Speaker 1: A note to listeners, this episode contains graphic descriptions of violence.
Speaker 2: The fight against corruption and the decimation of the rule
Speaker 2: of law must continue. Malta is in a dangerous place,
Speaker 2: and now we can no longer say that it is
Speaker 2: corrupt politicians who have brought it to this point, for
Speaker 2: it can no longer be denied that these corrupt politicians
Speaker 2: are a reflection of society.
Speaker 3: Abomi nineteen February twenty nineteen, nearly eighteen months since Daphanese's murder,
Speaker 3: and tonight's a party is in full swing.
Speaker 1: At this point, it's been four months since Jurgen Fanek,
Speaker 1: mister alleged Mastermind, was publicly identified as the owner of
Speaker 1: seventeen Black, a company which planned to make two million
Speaker 1: dollars worth of secret payments to government ministers. At this point,
Speaker 1: two mister Finnick is now a suspect in the official
Speaker 1: police investigation into Dapanese murder. Secretly watched by police, mister
Speaker 1: Fennick is also being discussed at the highest level of government.
Speaker 3: But if Malta is in a political crisis, you wouldn't
Speaker 3: know it on this night. Instead, here in the elegant
Speaker 3: seventeenth century Gaginti Palace, the official country residence of the
Speaker 3: Multese Prime Minister. A small birthday party is on the
Speaker 3: way and it looks like it's going pretty well.
Speaker 1: Tonight, Prime Minister Joseph Mouscat is forty five years old
Speaker 1: and he's celebrating. This is a leaked video from the night.
Speaker 1: You can see the Prime Minister and his wife leading
Speaker 1: the singing of an old Maltese political song with lyrics
Speaker 1: adapted to be about the birthday boy.
Speaker 3: Joseph Moscot is grinning from his ear, bouncing up and
Speaker 3: down in front of the crowd, hand pumping the air.
Speaker 3: His wife, Michelle, elegantly dressed, stands by him, waving a
Speaker 3: bottle of champagne. It's clear everyone is having a great time.
Speaker 1: And why shouldn't they at this point. Joseph Moscatt is
Speaker 1: one of the most successful politicians in modern Maltese history,
Speaker 1: elected to office twice, but this will be the last
Speaker 1: birthday he will spend in Grigeni Bellis.
Speaker 3: By the end of this year, his government will have
Speaker 3: fallen and Joseph Muscat will have resigned in disgrace, brought
Speaker 3: down by the aftermath of Daphne's murder and the corruption
Speaker 3: scandals that led to it.
Speaker 1: And there's another reason this throughout the forty something birthday
Speaker 1: party is memorable.
Speaker 3: He doesn't pop up in the leak video, but there's
Speaker 3: someone else here at the Palace tonight, Jogan Fennik, mister
Speaker 3: alleged mastermind. In spite of all the recent events, he's
Speaker 3: been invited to this intimate birthday gathering for the Prime
Speaker 3: Minister's closest friends and relatives.
Speaker 1: And as Prime Minister Joseph Muscat is well aware of
Speaker 1: Jurgen Fenec's role and the scandal that has shaken his
Speaker 1: government to its core. That scandal is the main reason
Speaker 1: why he has to repeatedly deny that his government has
Speaker 1: a problem with corruption. Definitely would have said this makes sense.
Speaker 1: She believed that Malta's current crop of politicians, and this
Speaker 1: Prime Minister in particular, fundamentally don't see why corruption in
Speaker 1: public life is a problem. So long as it is
Speaker 1: kept secret. Why does it matter if minister has received
Speaker 1: secret payments from rich entrepreneurs and businessmen. It's none of
Speaker 1: your business. And the Prime Minister is also well aware
Speaker 1: that Phenek is also now a suspect in Malta's most
Speaker 1: famous murder.
Speaker 3: Case, and yet here he is at the Prime Minister's birthday.
Speaker 3: Any applications for pardons or plea deals for people arrested
Speaker 3: in the murder case will have to be personally signed
Speaker 3: off by the Prime Minister and his cabinet, and on
Speaker 3: this evening, according to press reports, Jogan Fennec makes sure
Speaker 3: to leave a good impression with the Prime Minister. His
Speaker 3: birthday presence for mister Muscat is thoughtful, personal and very expensive.
Speaker 1: Yogen Fennec hence over three rare vintage bottles of Petrus
Speaker 1: red wine from France, one of the most expensive wines
Speaker 1: in the world. One bottle is from the air of
Speaker 1: Joseph Mousquart's birth, the other two are from the air
Speaker 1: of Mouscat's twin daughter's birth. Total estimated resale value of
Speaker 1: more than six thousand US dollars. Malta's Ministerial Code forbids
Speaker 1: ministers from accepting gifts which quote might be deemed to
Speaker 1: create an obligation, real or imaginary.
