemm queue (kju?) enormi mwaħħal b’wieħed daqt pensjonant iħaqqaqa għal xi diskawnt.

    Ma’ naħsibx li Anglu kien qed jagħamel dak id-diskors biex jitħabbeb mas-self employed lejburisti.

  4. Joseph Micallef says:

    If these people mean a word they say, which usually isn’t the case with these morons (particularly Inspector Gadget), in three years time no one would want to do business with or in Malta.

    On one thing they’re pretty precocious – they are writing their government’s paralysis and subsequent doom three years ahead.

    • Not Tonight says:

      Only if they actually have any intention of carrying out any of it. In this case, they know full well that the project would already have been paid for and hopefully (for us) completed, so really he could have brought a 20% figure out of his hat instead of the 10% one.

      This same applies for all the other magic tricks they are promising us. Some would have become history and as for the rest, they would be hoping that we all have very short memories – mind you, if people vote them in, they would be quite right into thinking so.

  5. TROY says:

    Mmm, I wonder if Joey and his sheila took a fancy to Oz – maybe they can start a new life there and then I can become LEADER.

    • Leonard says:

      I wish people would stop referring to Joseph Muscat as “Joey”. My son started calling me Joey when he was a young boy and still does 20 years later.

      • TROY says:

        Leonard, ‘ Joey’ was a reference to a baby kangaroo.

      • Leonard says:

        Nothing to do with kangaroos in my case, Troy. We were out driving at the end of day and the driver coming towards us shouted – as only a Maltese driver can shout – “Ixeghel duk id-dawl Joey!”

        This left an indelible impression on my son, who until then had only known me as Daddy. I have absolutely no recollection of this incident but have never doubted my son’s honesty.

  6. Anthony Farrugia says:

    No, this is a cunning plan a la Perit Mintoff to get a “skont” of Euro 20 million on the power station extension!

  7. maryanne says:

    Can somebody tell me from where he got the 10% rate? And on what legal grounds can you fine a company without first going to court?

  8. E Gatt says:

    BWSC , and other potential international suppliers must be wondering what kind of banana republic government they could be dealing with come 2013.

    A few weeks ago, Labour proposed publishing a contract with a confidentiality clause, without the prior consent of the parties concerned. Now Professional Labour are suggesting a 10% end of season sales discount.

    Do you think Labour’s Business Forum advised the shadow deputy prime-minister on this approach?

  9. Greta Falzon says:

    Let him be. The more he talks, the better. The strongest nail in Labour’s coffin.

  10. pippo says:

    maryanne jahasra…………..ma tafx li dak mohhu bozza tal miljun, 1,000,000

  11. mark v says:

    labour leaders talk rubbish, I know, but I got the feeling there are a few questions to be answered regarding the power station contract. who do we trust? i dont know.

  12. David Buttigieg says:

    I’m beginning to wish we hadn’t exposed Twanny a.k.a. Victor Laviera, he’s such fun to have around, I kind of miss him!

  13. J.Tonna says:

    Dr. Anglu Farrugia is fearing that Malta under Dr Lawrence Gonzi is heading for ‘dictatorship’. Where was he when Nationalists were beaten at police stations, police HQ and even in the streets?

    Also, here, I read about Dr Lawrence Galea (LGalea), is he the same ‘lgalea’ who critisizes everyone and everything on The Times blogs?

    [Daphne – Yes, almost certainly. He’s VERY weird. Anglu Farrugia defended him on the grounds that he had a ‘diprexxin.’]

    • Anthony Farrugia says:

      If you read his posts on timesofmalta.com, YOU would end up with a “diprexxin” !

    • Anthony Farrugia says:

      When lgales posts on timesofmalta.com he blames the EU and the Euro for any thing under the sun, be it Greece, closure of drydocks, immigrants, not having qualified for Eurovision final, insomma you get the trend. So I posted this comment so as to get a comment which made sense but so far he has not risen to the bait:
      “Igalea @: You are always preaching about getting out of the EU but you have never put forward what the alternatives – if any exist – would be.Where would we be out of the EU and out of the Eurozone ? Would the LM (Malta Pound) have finished as in the Weimar Republic in the 1920s paying for a loaf of bread with LM10,000,000 and rampant hyper-inflation , massive unemployment and a bloated public sector as in October 1986 thanks to KMB! .After all both Goverment and Opposition ratified Lisbon Treaty in Parliament. Or do you still hanker about “Switzerland in the Med” and ” Partnership” ? Dont’ you think it is about time to let go with the past and move forward ? There is a saying in Maltese about those who do not change…………………… We are waiting with bated breath for you to let us know what your alternatives to the EU and Euro would be. No more of your usual rhetoric but facts and figures please.

      So far, complete silence but I am not holding my breath.

    • David Buttigieg says:

      What ‘Dr’ is he? law, medicine or a la Joseph Muscat ?

  14. Ray says:

    Watching one news (don’t ask why because I don’t really know), I heard Anglu blabbing and asking for the ‘ekkawntibilita’ ‘ of the PN. No need to say where my thoughts went when I heard it.

