After 32-year-old Joseph Portelli’s two statements to the police were presented in court, defence attorney Dr Ian Farrugia explained that his client admitted one of the charges against him, that of receiving stolen goods, but still denied stealing the works of art and damaging property.
The court upheld the defence’s request for bail and Portelli was placed under house arrest against a Lm15,000 personal guarantee and a Lm2,000 deposit. In his request, Dr Farrugia explained that since the man’s arraignment, the situation had changed. Apart from the accused’s admission, he said, almost all non-police witnesses had now testified which means there is a smaller window of opportunity for evidence to be tampered with.
Another man, Ian Farrugia, who is also charged with stealing the works of art, was refused bail on the grounds that he might tamper with evidence or intimidate non-police witnesses.
Questioned by the defence, prosecuting inspector Geoffrey Azzopardi confirmed that Portelli had cooperated with the police and had answered all the questions put to him during his interrogation. He had helped with the investigation of other people suspected of involvement in this case, he said.
Judge Bonello’s sister, Anna Xuereb, took the stand at yesterday’s sitting. She told the court, presided over by Magistrate Jacqueline Padovani Grima, about the big hole in the floor of the house’s front hall. She noticed the hole when she entered to check the post. Although Mrs Xuereb said she regularly visited the residence to help the maid clean, she had not visited the house for three weeks prior to this incident because she was unwell. “The house was in no way abandoned,” she said.
When asked to describe the scene in the house on her arrival on 5 April, Mrs Xuereb said she noticed paintings were missing as she saw empty frames left on the floor. “The thieves had even taken down some of the paintings, broken their protective glass and left it behind,” she explained. The paintings that had been stolen had been removed from their frames and only the canvas and backing was taken, she continued.
She clarified that 28 paintings one engraving and one drawing had been stolen. There was broken glass and a missing bedspread, the witness continued, and the thieves must have stood on the antique sofa in the hall because the bottom went through.
“Because the cost of fixing the hole in the floor was considerable, repairs were carried out by the Public Works Department,” said Mrs Xuereb.
The witness was then shown a list of the paintings recovered on 27 April from Portelli’s Birkirkara home and garage to confirm they were the ones stolen from her brother’s home. Magistrate Padovani Grima explained that Mrs Xuereb will be called to the stand at a later stage when photographs of the paintings are exhibited in court.
Inspectors Geoffrey Azzopardi and Michael Mallia prosecuted while Dr Ian Farrugia is acting for the defence.
The case continues.