Speaker 3: It's worth repeating. All applications for pardons or plea deals
Speaker 3: for people arrested in the Daphne murder case will have
Speaker 3: to be personally signed off by Joseph Muscat and his cabinet,
Speaker 3: and it's also worth repeating a at this point, Yogen
Speaker 3: Fenek is suspected of commissioning the hits against Daphne Please
Speaker 3: yet to be arrested.
Speaker 1: Prime Minister Joseph Mosquat will later claim that he never
Speaker 1: met Jurgen Fenek in February twenty nineteen. Later still, he
Speaker 1: will admit that Fenek was at the birth day party,
Speaker 1: but claimed that the invitation was signed off by law
Speaker 1: enforcement as part of a policy of acting normally towards
Speaker 1: Fenek to avoid arousing his suspicion. Acting normally in this
Speaker 1: case includes accepting thousands of dollars worth of gifts from
Speaker 1: a man known for bribing politicians. Asked about his birthday
Speaker 1: party in an interview with The Times of Malta, Joseph
Speaker 1: Mosquat said, quote on the Gurghanty event, the invite was
Speaker 1: issued following consultations with the Malta Security Services. This is
Speaker 1: not the first time I have been slandered with false
Speaker 1: accusations and even evidence which at the end it transpired
Speaker 1: to be fabricated. I am denying all these unfounded alegations,
Speaker 1: including this latest figurement of someone's very vivid imagination, and.
Speaker 3: On this night, another man allegedly involved in Daphne's murder
Speaker 3: isn't that far away from the party either. Melvin the
Speaker 3: middleman Jorgan Fennik needed a lift to and from the
Speaker 3: Gagerti Palace, and so Melvin himself acted as chauffeur on
Speaker 3: the night. While the alleged architect of Daphnese's murder is
Speaker 3: partying with the Prime Minister, his middleman is waiting outside
Speaker 3: in the car park.
Speaker 1: Welcome to Malta from iHeart Podcasts, Topic Studios and Vespucci.
Speaker 1: I'm Manuel Delia and I'm John Sweeney and this is
Speaker 1: Crooks Everywhere, Episode nine, Escape.
Speaker 4: By Yacht, So You're going. Is one of MARTA's richest men.
Speaker 4: He is one of the bosses of the Hilton chain and.
Speaker 3: Malta Hermann Greek, the editor in chief of the Times
Speaker 3: of Malta.
Speaker 4: He kept pretty much of a low profile and you know,
Speaker 4: not many people knew him before his name cropped up
Speaker 4: in connection with the murder.
Speaker 3: Photographs of Jorgen Fennek show at all six to four
Speaker 3: or more muscular guy bald, something of the well dressed
Speaker 3: FuG about him with a taste for designer sunglasses.
Speaker 1: A cartoon image of a mafioso.
Speaker 4: And he is a person who he was very close
Speaker 4: to many people and governments, and this came across from
Speaker 4: follow up investigations we carried out, and it showed that
Speaker 4: he had he used his contacts in governments for his er.
Speaker 4: You know, I wouldn't say, I need to be careful
Speaker 4: how to word this, but he definitely uses contacts in governments.
Speaker 3: Which is one way of explaining Jorgen fennex presence at
Speaker 3: the Prime Minister's bash at Gagenti Palace. But by the
Speaker 3: time of that party, Jorgen Fennex world is already in
Speaker 3: free full By now, his contacts may also have tipped
Speaker 3: him off that he's being watched as a suspect in
Speaker 3: Daphne's murder. It's not clear if he knows this or not,
Speaker 3: but he is under surveillance and his phone is being tapped.
Speaker 3: And then there is a problem that the men that
Speaker 3: he allegedly hired to organize Daphanese's murder are also beginning
Speaker 3: to crack.
Speaker 1: As we know, the team of contract killers that killed
Speaker 1: Dephanie have already been arrested and are awaiting trial. Jurgen
Speaker 1: Fenex's access to secret information about the investigation was insufficient
Speaker 1: to stop that happening. One of them, Vincent Dekough, has
Speaker 1: now begun talking to the police in the hope of
Speaker 1: a plea deal or pardon. Jurgen Finex's old friend, Melvin,
Speaker 1: the middleman in the crime, has also begun to fold
Speaker 1: under the pressure, depressed, drinking too much and sometimes suicidal.
Speaker 3: A few months before the Prime Minister's birthday party, that
Speaker 3: situation reaches breaking point. Melvin admits to Phenek that he
Speaker 3: has been secretly recording all their conversations about the murder
Speaker 3: and the cover up. He admits that he's betrayed him.
Speaker 1: Probably Also around the same time, Melvin gives Fenek a
Speaker 1: copy of a letter. It's one page long and all
Speaker 1: in capital letters, and it's from the heart. In party reads.
Speaker 5: Ji A Melvin telma At not ill informatio. I Melvin
Speaker 5: Teoma am providing this information that I was the middleman
Speaker 5: in the case concerning Miss Karwana Galicia. I am relaying
Speaker 5: this proof so that you will know who hired me
Speaker 5: and paid for the body in Bomba. I am doing
Speaker 5: this because I realized that these two people Jurgen Finek
Speaker 5: and Keach Cambriel Cosco were working to get rid of
Speaker 5: me as well. So I prepared this proof so that
Speaker 5: if I am eliminated, you will know the entire storya Cola.
