Showing 16 results

Josephus Baldacchino, married Cleric from Vittoriosa prosecutes Georgio Spagnol from Ghaxaq and Salvatore Attard from Casal Pasqualino. He allages that while he was holding marriage celebrations at the house of his aunt Alonzica, wife of Michaele Cassar, in Casal Pasqualino for his cousin Giovanella, the accused gatecrashed and ruined the wedding. Witness statements collected. Spagnol was also accused of breaching a curfew imposed on him by the court in a previous sitting. Attard was acquitted but Spagnol condemned to 4 years' rowing without pay and with bound feet on the Order's galleys. The case was appealed and the sentence moderated to three years.

Maria Micallef, daughter of Julio, unmarried and from Birkirkara accuses Petrus Xiberras of coming into her house repeatedly and sexually harassing her. Witnesses were heard, although the validity of some testimonies was contested. Petrus was found guilty but not kept in jail or fined. The case was appealed but the sentence confirmed.

Pauluccius Dimegh (Dimech) from Zebbug is accused of wounding Ignatius Mifsud from the same village with a knife (coltello). Witness statements taken. He was sentenced to 20 years' rowing on the Orders' galley. The sentences was appealed to the SAU by Dimegh, and he was acquitted from the charge of assault and simply fined 4 uncia for carrying a knife illegally.

Andreas Vella from Casal Gregorio accuses Mattheo Sant from the same village of attacking and wounding his son Francesco on the feastday of the Conversion of Saint Paul. Francesco was at their ricetto of the in the area tal Maghtab with his younger brother Lucio. Mattheo came and asked them if they'd seen a loose pig and when Francesco said no, Mattheo went inside and attacked Lucio. Francesco came to the defence of his brother and was wounded. Witness statements and doctor's report. Mattheo was fined 6 uncia and incarcerated until he paid. On appeal to the SAU, the fine was moderated to 4 uncia.

Thomas Cutajar from Siggiewi, and servant of the same village's captain, accuses Martinus Imbrol from Siggiewi. Cutajar had approached Imbrol at the tavern of Mario Mallia in Siggiewi and told him to go deposit the money owed with the village Captain or he would have had him imbrisoned as a debtor. At which point Imbrol stabbed him with a knife (stilletto). Witness statements collected. Imbrol sentenced to two years' rowing on the galleys of the Order with no payment and with bound feet. The case was then appealed to the Suprema Curia Appellationis (ACA) but the sentence was upheld.

Natale Barbara from Qrendi accuses Bernardino Mallia, from Qrendi, and Benedetto Zammit from Mqabba of deceit. Zammit implicated Barbara in a false contract of sale of immovable property to Mallia in the acts of Notary Johannes Petrus Attard (18/09/1639). The notary was then prosecuted for negligence and of breaching the terms of expected conduct for a notary. The land involved was called Il Ginen and was in Qrendi. Bernardino was sentenced to ten years' rowing in chains and against no remuneration on the galleys of the Order for 10 years, Benedetto for seven. The notary was fined 20 uncia. The case was appealed to the ACA by the Notary who claimed that he had been himself deceived due to his old age. The fine was reduced to 12 uncia.

Andrea Falson, Mattheo Agius, Domenicus Azzopardi, Mattheolo Debono, and Gregorio Coyacono of monopoly. They are accused of working together to buy quantities of beef and veal in both Malta and Gozo as well imported from Sicily, generating a false scarcity, and then selling their meat at whatever price they desired. Moreover they agreed to undercut external offers to buy the meat from the other butchers if a third party offered to buy it for less than the expected price. Various witnesses including buthcers were interrogated. Copies of the licence to keep a butcher's shop issued to all the involved butchers included. The sentence of the MCC is not present (17/04/1640) but it seems that they were acquitted, or confirmed in their acquittal by a later sentence on appeal of the ACA (22/08/1640). By a special decree of the Grandmaster (not included, 24/04/1641), Judge Anastasius Surdo was appointed to hear the case again.

Imperia Dingli, widow of Lazzaro farrugia, wife of Domenico, from Siggiewi, accuses her son Giovanni Maria Farrugia of attacking her when she gone by his house to recover personal belongings of her daughter Lorenza, the accused's sister. Various witnesses interrogated. Giovanni Maria was acquitted but the case appealed to the SAU. The SAU fined him 10 uncia. The fine was moderated to 4 uncia on re-appeal.

Giuseppe de Laurenzo from Casal Qormi accuses Giovanni Maria Galdes from the same village that on the feastday of the Visitation of St Mary the accused stole two handkerchiefs (fazzoletti) from him while he was drinking in company at De Laurenzo's garden. When confronted, the accused lashed out with a knife. Witnesses interrogated Galdes was fined 5 uncia. The fine was confirmed on appeal to the SAU.

Joannes Paulus Zirafa from Attard testifies that close to his house there lived Lonza, wife of Pietro Pagano who had been captured as a slave by the infidels. One night he heard the playing of a tamburello and singing "alla Maltesa" in which song they called him a "sbirro" and other things. He recognised them to be Domenico Mifsud and Salvatore Grec. The next day he went to Casal Dimech and confirmed that the two were together the previous night, also in the company of Giuseppe Fenech and the soldier from the galleys who lived in Ta Zahui. He reported the matter to the Capitano della Verga. He was then assaulted with a knife by Domenico and Salvatore close to the tavern of Giovanni Camenzuli in Attard. They were fined four uncia, confirmed on appeal.

Josephus Caruana from Casal Luqa is accused of assaulting and wounding Augustinus Xicluna with a knife as well as theft. The accused entered the vineyard of Bartolomeo Mallia in the area of Ta Luca Effleni to steal, and then also broke into the house of Domenico Briffa in Luqa to steal grain that was stored there, as well as some wood. He also broke into a building in the area Ta Filep in the same village belonging to Ludovico Imbrogl, from which he stole paglia. He also stole mischiato from Bernardino Briffa. He was sentenced to three years' rowing. Sentence confirmed on appeal.

Giovanni Seychel is accused of not showing up for service on the corsairing venture of Cav. Gerento on the vessel captained by Cap. Gulielmo Buscau, despite having received payment. He is further accused of having resisted capture and wounding people in his escape. Sentenced to two years' rowing on the Order's galleys. Sentence appealed but result not recorded.

The infidel slaves belonging to the Order named Iles Mustafa Ogli, Assan Babac Ogli, Assan Ali Ogli and Mustafa Sileyman Ogli are accused of grand theft. Iles Mustafa Ogli, slave at the kitchens of the Grandmaster's palace stole 2 silver plates during the festivities of Easter, handed them over to Badacogli and Mustafa Sileyman Ogli, who took them aboard the Order's Galley to Messina, where they were sold. Separately, Iles Mustafa Ogli stole another plate of silver and sold it to Assan Ali Ogli, slave of the knight Carolo Giannallo who recognised the plate as belonging to the Grandmaster's Palace. Iles was sentenced to hanging and the others to be beaten until they pass out.

Julia, widow of Giovanni Maria Attard and wife of Orlando Pullicino, accuses her son Francesco Attard of insulting her to great scandal, and of making several serious threats against her person, as well as assulting her little daughter. He is sentenced to three years' rowing but this is severely mitigated on appeal.