Gudja Labour Party donation swindlers are police minister’s persons of trust

Two former members of Gudja’s Labour Party local committee who were allegedly involved in the misappropriation of some €20,000 in funds from donations and membership fees intended for the Labour Party are closely connected to Police Minister Byron Camilleri.

Investigations carried out by The Shift, following up on information first revealed by independent political candidate Arnold Cassola, show that the two main people involved in the alleged fraud are Phyllis Micallef and Joseph Gambin, two former members of the Labour Party’s Gudja local committee.

Micallef, herself a chief canvasser in the locality for Minister Byron Camilleri, who was elected from the Fourth District, is also a government employee at the Agency for the Welfare for Asylum Seekers (AWAS), which coincidentally falls under Camilleri’s political wing.

More significant are the close relations with the police minister himself as Phyllis Micallef’s husband, Josef, is Minister Camilleri’s official driver and one of his persons of trust.

The Shift is informed that, so far, it does not appear that the driver himself was personally involved in the misappropriation of funds, even though it is believed he was fully aware of what his wife was doing.

News of the incident, which has spread like wildfire in the small village of Gudja, has so far been swept under the carpet by the Labour Party’s top officials in Hamrun and by the police.

While Labour has not commented officially on the serious incident, angry Gudja Labour Party members told The Shift anonymously that the party is trying hard to keep the affair under wraps and that it has reached some form of agreement with the culprits that will see the swindled money returned where it belongs.

In return, it was agreed that an official police report would not be filed and as such, criminal procedures would not be taken against the alleged fraudsters.

Asked by The Shift to confirm he is aware of the incident involving his driver’s wife and to confirm that Phyllis Micallef is his canvasser in Gudja, Home Affairs Minister Byron Camilleri refused to reply.

He also kept mum when asked whether his driver, Josef, still enjoys his trust.

The Shift is informed that so far, Phyllis Micallef’s husband is still Camilleri’s ministerial driver.

Camilleri’s only reaction to The Shift’s questions was his insistence that he does not interfere in police investigations. “I never interfere with police investigations. Never,” Minister Camilleri angrily replied.

The Shift is informed that most members of the Gudja Labour Party club are insisting the Labour Party’s administration takes appropriate measures, including the filing of a police report over the ‘stolen’ money. So far, however, the party is still choosing to protect those involved and ignoring such calls.

This is not the first time that Labour has tried to hide serious crimes inside its premises.

In 2010, then-Deputy Leader Toni Abela had tried to cover a serious drug trafficking case taking place inside the Party’s Attard club. The ‘famous’ blokka bajda incident saw Abela keeping reports of drug trafficking inside the club secret and not reporting the incident to the police.

Abela was later moved by Labour, under the leadership of disgraced prime minister Joseph Muscat, to the judiciary as a judge.