  15. Karl Flores says:

    I am not surprised that the Labour Party decides itself, and without any authority, what is legal/fair/just, or not.

    In 1981 my brand new car, an Alfa Romeo Sud, was seized by one of Lorry Sant’s blue-eyed boys, for no reason whatsoever, on my arrival at Xatt ir-Risq, by ferry boat from Italy, except that, after I declared what goods I had, I told the Customs officer that I needed a Landing and Warehousing officer, and not him, to get my goods released the following day. The goods were of a commercial nature, and after I had paid customs duty.

    Little did I know that the blue-eyed boy had been promoted, during my absence from Malta, from a customs guard, as I knew him to be before my departure, to L & W H Officer.

    I needn’t go into further detail. I had to face criminal charges at the Law Courts, for alleged attempting to evade paying customs duty, when all the goods I had were exposed for one and all to see. I won the case on the same criteria. i.e. that it was impossible for the goods not to be seen.

    They appealed and I won the case again so that makes it two times in court for the same reason.

    After I was found not to be guilty, as if it wasn’t enough, I had to make a request to the civil or commercial court, I don’t remember which one of the two, to claim my goods back. I won the case again. And the Customs Dept. appealed again. Again I won the case, so that makes it four times for the same reason, basically.

    While the legal battle was going on, my car was used by Mintoff’s body guards, on the INSTRUCTIONS of Lorry Sant, to follow the leader. It was used during 1st of May celebrations by Labour supporters prior and during their triumphant entrance into Valletta, banging and singing on it, ”irriduh, irriduh”.

    When I finally reached the point that I could take my car and goods (clothes I had bought to sell from my shop in Valletta), apart from the fact that the clothes were out of fashion, therefore of no use at all, those same clothes couldn’t be found. They were stolen while still under lock and key at the Customs Dept.

    My only alternative was to sue the government – so that makes it five times for the same case – a torture machine of the times. Believe it or not, I was paid a few hundred liri for my car, this according to the value of the car after they broke it to pieces. And I got nothing for the clothes. All this, again, if I am not mistaken, because my car and goods were under investigation, therefore no fault of theirs.

    Should I forget the M.L.P.’s past? We still study and learn from our history books what had happened 2/3/4000 years ago, don’t we?

    • H.P. Baxxter says:

      Using an Alfa Romeo in a carcade, Karl, is very much like making love to a beautiful woman. You take her from her rightful owner, remove all clothes, then get inside her and give her a good banging.

      [Daphne – Listen, I know that explaining a joke never fails to kill it, but Swiss Toni is a bit of a niche figure in Malta. http://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/fastshow/characters/swiss_toni.shtml ]

    • Karl Flores says:

      My lawyers were, in the first case, Dr. Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici, who tried his best to avoid having to go to court. He never charged me a penny, he never accepted any money due to him by the Customs Department (legal fees), having lost the case against me.

      At times, he spoke to me as early as 6.30 a.m. at his residence, to allow me to go to work in time. And wherever he took me, to try and solve the case, including going to the Comptroller of Customs, in Birgu, we went in his own car, and, again, he never accepted a penny for anything he did for me.

      He told me that Lorry Sant insisted that, no matter what, I had to be taken to court. He even told me that he couldn’t defend me any further. Later I realized that it was only because he became Min. of Education that he couldn’t continue with the case.

      I was then defended by Prof. Giuseppe Mifsud Bonnici in all the remaining court cases. Again he never charged me a penny. The above is the only profit I made.

      Still. I wish you’d allow me to thank both of them from the bottom of my heart.

  16. Karl Flores says:

    I still have photos, taken of my car being used and which were exhibited in court, as said before, and a hand written note by Mr. Leo Brincat, saying that he had spoken to Lorry Sant about the case.

    The latter tried his best to correct things, but to no avail. And, all I said above is documented, now, I think, in the archives of the court.

  17. Harry Purdie says:

    Such a perfectionist. Opens mouth and perfectly inserts his foot.

  18. Overestimated Shakespeare aka Nostradamus formerly Avatar says:

    Now imagine this man as deputy prime minister while the prime minister is away on some official visit somewhere.

    He would apply this mind-frame to public affairs.

    Daphne – “Farrugia’s brain working hard” says the message when you move the mouse over the picture. Yes, working hard and not getting him anywhere.

  19. Riya says:

    Imma dan Dr. Anglu Farrugia min fejn jipprizzipjahom l-istejjer? Din bhal tal-voti tal-elezzjoni generali? Veru kienu bil-ghaqal in-Nazzjonalisti li meta telghu fil-gvern ma’ lahquhx kummissarju tal-pulizija ghax mur ghara kemm kiem jivvinta stejjer biex jintghogob!

  20. R. Camilleri says:

    Daphne, I am a relative new comer to your blog. Where did the nickname Spettore Gadget come from?

