A man whose home safe was emptied by two thieves operating in tandem with his ex-partner with whom he had been out dining at the time, has sued all three for damages.

The robbery took place in March 2018.

The victim’s then partner organized a meal at a Baħrija restaurant for the couple, inviting along two of their friends. At the time, the man was staying at the home of his partner, Lucia Taliana, while renovation works were being carried out at his Zabbar home where the theft took place.

The woman had often urged him to transfer his mother’s antique gold jewellery from his cousin’s home, where it was being kept in safe custody, to his own home, advising him to have a wall safe installed.

He went along with her suggestions and transferred the family valuables just two months before they vanished on that Saturday evening while the couple were out for dinner.

The safe had been installed in one of the rooms accessible through a yard and was hidden behind a wooden cover. The only persons who knew about it were his own teenage son and his ex, the victim had explained in court.

Two gold necklaces, several lucky charms as well as some €18,000 in cash had all gone missing.

Taliana was familiar with the jewelry pieces because she had often worn them when still in a relationship with the victim.

A further €500 or €600 in cash had also gone missing from a chest of drawers inside one of the bedrooms and from a showcase in the sitting room.

Two days before the robbery, the victim had turned up unexpectedly at his Zabbar property early in the afternoon just after work and had come across his partner roaming the premises. 

Police investigations after the robbery led to the arrest of the woman as a suspected accomplice in the plot, aiding and abetting the theft which was allegedly committed by her daughter’s boyfriend, Matthew Portelli and his friend Carmel Hartley.

Portelli had asked Hartley to join him in the plan, telling him that the ‘job’ would guarantee sufficient funds to cover an outstanding €3,100 debt owed to a third party in terms of a previous judgment.

Portelli and Hartley had been paying that debt by means of monthly instalments and the robbery would cancel all outstanding payments.

Hartley subsequently registered an admission and was sentenced to a 15-month jail term in 2019, which was confirmed on appeal.

He then testified against Taliana and Portelli whose case was decided by a Magistrates’ Court earlier this year.

Both were found guilty.

Taliana was handed an 18-month jail term suspended for three years, while Portelli got a 2-year effective jail term and an additional two years for a previous judgment that was put into effect.

Portelli was also ordered to pay the victim €4,300 by way of compensation for losses suffered as a result of the theft. 

But the victim has now instituted separate proceedings before the First Hall, Civil Court in a bid to get an award for damages, including moral damages and loss of profits.

The applicant’s lawyers are requesting the court to declare all three accused responsible and to order reimbursement of the amount stolen in cash in addition to compensation for all damages.

Lawyers Carlos Bugeja and Martina Francica signed the sworn application.