Currently, there is an ongoing Magisterial Inquiry on the corrupt deal of the Mozura Wind-Farm in Montenegro. Joseph Portelli is a person of interest in this inquiry given that he was once offered to buy an island in Montenegro, an offer which was very suspicious given that the island was offered to him at a premium price.
I politely asked Joseph Portelli whether he ever bought any property in Montenegro and he denied this, however he admitted that he has an interest in doing so. I was very polite with him, always using “please” and “thank you” in my request.
At the end of the conversation, very surprisingly, he launched a diatribe of insults. I did not prompt him or say anything provocative in his regard and I actually thanked him for his time. Here is an English translation of his message:
“You are total shit, my friend. This is how you want to be a journalist, by throwing dirt at me? If only everyone was like me! And I hope that when you appear in front of God, he tells you how dirty you are!”
I find his behaviour very strange. This is one of the richest men among the Maltese, and probably the richest Gozitan with a multi-million Euro real-estate portfolio. I never investigated him, and my stories about him are very peripheral. I would say I am probing him, and not investigating him. I’m also no threat to him whatsoever, yet he feels this way in my regard. Strange.
Maybe, he is angry about the story about his trucks deliberately destroying Gozitan environment. However, he also benefited from a story I published once when I revealed that the LANDS chief was trying to blackmail him for bribes, so that should have balanced it out. Maybe, he is flustered about a story that I published about him when his business was about to fail and was then bailed-out by his then political patron Giovanna Debono, the ex-Minister of Gozo. I can’t think of anything else that could have made him furious.
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