Speaker 1: It's a confession but also a threat. Melvin the Middleman
Speaker 1: is cashing in his insurance policy. He wants Jurgen Finek
Speaker 1: to know that at any time he could take any
Speaker 1: of these materials to the police. In fact, Melvin has
Speaker 1: no evidence that Keach Cambri paid for Daphni's murder or
Speaker 1: is planning to kill him, but he does know that
Speaker 1: Cambri is close to Urgen Finek, and it was Cambri
Speaker 1: who organized Melvin's imaginary government job.
Speaker 3: The message is clear, kill me now if you like,
Speaker 3: but the truth will get out, and if I die,
Speaker 3: you will be the main suspect.
Speaker 1: We don't know exactly how Fannek responds initially what this
Speaker 1: moment of complete betrayal feels like. During their decades of friendship,
Speaker 1: the years at the racetrack, the shared hobbies and gambling holidays,
Speaker 1: Melvin the Middleman has always had the junior, more submissive
Speaker 1: role in the relationship, the grateful helper, hoping for favors,
Speaker 1: driving mister Fanneck around Malta, dropping off gifts of food,
Speaker 1: or laying racing bats for him, or allegedly hiring hitman
Speaker 1: to kill a journalist. Now Melvin is reversing all of that,
Speaker 1: telling one of the richest men in Malta that he
Speaker 1: too has power and that he shouldn't be taken for granted.
Speaker 1: That he is prepared to bring them both down if
Speaker 1: he needs to, not the kind of thing that most
Speaker 1: friendships can weather. But whatever each of them are thinking
Speaker 1: at this time, they continue to work together and to communicate.
Speaker 1: Fennec continues to pass on secret information about the police investigation.
Speaker 1: For his part, Melvin doesn't yet carry out his threat
Speaker 1: of sharing his archive of evidence with the authorities. At
Speaker 1: the same time, he continues to do favors for Jorgan Fanec,
Speaker 1: like driving him to the Gurganty birthday party and so.
Speaker 1: On the surface, it seems as though nothing has changed
Speaker 1: between them, but we now know that soon after Jorgan
Speaker 1: alleged mastermind, Fanec has other things on his mind.
Speaker 6: Two grenades, two glock pistols, two machine guns, a scorpion
Speaker 6: which is a type of rifle, and eight hundred bullets
Speaker 6: together with Silence, says for the pistols, this is interesting.
Speaker 3: Jason as a party, Daphnese family's lawyer has a shopping
Speaker 3: list of some of the things that organ Phenac tries
Speaker 3: to buy on the Dark Web. This weapon's buying spree
Speaker 3: comes a few weeks after the organ Phenic discovers that
Speaker 3: Melvin the Middleman has been secretly taping their incriminating conversations
Speaker 3: on the iPhone in his sock. In fact, that particularly
Speaker 3: for weapon buying spree doesn't work, those purchases are blocked,
Speaker 3: but others are not.
Speaker 6: And in another separate purchase, Fennek had received an email
Speaker 6: assuring him that a twenty gram shipment of potessium cyanite
Speaker 6: had been shipped to him that particular morning. Potessium cyanide
Speaker 6: it's a chemical that releases a highly toxic gas.
Speaker 1: To be clear, we don't know what Phanek has in mind,
Speaker 1: or whether he has anyone in mind when he tries
Speaker 1: to buy these things. The Dark Web weapons buying spree
Speaker 1: happens in November twenty eighteen, a year after Daffie's murder
Speaker 1: and around the time that The Times of Malta revealed
Speaker 1: he was the owner of seventeen Black. What we do
Speaker 1: know is that Melvin the middleman certainly fears for his life.
Speaker 1: He must worry that even his archive of secret recordings
Speaker 1: won't be enough to keep him safe from Urgen Fennec.
Speaker 6: I am more than sure that he wanted to get
Speaker 6: ridol melventeoma. No doubt getting rid of Melventella would have
Speaker 6: removed the link between Rinel Fedec mastermind and the de Georgios,
Speaker 6: ensuring his impunity.
Speaker 1: But the sheer number of deadly weapons organ Fennec is
Speaker 1: attempting to buy is also suggestive.
Speaker 6: I have no doubt, I am morally convinced, not just me,
Speaker 6: that those purchases were made to assassinate a number of people,
Speaker 6: including Melvin Tema. So eight hundred bullets, rifles, pistols, grenades
Speaker 6: were definitely not for one person. The poetassium cyanide twenty
Speaker 6: grams twenty grams are more than enough, more than enough
Speaker 6: to kill two people at the least.
Speaker 1: Whatever the purpose of these gruesome purchases, they suggest that
Speaker 1: Jurgen Phenec fees things are rapidly moving towards a crisis.