    [Daphne – From the fact that people over the age of 40 know the man as Inspector Farrugia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inspector_Gadget ]

  21. Dr Claw says:

    lgalea is, like Gadget, a lawyer who graduated at a ripe age as a very mature student (mature as in years not intellectual maturity).

  22. Dr Claw says:

    you can listen to Insp. Gadget live on parliament radio 106.6 fm right now.

  23. Chris BC says:

    Oh I thought you were a relative of Spettore Gadget for a moment!

  24. Karl Flores says:

    The TRUTH always prevails.

    The same Customs officers, chosen by Lorry Sant to beat me hard (he was Minister of the Interior), and after the MLP was defeated in 1987, asked (begged) me to help them buy sniffer dogs for their anti-drug squad, the best available and in the shortest time possible.

    When I called at their offices in Luqa I was given red carpet treatment. I was asked how much I expected for my service and that flight, accommodation and spending money for 6/7 would be shouldered by the Customs Dept.

    I replied that all I wanted was the flight and accommodation on a b/b basis, only. And that, I wanted to see the puppies before they were shipped to Malta. I told them I didn’t want any money, not even for disbursements, and that I could do it in 3/4 days, therefore saving the department money, instead of making a profit out of the matter.

    They could hardly believe how, after such a sour experience, I treated them like brothers. A police officer who was a Labour Party supporter but a true gentleman, who was involved in the police drug squad at the time, was sent with me for help.

    When we got to London, he told me: ”Karl, Karl, issa f’idejk ta’ ha nhalli”. The same words still echo in my mind. Without having to go into all the details, I assumed responsibility, chose and bargained on a lower price, both for cost of the pups and shipping charges through the contacts I had with kennels in Ruislip. We got two springer spaniels and two Labrador retrievers.

    On returning to Malta and on my arrival, my wife, who was waiting for me, told me that I was mentioned on Super 1 radio as someone who knew nothing at all about dogs, and also. that I was paid for my services.

    That wasn’t enough – again, I was asked by the department to give two lectures to the dog handlers about a variety of canine related subjects. I was even offered payment for it.

    Instead I gave them longer lectures, free of charge, on condition that I wouldn’t be asked to talk about anything related with the training of the dogs or anything else further than the dog’s excellent qualities to scent and why some breeds were quicker and easier to train/teach than others.

    Again I was accused of charging high fees for all that I did.

    What I did, for sure, was that many a time I called overseas from my own telephone, at my own expense. This because I couldn’t travel, each time I needed, to Luqa, where I was authorized to make overseas calls free of charge, as long as they concerned the deal.

    Both of those customers officers who pressed charges against me in the Alfa/clothes case are still alive. One was boarded out because of a heart attack; the other because of a severe depression.

    Life’s funny. Incidentally I met one of them today at noon, down Tower Road, Sliema.

  25. Karl Flores says:

    Dear Daphne,

    I have more, in stock. Later on, I will tell how I was tortured mentally and physically. And how my Austin 1100 reg 2688, was scratched all over, acid thrown all over it, tyres deflated – ripped, spit in my tea, etc, by MLP and a few PN supporters who considered money to be too important to part with, in a way, much worse than what I mentioned before.

    [Daphne – Times don’t change, Karl. I had two tyres slashed last month – at the same time. They never slash just one because you can sort out the situation using your STEPNEY. But with two, you have to get your car towed to the nearest tyre station. And they never slash four because that means walking round the car and arousing suspicion, when it’s done in broad daylight as mine was. And slashing, of course, means you have to buy new tyres – a EUR200 bill, in my case. Il-vera Sqallin, jahasra.]

    And this, because, I believed that office workers, of the same category, as those working on the quays, including women, had every right to share in any income gained, such as overtime, which amounted to 100s of Lm. a month, then.

    HOW CAN THEY CALL YOU HADRA?

    [Daphne – Because they measure people by their own shrivelled yardstick.]

  26. Riya says:

    R. Camilleri asks:
    ‘Daphne, I am a relative new comer to your blog. Where did the nickname Spettore Gadget come from?’

    This inspector Gadget was an inspector stationed at the Police General Headquarters during the Labour regime. He used to arrest Nationalist supporters like ic-comba of Luqa and others.

    He also arrested Daphne. However, he had no guts to investigate the frame-ups which were carried out near his office at the same HQ during the Labour regime.

    He was one of the inspectors who investigated and prosecuted the ex commissioner of police, Laurence Pullicino. But this was a simple case as many police officers involved in the murder of Nardu Debono were granted a presidential pardon.

    He was a good friend of Guido De Marco and when the Nationalists won the election in 1987 he also sent messages to the Nationalist Party requesting that he becomes police commissioner.

    He read law at the University of Malta post 1987 while still picking up his police force salary.

    I personally saw him near the Nationalist Party HQ in 1987 when victory was being celebrated.

  27. TROY says:

    Yes Riya, he was miss pepsi’s ace up the sleeve, now he’s Joseph’s pain up his donkey.

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