This page contains the profiles of the main characters of the bribery scandal

Noel Arrigo

Born in Sliema, Dr. Noel Arrigo was educated at St. Edward’s College and the Royal University of Malta.

He was called to the bar in 1973. Besides holding a private legal practice until his appointment as a Judge he was a director of various commercial companies. He also heads his own company, N.M. Arrigo Ltd. He served on various government bodies and was Chairman of the Planning Consultative Council in the Planning Authority, a Governor of MIBA and a Director of Metco.

He was also an examiner and part-time lecturer at the UM from 1976; a council member, Chamber of Advocates (1979-82); Chairman, Institute of Directors (Malta Branch) from 1989, Founder President of the Maltese/French Chamber of Commerce, President of the Malta Chamber of Commerce (1991/1992) where he was appointed an Honorary Life Member. He was Chairman of the Marsa Sports Club and of Floriana Football Club, of which clubs he is an Honourary Life President. He was the founder President of the P.T.A. at St. Edward’s College and is Chairman of the Old Edwardian Association.

He was appointed a judge of the Superior Courts in 1993 and has sat on the Constitutional Court (1993/1996) and in the Courts of Civil and Criminal Appeals. He presided in the Gozo Court of Appeal from 1996 when he was also appointed the ‘First Master’.

He was Chairman of the Family Court Commission which presented its report on the setting up of a Family Court in 1997.

He was appointed Chief Justice and President of the Courts of Appeal on the 17th January 2002.

Arrigo is married to Maria Sant Cassia and they have three sons, Edward, Alexander and Joseph, and a daughter, Francesca.

He resigned from the post of Chief Justice on 9th August 2002.

Patrick Vella

Former Justice Patrick Vella was the second judge to be involved in the bribery case.

Patrick Vella is 57 years old and was appointed judge in February 1998. Prior to that, he had served as magistrate for 12 years.

He became a lawyer in 1967, and obtained a magister juris in European Law in 1996.

He resigned from the post of Justice on 12th August 2002.

Mario Camilleri

Mario Camilleri is the convicted drug trafficker who had his jail sentence reduced by four years by an Appeals court on which former Chief Justice Noel Arrigo and former Justice Patrick Vella sat.

Known as "L-Imniehru", Camilleri was a rather popular figure in Valletta. He grew up in the city. He is 40 years old and is married to Mona. They have two sons and a daughter.

The eldest of the couple's sons, Pierre, is also being charged with complicity in the bribery attempt of the two former judges.

Camilleri has been a resident of the Corradino Correctional Facility since June11, 2001. On that day current Chief Justice Vincent De Gaetano sentenced him to a 16-year-jail term after he admitted to charges of drug trafficking brought against him.

The then Justice De Gaetano also sentenced him to a Lm25,000 fine.

He filed an appeal on 28th June and the Court of Criminal Appeal presided over by Chief Justice Arrigo, Judge Vella and Judge Joseph Filletti on July 5 reduced the jail term by four years.

John Rizzo

Police Commissioner John Rizzo orchestrated the entire investigation which ultimately led to the pressing of bribery charges against former Chief Justice Noel Arrigo, former Justice Vella, Mario Camilleri and three accomplices.

He is known as inexorable, brilliant investigator. He is the main prosecutor in the case against the two former judges and that of the four men charged with orchestrating the bribery.

He is son of Gerald and Concetta nee Ear was born on 10 May 1956 in Cospicua. He is married to Catherine and has four children, Elaine aged 18, Keith aged 16, Jeffrey aged 10 and Kurt John aged 4.

Rizzo received his primary education at the Cospicua Primary School and his secondary education at St Joseph Secondary School, Paola.

In 1976 he joined the Malta Police Force as a constable and performed district duties in the Valletta and Cospicua Police Stations. In 1980 he was promoted to Sergeant and in 1984, following a competitive examination, he was promoted to the rank of Inspector.

In 1986 he obtained a Diploma in Law and Administration from the University of Malta. In 1991, Mr Rizzo was posted to the Criminal Investigations Department. While serving in this post, he attended a European Homicide Investigation's course for senior detectives from European Police Forces at this Police Staff College in Branshill, UK. He also carried out duties with the Metropolitan Police officers, investigating unsolved murder cases.

In 1996 Mr Rizzo was promoted to the rank of Superintendent and in 1997 he was promoted to the rank of Assistant Commissioner. In 1997, he attended a familiarization visit to several sections of the Metropolitan Police Services, while in 1998, he attended a training course in International Law Enforcement Cooperation at the National Police Agency in Japan.

John Rizzo was appointed Commissioner of Police on 2 November 2001 when he succeeded George Grech who resigned following a sexual scandal.

Vincent De Gaetano

Chief Justice Vincent De Gaetano succeeded Noel Arrigo after the latter resigned following the pressing of bribery charges against him.

He is regarded as man 'from the old school' and was known for handing down harsh sentences in relation to drug possession and trafficking charges.

He was the judge who handed down the 16-year-jail sentence to Mario Camilleri.

Born in Sliema on 17 August, 1952, Dr De Gaetano was educated at the Jesuit College of St. Aloysius, at the Royal University of Malta and at the University of Cambridge.

He was called to the bar in 1976. In 1979 he was appointed Senior Counsel for the Republic and in 1988 Assistant Attorney General in the Attorney-General’s Office. Between 1989 and 1994 he served as Deputy Attorney General. Whilst serving in the Attorney General’s Office, Dr De Gaetano was one of the prosecutors before the Criminal Court and Court of Criminal Appeal. He was also responsible for providing general legal advice to Government in matters of public law and contributed to the legislative drafting particularly in the fields of public law and criminal law.
In 1994 Dr De Gaetano was appointed as a Judge of the Superior Courts.

Dr Degaetano has served on various international Boards and Committees. Between 1988 and 1994 he was a member of the ad hoc Committee of Experts on the Legal Aspect of Territorial Asylum, Refugees and Stateless Persons of the Council of Europe. In 1988 he was also appointed Malta’s representative on the Steering Committee on Legal Co-operation of the Council of Europe. Dr De Gaetano was elected Chairman of this Committee in January 1998, a post he held until December 1999. He was also the Chairman of the Multidisciplinary Group on Corruption of the Council of Europe between 1995 and 1997. Dr De Gaetano is a founding member of the Association of Judges and Magistrates of Malta. In April 2002 he was elected from among the Judges to be a member of the Commission for the Administration of Justice.

Dr De Gaetano has published various papers and articles both locally and abroad.
He is married to Marie-Therese nee’ Ambrogio and has two children.