Speaker 3: The situation with Melvin is on a knife edge. The
Speaker 3: Daphne projects. Journalists are closing in and the multi police
Speaker 3: are now watching the movements of Jugen Fennec and Melvin
Speaker 3: the Middleman, and they're tapping Jugen Fenex's phone. The evidence
Speaker 3: for their involvements in Daphne's murder keeps on mounting.
Speaker 1: And the strain of it all is showing on organ
Speaker 1: phenac tool. As his cocaine habit drastically increases, people start
Speaker 1: to notice him acting erratically, but.
Speaker 3: The key moment of crisis doesn't come. Instead of arrests
Speaker 3: or poisoning by potassium cyanide, there is a strange, uneasy
Speaker 3: stalemate for nearly a year. It seems as though, for
Speaker 3: a while longer the wealth and influence of Jurgen Fennek
Speaker 3: is still enough to hold off the consequences of his
Speaker 3: alleged crime.
Speaker 1: Still, no more arrests in the investigation into Dafanie's murder.
Speaker 1: Melvin the Middleman remains at large and afraid for more
Speaker 1: these anti corruption campaigners like myself, this period is one
Speaker 1: of the real low points after Dafni's death. As journalists,
Speaker 1: we know the police knew about Melvin the Middleman. We
Speaker 1: know they know about Jurgen Fennek. We keep that knowledge
Speaker 1: to ourselves not to tip off suspects. But as months
Speaker 1: roll by, it feels more and more like we are
Speaker 1: being complicit in some conspiracy to let those with money
Speaker 1: and contacts to live above the law.
Speaker 3: Deafhnely's son Matthew becomes so frustrated at the failure to
Speaker 3: arrest Melvin the middleman, but he says he's attempted to
Speaker 3: start spray painting Melvin's name on wolves just to gain
Speaker 3: a reaction.
Speaker 1: It feels as if Daphne's murder will become like so
Speaker 1: many other contract killings in Malta, unsolved and eventually quietly forgotten.
Speaker 1: At this time as well, the second half of twenty nineteen,
Speaker 1: John and I are also writing Murder on the multa
Speaker 1: express our book on Daphne's death, co written with mafia
Speaker 1: expert Carlo Bonini. Ahead of publication, we ask Jurgen Fanek
Speaker 1: via his lawyers to comment on allegations that he and
Speaker 1: his company, the Tomask Group Limited, are involved in illegal activity,
Speaker 1: and we name Jurgen Fanec as one of a number
Speaker 1: of possible culprits in Daphne's murder. His lawyers write back
Speaker 1: to us to say, in part.
Speaker 7: Mister Finnick categorically rejects any allegations, assertions and auth suggestions
Speaker 7: made in his regard as completely baseless and unfounded.
Speaker 1: We also receive legal threats from his lawyers trying to
Speaker 1: dissuade us from publishing. We later discover that Fanek makes
Speaker 1: inquieties with a London law firm to sue me for
Speaker 1: a round seventy million UK pounds around eighty nine million dollars,
Speaker 1: Like I'll ever have that money to pay them by loose.
Speaker 3: Frustration is also building at another point because investigators from
Speaker 3: other European countries have been brought in to help find
Speaker 3: Japanese killers. Europot is now involved.
Speaker 1: That's the agency that coordinates different European police forces when
Speaker 1: their investigations take them across borders.
Speaker 3: Investigators there learn about Melvin the Middleman's role and about
Speaker 3: his archive of secret recordings, and they are incredulous that
Speaker 3: he still remains at large. Eventually, they threaten to walk
Speaker 3: away from the case completely until action is taken, and
Speaker 3: so at last, Multa's police hatch a plan for Melvin's arrest.
Speaker 3: The strategy is this take him down for money laundering initially,
Speaker 3: rather than his role in Daphne's murder directly. The crackdown
Speaker 3: will start dramatically with a surprise police raid, a search,
Speaker 3: and Melvin the Middleman's arrest.
Speaker 1: But perhaps not surprisingly, the underworld is more than ready
Speaker 1: for this. News of the plan is leaked to Melvin
Speaker 1: the Middleman well in advance, just as the original swat
Speaker 1: rate to arrest Dephane's assassins at the Potato Chat had
Speaker 1: been Jurgen Fannek and two of his goal betweens give
Speaker 1: Melvin a precise date to expect the raid. He's given
Speaker 1: a full month's warning. According to Melvin. They even promise
Speaker 1: to list the areas in his property that will be searched,
Speaker 1: so that he can tie the up and ensure nothing
Speaker 1: incriminating is found. According to Daphne's son Paul's research, the
Speaker 1: name of the arresting officer is also passed to Melvin
Speaker 1: and the fact that he will be helpful.
Speaker 3: After the arrest. The interrogation will also be stage managed,
Speaker 3: with questions and suggested answers being sent by contacts inside
Speaker 3: the police to Melvin the Middleman well in advance. Like
Speaker 3: a teasing student, Melvin has been given a chance to
Speaker 3: see the exam paper early until the best answers for
Speaker 3: top marks.
