A former public transport bus cleaner was cleared of stealing two jerry cans of engine oil, nine years after he was fired over the incident. 

The court questioned why vital evidence had not been preserved and police were only called in upon insistence by the employee’s union. 

Anthony Compagno’s nine-year-long ordeal kicked off in September 2014 when the night manager at the Floriana fuel depot where he worked, cleaning and parking buses, said he wanted to have a word.

Earlier that evening, a security guard working on the night shift had told the manager about “somewhat suspicious activity” by the cleaner, who regularly also stepped in to replace the company’s top-up man, to top up buses’ engine oil. 

The night inspector, George Baldacchino, told the manager he had seen Compagno unload some items from a company van and carry them to his vehicle which was parked “rather strangely” in a secluded spot.

The cleaner would usually park his car in the common area. 

When the car was opened in the presence of the owner, two black garbage bags tucked away behind the seats yielded two yellow jerry cans with a capacity of 25 litres.

When a company mechanic dipped his fingers inside the containers, he confirmed the liquid inside was bus engine oil.

Compagno immediately protested his innocence, saying he had no clue how those jerry cans had ended there.

“You’ve dirtied my [car] seats…they’re all smeared with oil,” was his initial reaction, knowing he had left his car unlocked.

He was subsequently fired by the company and charged with the theft of 50 litres of engine oil as well as handling stolen property. 

He protested his innocence from the very start and when testifying in court in January - over nine years since the incident - recalled how he had immediately urged his superiors to call the police that night.

He had asked them to check the 50 or so CCTV cameras that were all over the place. 

Yet, despite insisting with the night inspector to switch on those cameras to check the footage, Baldacchino laughed off the request, saying, “As if I know where the cameras are!”

Police were only roped in one month later after Compagno turned towards his union to intervene. 

The accused insisted he never touched those jerry cans which had been removed from his car by other Arriva workers. 

When testifying in the proceedings, Raymond Bajada, the manager on duty that night, said the management had long suspected that engine oil and coolant were being siphoned away.

Assistant engineer Joseph Vella also explained that when daily audits were carried out, the figures did not tally. 

The engine oil was stored in a room left open during the day and locked securely at night, the keys kept in safe custody by the manager. 

The ‘top-up men,’ including Compagno, denied any wrongdoing and were warned they would be fired if caught stealing.

The manager said the accused was “hardworking” and was sorry for having to take those steps. 

When assessing the evidence the court, presided over by Magistrate Yana Micallef Stafrace, observed that the accused’s version had been consistent throughout. 

He protested his innocence, cooperated with his employer and the police and even sought help from his union to have the allegations investigated by the police. He was also willing to supply his fingerprints. 

Yet, the prosecution had failed to produce the best evidence.

The matter was reported to the police over one month after the alleged incident and by the time police tried to retrieve the footage, it was too late. 

Nor were fingerprints lifted. 

The court also observed that the area of the alleged theft was well-lit and covered by some 50 cameras, with security officers roaming the place. 

The main witness, the night inspector, who insisted that he had seen Compagno place two bags inside his car, later said that he was “some way off” and was busy looking down to watch the night buses. 

The court also questioned the reluctance to check the security cameras and to preserve the footage immediately. 

When all was considered, the accused, now 60 years old, was acquitted of all criminal wrongdoing. 

Lawyer Carm Mifsud Bonnici was defence counsel.