Gang vendettas?

The death of five men within 14 months is raising fears of gang vendettas in Malta. Ariadne Massa looks into a phenomenon that seems to be rearing its ugly head. Gang vendettas are more difficult to resolve and more difficult to prevent, according to police historian Eddie Attard. “Often the mastermind will have a cast-iron alibi and he would have contracted somebody else, possibly a foreigner, to kill the target for about €5,000. “If Sicilian, the killer would leave the island very quickly. All this makes it harder to solve,” Mr Attard said when contacted. Referring to the murder of Paul Degabriele, 48, outside a Marsa bar on Friday, Mr Attard spoke of a similar incident at the Butterfly Bar in Birkirkara five years ago. On April 24, 2008, two men wearing crash helmets entered the bar in broad daylight and shot Raymond Agius, a 49-year-old car dealer from Żebbuġ, then fled on a motorbike. To date this crime remains unsolved. The victim of Friday’s shooting is well-known to police, and last December he was arrested in connection with the investigation into the murder of 46-year-old Joseph Cutajar, known as il-Lion, in Mill Street, Mosta. Last October, a car bomb was placed...