Speaker 1: When the date of the surprise raid is rescheduled, Melvin
Speaker 1: the Middleman is upset. He explains that the new date
Speaker 1: is inconvenient, clashing with the prize draw for his illegal
Speaker 1: lottery and costing him money. See if you can speak
Speaker 1: to him so with it in two weeks, he suggested
Speaker 1: to Jurgen Fanek, almost as if trying to postpone an
Speaker 1: inconvenient work meeting or a dentist's appointment.
Speaker 3: And perhaps this is also a sign of how far
Speaker 3: Melvin the Middleman has come, how the balance of power
Speaker 3: in his relationship with you Organ Fennik, who has also
Speaker 3: since he started collecting evidence of their crimes.
Speaker 1: In the event, Fanek has bad news, he says even
Speaker 1: he has no way to stop or delay the arrest,
Speaker 1: but he will try to lessen the disruption to Melvin's family.
Speaker 1: Yogen Fennec also promises that Melvin the Middleman will be
Speaker 1: bailed quickly and that Fennek himself will be waiting outside
Speaker 1: the prison gates to meet him. Afterwards, they'll get snacks
Speaker 1: to celebrate. He suggests the traditional multi spastries called pastizzi.
Speaker 1: It will be a great reunion between old friends.
Speaker 3: But in order for Melvin to get all this support
Speaker 3: and assistance, there's just one obstacle, one thing that he
Speaker 3: needs to do first. Jason as a party later cross
Speaker 3: examined Melvin the middle Man in court.
Speaker 6: He was repeatedly told to destroy the evidence he had
Speaker 6: on Jurgenzhenek.
Speaker 3: It keeps on being mentioned. Jorgen Fhennic texts him asking
Speaker 3: to ensure that before the arrest.
Speaker 7: Be one hundred percent everywhere is clean.
Speaker 6: And Thomas said, thankfully, I refuse to destroy the evidence
Speaker 6: because it was thanks to those staves that I could
Speaker 6: remain alive and eventually turn state witness.
Speaker 1: When the raid does happen, it takes place earlier than
Speaker 1: the agreed date and with a different officer in charge.
Speaker 1: Melvin's at the wheel and his car is suddenly cut
Speaker 1: off by police vehicles. On the passenger seat is a
Speaker 1: small ice cream box, which he grabs as he's being
Speaker 1: taken in. Inside the box is a jumble of paper
Speaker 1: and USB pen drives his precious evidence archive. And although
Speaker 1: he's being arrested for money laundering, Melvin the Middleman is
Speaker 1: so panicked or so relieved that he immediately says that
Speaker 1: he wants to talk about.
Speaker 3: Them, and with that the dam is broken. You're a
Speaker 3: poll take charge of the ice cream box archive in
Speaker 3: its contents. It's immediately put on a plane to the
Speaker 3: Hague to avoid tampering. Melvin the middleman quickly applies for
Speaker 3: a pardon for all his crimes in exchange for a
Speaker 3: full confession. When Organ Phanic hears this, his own feelings
Speaker 3: of panic and paranoia begin to spiral, perhaps accelerated by
Speaker 3: drug use. He begins to work frantically on a new plan.
Speaker 3: The alleged mastermind Thanak is now going on the run. First,
Speaker 3: he and his brother relocate to a remote villa in
Speaker 3: Malta to figure out the options. Organ Fane's personal doctor
Speaker 3: overhears some of their discussions and later testifies about what
Speaker 3: is said. Apparently, the conversation ranges widely, playing with ideas
Speaker 3: for a place refuge, as though planning a package holiday Tunisia, France, Mexico, Dubai,
Speaker 3: private jet, or exit by fishing boat. Each strategy has
Speaker 3: its pros and its cons. Organ Fennec texts his uncle
Speaker 3: about one concern. In translation, the text reads.
Speaker 7: If I pick it up in the EU, I'll end
Speaker 7: up in Europol's hands.
Speaker 3: Another message shows him agreeing with his brother that there
Speaker 3: is no turning back now.
Speaker 7: It's probably better a why the ways you suggested and
Speaker 7: leave for good.
Speaker 1: Records also show Fenex desperately transferring huge sums of cash
Speaker 1: around the world. At one point, he begins messaging a
Speaker 1: pilot in a private jet company to see if he
Speaker 1: can hire a plane. Jorgen Fanex's uncle warns against this,
Speaker 1: a private jet is now too risky, the airport is
Speaker 1: being watched. Better to leave in Fanex personal Yocht. The
Speaker 1: same doctor describes Fanec as high during these discussions.
Speaker 3: Eventually a plan of escape emerges, using multiple forms of transport,
Speaker 3: crossing several countries in a few days.
Speaker 1: The escape plan is this, late at night, unobserved, Jurgen
Speaker 1: Fannek will board his private yacht in the marina outside
Speaker 1: his luxury apartment. He'll have large amounts of cash with
Speaker 1: him and passports. The yachts captain will make for Pozzalo
Speaker 1: in Sicily on the pretense that the boat needs repairs.
