A long legal saga has ended in a €25,000 fine for notorious law-breaker Marco Gaffarena over a completely illegal restaurant built on virgin land in Qormi in 2012.

Judge Francesco Depasquale confirmed a fine imposed on Gaffarena ten years ago but chided both Gaffarena and his lawyers for using legal procedures to avoid paying a fine despite their blatant illegalities.

The case dates back to 2012, when the Planning Authority issued a stop and enforcement notice against Gaffarena for permitting the conversion of a field he rented out to Antoine Azzopardi, known as iċ-Ċavett, into an illegal restaurant.

Iċ-Ċavett, a convicted drug dealer, took over the field with Gaffarena’s consent. He built several rooms, paved the area and dug up a large pool without permits. As soon as he finished, he started operating the place as a restaurant.

Cavett Place in Qormi was illegal.

He ignored the Planning Authority’s order to stop the illegal activities in 2012, and continued to operate the restaurant.

Gaffarena plays the victim

By 2017, with the restaurant still operating, the Planning Authority fined Gaffarena and Azzopardi €50,000, the maximum allowed by the law, for ignoring the enforcement order.

Gaffarena filed a petition appealing the decision, stating that he was unaware of the illegalities and was only Ċavett’s victim.

The Environment and Planning Review Tribunal (EPRT) accepted part of Gaffarena’s plea, arguing that he was not to take all the blame, and reduced the fine by 50% to €25,000.

This was not enough for Gaffarena. To buy more time, he instituted legal proceedings in Court and contested the EPRT’s decision.

A few weeks ago, the Court issued its judgment, upholding the Planning Authority’s position and ordering Gaffarena to pay the €25,000 fine.

In a strongly worded ruling, the Court slammed Gaffarena and the lawyers assisting him for “blatant abuse of legal proceedings aimed at trying to escape from his responsibilities of illegalities, which he himself admitted in court.”

At the time of the judgment, Gaffarena’s lawyers were Keith Borg and Annalise Magro.

Gaffarena has a long history of abuse, illegalities and impunity, particularly when it comes to construction and development.

In one of the most notorious cases, revealed by The Shift’s editor in 2015, Gaffarena was taking over parts of a palazzo in Valletta’s Old Mint Street through a corrupt deal with the government. The investigation led to the deal being stopped and families retaining their properties following a long legal battle.