Melvin Theuma, the self-confessed middleman in the Daphne Caruana Galizia murder, testified on Monday how he felt trapped as he served as the go-between to fund George and Alfred Degiorgio, currently in prison awaiting trial for the murder.

Theuma was testifying as the main witness in proceedings against Mario Degiorgio, eldest brother of George and Alfred.

Mario Degiorgio was arraigned under arrest last week and charged with money laundering and blackmail. He pleaded not guilty.

Theuma testified that he never disclosed his middleman’s role in the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia to Mario Degiorgio, but handed him money for his brothers in jail (from alleged mastermind Yorgen Fenech) because he felt threatened.

He never gave away Yorgen Fenech's name. 

Theuma testified that after the murder, he never heard from the alleged hitmen until their arrest in December 2017, two months after the Bidnija explosion.

But following their arrest and arraignment, he began to hand over monies and food to the men behind bars.

Initially, he did so through a third party known as “il-Lolly,” but later got to know the Degiorgios’ brother, Mario, who began to hand him messages from his brothers in jail.

Asked whether Mario knew that he was a middleman in the murder, Theuma replied, “I never admitted that I was the middleman.”

Faced with regular requests from Mario for funds to cover schooling expenses for George Degiorgio’s children, insurance payments, legal fees and other daily expenses by the alleged hitmen and their families, Theuma said he would simply tell him, “let me go speak to whoever I must.”

He used to meet Mario inside his car at Pjazza Magri, Marsa or would visit at his home in the same locality.

“Did Mario know that all those funds were coming from the alleged mastermind?” Magistrate Donatella Frendo Dimech asked.

“He would have assumed.”replied Theuma.

He said he would also fork out some money of his own pocket - some €200 weekly, €100 for each of the brothers, over and above some €2500 he got from Fenech.

There were then substantial requests, including €60,000 to cover (requested) bail and some €70,000 for Degiorgios’ lawyer, William Cuschieri.

Mario would hand over receipts from the Corradino Correctional Facility which Theuma, in turn, sometimes showed to Fenech to prove where the money was going.

'Back to the wall'

“I ended up with my back against the wall so much that I gave them all they asked for,” Theuma said.

“But did anyone tell you anything?”asked the magistrate.

George Degiorgio had once delivered a message through his brother, telling him, “ibza’ mhux minn ta’ barra imma minn ta’ gewwa,” (Be scared of those on the inside not those on the outside) Theuma recalled.

“And that made it even worse for me,” Theuma said. “I felt my back against the wall and I continued to hand over everything that Mario asked for till the very end, till the time of my arrest. I felt blackmailed.”

Theuma feared he would be betrayed

Prosecuting Inspector Lianne Bonello, replying to questions by Mario Degiorgio’s lawyers, said that Theuma told police how he kept handing over payments to Mario Degiorgio because he was afraid that he would be betrayed.

“Did Mario take anything for himself from the monies coming from Theuma?” asked defence lawyer William Cuschieri.

“Yes, the Chow Chow dog,” replied Bonello, explaining that Theuma claimed to have handed over some €5000 for the pet which the accused bought from China.

In fact, investigators had traced three bank deposits made by Mario Degiorgio to a person in China for the purchase of a dog.

Other records from the Corradino Correctional Facility showed that the accused had handed over some €25,000 to his brothers.

Deposit slips recordings those amounts were presented in court.

The inspector explained that given that Mario Degiorgio was a pensioner who had been out of work since 2004, he could never have personally covered those amounts.

A list of items seized from the accused’s residence when police moved in to execute an arrest warrant against him and his wife, was presented in court.

Among those items were €8,050 in cash, the Chow Chow’s pedigree certificate and a sizeable number of CDs whose contents are yet not known.

“Your duty is to present exhibits that are relevant to the case,”remarked Magistrate Frendo Dimech, insisting that the court would no longer serve as a “screen” for work which ought to be done by police.

Told that there was not enough manpower at the police to sift through those CDs, the magistrate pointed out that such a situation meant that the court would have to incur greater expenses which would ultimately be shouldered by the taxpayer.

“Such a situation is no longer tolerable,” remarked the magistrate.

The case continues.

Meanwhile a request for bail is to remain pending until other civilians were summoned to testify at the next sitting.

Inspector Christopher Ellul also prosecuted, assisted by AG lawyers Francesco Refalo and Marthese Grech.

Lawyers William Cuschieri and Lennox Vella are defence counsel.

Lawyers Kathleen Calleja Grima and Matthew Brincat are assisting Theuma.