Speaker 1: From Sicily, Fannek will travel by track to France. In Nice,
Speaker 1: an untraceable car will be waiting for him, and from
Speaker 1: there on to the next location. They agree that credit
Speaker 1: cards are to be avoided too much of a security risk.
Speaker 3: The details sound wild and extravagant, a James Bond fantasy
Speaker 3: of going on the run, but I don't think it
Speaker 3: is far fetched. Venneck has a lot going for him
Speaker 3: as a fugitive. He is used to having his wealth
Speaker 3: stashed in anonymous companies and virtual pirate caves around the world,
Speaker 3: and his wealth also has the potential to smooth over
Speaker 3: many of the obstacles that fugitives might face.
Speaker 1: And then there's the question of who will chase him.
Speaker 1: He knows that many in Molta's government and law enforcement
Speaker 1: would rather never take the stand in a trial. Too
Speaker 1: many people are too compromised by what he knows. It's
Speaker 1: already proved hard enough bringing him to justice in Malta,
Speaker 1: let alone from a place like Dubai or Mexico. So
Speaker 1: the real question is can he first make it off
Speaker 1: the island.
Speaker 3: Just before five thirty am on the twentieth November twenty nineteen,
Speaker 3: two years and a month after Daphnese murder, it's about
Speaker 3: an hour before dawn. Organ Fennick is settling into one
Speaker 3: of his two luxury yachts the Jot in the marina
Speaker 3: his family owned in Portomasso. A few meters along the
Speaker 3: quayside is the Blue Elephant Thai restaurant, shuttered for the night,
Speaker 3: the same spot where he first sold Melvin the Middleman
Speaker 3: his plan to murder Daphne. A little further along is
Speaker 3: the entrance to the Portamasso Tower, the tallest building in
Speaker 3: the country built by Fennox's family, where he owns a
Speaker 3: penthouse apartment. A little further still is the Hilton Hotel
Speaker 3: and the taxi concession stand once used by Melvin the Middleman,
Speaker 3: but that is all in the past now. A hold
Speaker 3: doll packed with euro banknotes lies in one corner of
Speaker 3: the yacht. Suitcases with clothes are packed and ready in another.
Speaker 3: The yacht edges slowly out of the marina.
Speaker 1: Fanek spent part of the previous night deep in fon
Speaker 1: conversation with Keach Cambri, his old school friend. Business a
Speaker 1: lie and, according to Melvin the Middleman, the man who
Speaker 1: has helped him cover up his involvement in Daphne's murder.
Speaker 1: Schambrie was pleading for him not to leave, arguing that
Speaker 1: everything could be sorted out if he stayed that it
Speaker 1: will look bad if Fanek leaves. Now, apparently Keach Cambri
Speaker 1: was also sending Prime Minister Joseph Muscat updates. Both of
Speaker 1: them anxious that their friend might be dragging them towards
Speaker 1: further political scandal and outrage.
Speaker 3: But just like Vincent Lekov and Melvin the Middleman before him,
Speaker 3: Jogan Fannek now senses that above all he needs to
Speaker 3: look out for himself. The rules of amoral feminism are
Speaker 3: about to be broken again. Today is a day for
Speaker 3: another day trial. He ignores the pleas of Keish Gambri,
Speaker 3: saying that his lawyer has told him they will come
Speaker 3: up with a narrative to explain his departure.
Speaker 1: As the jaw pulls out into open water, you can
Speaker 1: see the lights of Malta's capital, Valletta on the horizon,
Speaker 1: its ancient fortresses and palaces silhouetted out against the night sky.
Speaker 1: Jurgen Fennek must know that if his plan succeeds, this
Speaker 1: will be the last time he will see the skyline,
Speaker 1: and the last time he will see Malta for many years,
Speaker 1: and perhaps he won't even see his family for a
Speaker 1: long time.
Speaker 3: Before departure, the yachts captain warned Jogen Phannek, but the
Speaker 3: journalists has been snooping around the marina, but later disappeared in.
Speaker 1: A boat like this. The southern coast of Sicily is
Speaker 1: only a short trip away. They head northeast towards the
Speaker 1: slowly lightning sky, no one to stop them. Perhaps it
Speaker 1: seems to Jurgen Fennec that he is once again breaking
Speaker 1: the rules that apply to other people and getting away
Speaker 1: with it again.
Speaker 3: And then it appears a jot approaching fast behind them
Speaker 3: from Malta. Perhaps Jurgen Fhenneic hopes at first that this
Speaker 3: speedboat has nothing to do with him, but as it
Speaker 3: gains he must at last see the military dark gray paint.
Speaker 3: Then hear the loud hailo as they draw close that
Speaker 3: journalist who'd been watching the marina had not left. He'd
Speaker 3: call the police when the yacht pulled out of the harbor.
Speaker 1: When armed officers pull up alongside the jaw and poort
Speaker 1: the vessel, they inform Urgen fhenneg that he is under
Speaker 1: arrest in connection with the murder of journalist deaf Niicarwana.
