Mario Debono, the GRTU vice-president who last month signed the Pharmacy Of Your Choice memorandum with Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi, pleaded guilty in a court of law to the charge of sending threatening and offending electronic emails to Labour MEP Joseph Muscat.
In vitriolic emails sent to Muscat, Debono – who describes himself to his friends as a “diehard Nationalist” – refers to the MEP as “Goebbels”, former foreign minister George Vella as a “birdbrain”, Labour commentator Manwel Cuschieri as “maqjel” (pig sty), and Labour leader Alfred Sant as a “mental masturbator”.
Other emails in the possession of the police, and seen by MaltaToday, are replete with personal, vulgar and sexual invective directed at Muscat, as well as other vitriolic attacks against Labour personalities, including One TV’s head of news, Miriam Dalli.
Asked to comment about the case, MEP Joseph Muscat said he had already received hate mail in the past, but this was a case which “exceeded all limits”.
“Usually I consider it to be part of the job, but in this case Debono – who would write under his own name and an anonymous name – showed unusual perseverance,” Muscat said.
“I have never met this Mario Debono, but when it was evident that he had started to follow my whereabouts and comment on the restaurant I was dining at with my wife, it was here that I said enough is enough.”
The police later tracked down Mario Debono, who would also post the emails under a pseudonym.
When asked about the personal attacks, Joseph Muscat said some of the comments Debono had passed were far too personal to discuss. Indeed, MaltaToday has seen the emails and can confirm that the comments passed by Debono not only attacked Muscat personally, but also his immediate family.
Debono would send emails from his pharmaceutical company email Surgiquip.
When contacted yesterday, Mario Debono, who has been defended by the GRTU, retorted: “Why continue pillorying me? Everything there is can be seen in the court case.”
When asked to comment about his reference to Muscat as Goebbels he answered: “I do not really care…” and hung up.
Vince Farrugia, the GRTU’s director-general, yesterday defended Mario Debono, once again dismissing the story as “old hat”.
But what was surely not old hat was the fact that Mario Debono has also been under police investigation and the subject of a magisterial inquiry since December, after the authorities were alerted to a suspicious consignment of 400 packets imported by his company.
The packets contained fake drugs known as Plavix, which are used for patients with severe cardiac ailments. The police and health authorities have so far been tight-lipped about the magisterial inquiry.
Meanwhile, sources close to the Prime Minister spoke disapprovingly of Debono’s presence at the negotiations and at last month’s signing of the Pharmacy of Your Choice memorandum, but added that Lawrence Gonzi would not go into the issue with GRTU.
“GRTU chooses its own representatives,” a spokesman for the Prime Minister said. “It’s not up to him to tell them who to send for negotiations and the signing.”
At the press conference MaltaToday asked Mario Debono whether he would continue to represent the GRTU in view of the magisterial inquiry. At the time of the press conference, this newspaper was unaware of a court sentence against Mario Debono’s electronic messaging furore.
Attacking the MaltaToday journalist for asking the question at the press conference yesterday, GRTU director Vince Farrugia barged in to reply and defend Mario Debono.
“With all respect, Mr Prime Minister, I would like to reply myself to this (question),” Farrugia said.
“I think this is a personal attack. There are a lot of people in Malta who for one reason or another are helping the police in some investigation or another. We at GRTU, and the majority of the constituted bodies, and the majority of those who believe in civil rights, think a person who is asked or a person who in some way or another gives his cooperation to a police investigation is not guilty.
“First and foremost there has to be a charge, and secondly a person is guilty when there is a judgment. I feel that no Maltese citizen, and we as GRTU believe strongly in this, that no Maltese citizen should be tarnished simply because he is helping the police in an investigation.”
When contacted yesterday afternoon, Vince Farrugia insisted that the information about Mario Debono should be sent to him in order to verify with his lawyers and he promised that he would come back with an answer. When a selection of the emails were sent to him he said that the story was “more bile than crime”.
Notwithstanding, Mario Debono was elected to the GRTU council with a large majority year after year, proving that members preferred his hard work, dedication and leadership to all this cheap skulduggery.
Farrugia ended his message, which he sent by SMS, by praising Joseph Muscat, describing the MEP whom Debono labelled “Goebbels” as a “great friend”.
-----Original Message-----
From: MARIO DEBONO [mailto:surgiq@maltanet.net]
Sent: 10 April 2003 01:22
To: team@maltastar.com
Subject: Article Feedback: A Story Of Two Pacts
yes, Mr Goebbels Muscat… he tore up your worthless gimmick.......
Because that is what your party is good at... Gimmicks and stupid
things.......
I will be celebrating on the 13th........will u?
-----Original Message-----
From: MARIO DEBONO [mailto:surgiq@maltanet.net]
Sent: 09 April 2003 00:59
To: team@maltastar.com
Subject: Article Feedback: The Scaremongering Goes On
LABOUR, IF BY SOME MIRACLE WILL GET ELECTED, WILL SACK PEOPLE AND CLOSE DOWN THE WHOLE ECONOMY AND TRANSFORM IT INTO SOMETHING AKIN TO A MODEL WORKED OUT BY MARIO VELLA, COMMUNIST TRAINED ECONOMIST
-----Original Message-----
From: MARIO DEBONO [mailto:surgiq@maltanet.net]
Sent: 18 December 2002 00:38
To: team@maltastar.com
Subject: Article Feedback: <B><font size=4>Vella Says Partnership Leaves
All Options Open</font></b>
DR VELLA IS A GOOD DOCTOR BUT GOD FORBID THAT HE EVER BECOMES FOREIGN MINISTER. BESIDES LOOKING LIKE SOME KIND OF UNLOVELY BIRD, HE HAS IN FACT PROVED TO BE A BIRDBRAIN.......LIKE ALL AT MESHASTAR.COM
-----Original Message-----
From: MARIO DEBONO [mailto:surgiq@maltanet.net]
Sent: 09 November 2002 01:19
To: team@maltastar.com
Subject: Article Feedback: <B><font size=6>CBM Governor Delivers Highly
Partisan Speech</font></b>
Jowey Muscat,,,you are more of an expert in the food at papanni’s than
writing articles...........