Speaker 1: Galizzia Fennek replies simply, Ahiarmela mussan do good.
Speaker 8: We should not belong then.
Speaker 1: We don't want to lightful light of Vignia, Northern Malta,
Speaker 1: late twenty twenty three, nearly four years later, a hot,
Speaker 1: dry Multise October. With all the high speed chases, gangster
Speaker 1: betrayals and politically subterfuge, it can be easy to forget
Speaker 1: the woman at the center of the story, but to
Speaker 1: this day, her friends, family and supporters still mourn her.
Speaker 1: This is the field where definitely was murdered, a field
Speaker 1: with a view of the sea over rolling farmland. We're
Speaker 1: not There's a small shrine in the center of the field,
Speaker 1: at the spot where her burning car came to rest.
Speaker 1: It's decorated with a picture of Daphne and a small
Speaker 1: Maltese flag. Every year, on the anniversary of Daphne's death,
Speaker 1: these people gather here, a group of her closest friends,
Speaker 1: family and supporters, to mark her passing and remember her
Speaker 1: life and achievements. Today is the sixth anniversary. The celebration
Speaker 1: is open to all, but it is always led by women.
Speaker 9: I knew Daphne personally. Sons were the same age, and
Speaker 9: we used to meet when we're young matters. I used
Speaker 9: to read her blogs and I am distraught at the
Speaker 9: state of our country, how our beautiful little island has
Speaker 9: been completely ruined by corruption. And it's very very important.
Speaker 9: That's what Daphne went through and even died for, is
Speaker 9: very much there people's minds, you know.
Speaker 4: It's easy to switch off.
Speaker 9: Six years have gone by, and it's quite incredible that
Speaker 9: everything she came out with it is even more true today.
Speaker 3: In the years since Daphane's death, some things have changed.
Speaker 3: The government of Joseph Muscat collapsed after Jorgan Phenix's arrest,
Speaker 3: pushed out by something close to a popular uprising.
Speaker 1: Huge protests every couple of days, like nothing anyone in
Speaker 1: the country had seen in living memory.
Speaker 3: Officially, Joseph Muscat has retired from politics and he maintains
Speaker 3: his innocence. For many people, his premiership will always be
Speaker 3: associated with the corruption scandals that led to Daphne's assassination.
Speaker 3: At the time of recording, Jorgan Fennick is behind bars
Speaker 3: awaiting trial for compley in Daphne's murder. The de Giorgio brothers,
Speaker 3: two of the three assassins, have been found guilty of
Speaker 3: murder and sentenced to forty years in jail. The third assassin,
Speaker 3: Vincent the Koff, was given a reduced sentence of fifteen
Speaker 3: years for murder as part of the plea deal for
Speaker 3: testifying against his accomplices. Robert Addeus and Jemmy Veller are
Speaker 3: awaiting trial for supplying the bomb used in Daphne's murder.
Speaker 3: Both men have pleaded not guilty. Melvin Delmer received a
Speaker 3: pardon for his confession. On the twenty first of July
Speaker 3: twenty twenty, a day before he was due to appear
Speaker 3: in court to continue his testimony about Daphne's murder, police
Speaker 3: were called to his home. He was found with multiple
Speaker 3: stab wounds to his abdomen and a slip throat. He
Speaker 3: was under official police protection at the time due to
Speaker 3: fears for his safety. He survived and indicated that the
Speaker 3: injuries were a suicide attempt. A chief of staff in
Speaker 3: the office of the Prime Minister, Keith Schenbrie, stood down
Speaker 3: from government soon after his friend Jogen Fennek was arrested.
Speaker 3: Skembri himself was arrested and later released as part of
Speaker 3: the murder investigation. In twenty twenty one, Keith Schenbrie was
Speaker 3: separately charged with corruption and money laundering. Schmbrie denies all charges,
Speaker 3: and proceedings in his cases are still ongoing at the
Speaker 3: time of recording. In twenty twenty one, the US State
Speaker 3: Department said that it was publicly designating Keithenbri and Conrand
Speaker 3: Mitzi due to their involvements in significant corruption. That means
Speaker 3: that both men and their immediate families are banned from
Speaker 3: travel to the United States.
Speaker 1: Chris Cardoona, the former minister whose last happy day in
Speaker 1: politics was allegedly spent in a German brothel, has left politics,
Speaker 1: although recently threatened to return. Why not, he said he
Speaker 1: was never charged with involvement in the mayor there. Chris
Speaker 1: Cardona did not respond to our requests for an interview.
Speaker 3: None of the three assassins Chinese George Georgia, Alfred the
Speaker 3: Bean Georgia, or Vincent Leakoff Muscat responded to requests for
Speaker 3: an interview for this podcast. Melvin the Middleman's representatives initially
Speaker 3: agreed to consider our interview request, but eventually stop responding
Speaker 3: to us. A representative of Jogen Finnik declined our requests
Speaker 3: for an interview, searching his upcoming trial.
Speaker 1: Conrad Amtsi did not respond to our requests for an interview.
Speaker 1: Keach cambrideclined our request for an interview. Former Prime Minister
Speaker 1: Joseph Mouscart's representative declined our request for an interview, with
Speaker 1: the following message, Doctor Mouscart does not feel that mister
Speaker 1: Delilla and mister Sweeney can in any way be considered
Speaker 1: honest brokers in conveying a fair account of events. Some
Speaker 1: things in Malta today have not changed. The Labor Party
Speaker 1: remains in power. New corruption scandals involving huge sums of
Speaker 1: money continue to be on earthed. The murder trial of
Speaker 1: Jurgen Fennec has been repeatedly postponed, just as for Deafni
Speaker 1: has been delayed again and again. The culture that Deafney
Speaker 1: warned about that of two Maltas both so opposed and
Speaker 1: divided that no shared national goals are possible. That continues.
Speaker 1: The tendency towards a moral feminism, the abdication of all
Speaker 1: moral obligations except loyalty to one's group, that also continues
Speaker 1: in many instances. Officially, many of Deaphanie's allegations about corruption
Speaker 1: and government are being investigated, but months and years roll by,
Speaker 1: and hope of any outcome fates. But most of all, tragically,
Speaker 1: people in Malta continue to fear the consequences of speaking
Speaker 1: the truth in public. The freedom that Daphnie embodied is
Speaker 1: still under threat, just as it was in this field
Speaker 1: six years ago.
Speaker 2: I always feel that she's almost more powerful. Her words
Speaker 2: are more powerful beyond the grave, because we keep going
Speaker 2: back to them, and we keep saying she was right.
Speaker 3: She was right.
Speaker 1: At the hour Daphne's murder took place, and the baking
Speaker 1: afternoon sun, as birds circle overhead and the Mediterranean gleams
Speaker 1: in the distance, the simple ceremony is held, beginning with
Speaker 1: a shirt silence of remembrance. There is one entry in
Speaker 1: duney blog that I often return to. It's a call
Speaker 1: for her readers not to be downhearted, even when the
Speaker 1: odds seem stacked against justice, fairness and truth. It was
Speaker 1: posted just over four months before her death. When I
Speaker 1: read it, I still hear her voice.
Speaker 2: June fifth, twenty seventeen. I know you don't have to
Speaker 2: tell me. It's the reason I do it that this
Speaker 2: website has, over the last four years become a gathering
Speaker 2: post or rallying point for decent people who feel frightened
Speaker 2: and threatened at the rise, growth, and spread of a morality.
Speaker 2: You come here to feel normal in a sea of insanity.
Speaker 2: You want reassurance that it is not you who is
Speaker 2: in the wrong because you think people who do serious
Speaker 2: wrong should not be in government. No, you are not
Speaker 2: wrong because you think the police should act. No, you
Speaker 2: are not wrong to feel sick when the mob cheers
Speaker 2: a corrupt bea officer. Of course you are not. You
Speaker 2: are right.
Speaker 8: Of course.
Speaker 2: It is wrong to vote for corruption. Of course. It
Speaker 2: is wrong to vote so as to put corrupt politicians
Speaker 2: into power. It is very wrong. The fight against corruption
Speaker 2: and the decimation of the rule of law must continue.
Speaker 2: There is something else I should say before I go.
Speaker 2: When people taunt you or criticize you for being negative,
Speaker 2: or for failing to go with their flow, for not
Speaker 2: adopting an attitude of benign tolerance to their excesses, bear
Speaker 2: in mind always that they, and not you, are the
Speaker 2: ones who are in the wrong.
Speaker 3: Next time, In our final episode of our investigation into
Speaker 3: the killing of Daphne Carojuana Galiticia, we look at the
Speaker 3: latest developments in the murder trial of Jogen Fennek and
Speaker 3: a corruption case against the then Prime Minister Joseph Muscat.
Speaker 1: Crooks Everywhere is a production of iHeart Podcasts, Topic Studios
Speaker 1: and Vespucci. It's reported and hosted by me Manuel Delia
Speaker 1: and John Sweeney. The senior producer is Leo Hornack. The
Speaker 1: producer is Maddi Hikeish. Chris Denesh Kumar is the assistant producer.
Speaker 1: Acting direction by Christopher Houten. Maltese voices by Mikhail Basmajan
Speaker 1: and Pierre Staffraj. The executive produce users are Johnny Galvin
Speaker 1: and Daniel Turken at Vespucci, Christi Gressman at Topic Studios,
Speaker 1: Katina Norvel and Nikki Etoor at iHeart Podcasts. Ancienna Miller.
Speaker 1: Marketing leader is David Wassermann. Audio recording by Tom Berry
Speaker 1: at Wardoor Studios. Audio mix and sound design by Joel Cox.
Speaker 1: Special thanks to Andrew Botchcardona, Alessandra di Crespo, Eddie Isles,
Speaker 1: and Andrew Carwana Galizia