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Expat Pilots arrested Malta

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Old 17th Oct 2003, 22:53
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Thumbs down Goodbye Mickey Mouse

I have been watching this thread develop with particular interest,
as a potential investor in a Maltese business concern (not aviation).

The country will after all be signing the E.U treaty in May 2004.
With civil law being abused in this manner, my company will be investing elsewhere, quite possibly Italy or Croatia.
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Old 17th Oct 2003, 23:09
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Flap Operator,

What kind of businessman bases his decisions on a thread on a bulletin board?
Of course similar stories to this have never happened in Italy, Croatia or any other country for the matter............
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Old 18th Oct 2003, 00:47
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Excam Writes:"ray micallef is supposedly on his way to london, where a surprise will meet him. watch your back mr.ray. your former boys (pilots) are out to get you, and they are quite upset. one of them mentioned using you for baseball batting practice!!!"

I think if I were you excam, I would not be so brazen on a forum. Sometime it could come back to bite you in the ass... Words easily said are sometimes hard to take back. I think I wrote that book....
Lots of eyes out there read this crap....
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Old 18th Oct 2003, 04:36
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Flap Operator,

Well said. As an investor especially investing oversea local law and order is an important factor of concern. So far as this thread evolves it indicated that "Law and Order" in Malta requires a major overhaul. Corruption within the authority is an indication of an uncivilised society.

Those pilots were lured to go to Malta for a promising future( yeah, get arrested for working illegally), did not get paid and expenses was never reimbursed, little and no flights at all (heard from the grapevine that there was only 2 so called revenue flights of which all the passengers were Mr Micallef close friends and rest of the flights was due to a maintenance nature-flight test as one of the planes was grounded for 12 months), and now the the company is suing the pilots for damages. What a F#@K!N joke.

Clearly, if Mr Micallef's father is an ex-police than he is using his connection to law and order to help his son to exploit labour. "Labour Exploitation" is a major crime in a civilised world. Perhaps the EU should look into the local law and order closely.

Last edited by ROO-C26B; 18th Oct 2003 at 07:34.
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Old 18th Oct 2003, 05:14
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World 2000

Maybe the pilots lied about their status to European 2000? Maybe Mr Ray Micalleff had no alternative but to have them arrested and charge them for the flying time and not pay them wages. What has REALLY happened to these pilots? Do they exist?

Could it be European 2000 is hoping to merge with a major airline and this is all a publicity stunt.......Maybe to be a global airline 'World 2000'.

"Special Offer - European 2000 shares selling at 1cent per 2000 shares......any offers?"
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Old 18th Oct 2003, 05:24
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fish Nerik

I agree it would be rash to base a business decision on postings on Pprune, or elsewhere for that matter, however it may be fair to assume that I have a degree of knowledge and experience in Malta and elsewhere that warns me thus.
I am required by law to take on a 51% Maltese partner in any business that I may wish to start, or as is my case my maximum shareholding in an existing business is 49%.

This is not the case in either of the other E.U countries mentioned.
The legal system in this particular country has always had a rather large question mark over it, my point is that until this sort of abuse is ended, the choice as to whether to invest becomes a question of trust.. fine when things are going well... but what if ?

While things remain the way they are, the inward investment that Mr. Fenech-Adami's government is seeking to attract will be looking for safer options. Q.E.D.

This is no place for my Euros.
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Old 18th Oct 2003, 07:33
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YGHP

These 3 pilots do actually exsit alright, all hold a FAA ATPL license.

My understand is that these pilots have had to go through the US to obtain their recurrent training. Thus as one may knows after the September 11 incident the US government has tightened its regulations in regards to pilot training in the US. These pilots can't lie about their background to European 2000 as there is a very stringent background check conducted by all these US govenment departments namely the DOJ, TSA and the FAA. Any small glitch in the background check the pilot will be refused to commence training and had to leave the US immediately.

Conversely, the bottom line to the truth of the story is that European 2000 lied about the company's perspective future to lure unsuspecting pilots and did not paid their pilots(wages and training and relocation expenses).

Do what I did call up European 2000 and find it out yourself
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Old 19th Oct 2003, 02:45
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european 2000

I happen to know R. Micallef originally had two Maltese pilots when he first started his little adventure.
One did not finish initial training. The other could spot a bad situation developing and got out at a good time. Both where sued over their training contracts. Both have countersuits pending. So there is at least one Metro typed Maltese out there but he knows Micallef and would not work for him for all the tea in china.
These three guys that got arrested are not the first foreign persons to get duped on this deal.
R. Micallef hired a girl from San Antonio, Texas to work for E2000 airlines. She was to be the cabin attendant. No work permit, No experience with aircraft of any kind, I think she was a waitress he picked up at a restaraunt. Long story short, after his partner found out she was on the first plane back to Texas.
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Old 19th Oct 2003, 18:04
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True True True

My husband was the first pilots to work for the Micallef family. We moved to Malta quite quickly as everything was urgent, urgent, urgent.

After 5 months the pay stopped coming and living became quite difficult. My son and me moved to my parents home, while my husband stay in Malta hoping to be paid for his service.

Then he demanded his pay or he would take the Micallefs to courts. Two day later the police came to his flat in Malta and arrested him for work-permit violations and threatening the Micallefs.

Then he was 3 months in prison for the work permits, 5 months in prison for the "threats" and 3 months in the deportation camp before he returned home.

His career and our marriage is destroyed because of this. I think everyone should stay away from the Micallefs and Malta.

Susana
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Old 20th Oct 2003, 23:43
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Devil ... so now for any doubters

Susanna has just put the record straight, plain to see the price of trusting Micallef and Maltese justice

I know several people who have met the "CEO" and have described him as an aviation wannabe, a Walter Mitty with a con-man's touch. Typical then that he creates an airline with no customers with somebody elses money and then shows callous disregard .. no... contemp, for his employees.

This has been a terrible tragedy for the families involved in this scam, and the Maltese police and justice system has once again shown itself to be the lumbering and brainless dinosaur people know it to be.

The sound of silence in the Maltese press is deafening.
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Old 21st Oct 2003, 00:29
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malta

Susana, I think most pilots in the industry feel your pain and are sorry for your suffering.

Hostie, you hit the nail on the head. Its really burnin me up to think this guy will get away with this.
He sure is the wanna be you described. I think he had about 800 hrs. when he went to the states the first time. Took him three attempts to pass his check ride at Flight Safety.
R. Micallef was a ground handler before this. I believe he was fired from Baseops under a cloud
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Old 21st Oct 2003, 03:33
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Flap Operator,

As from 1st May 2004 Malta will form part of the EU and that will enable you and other EU citizens to set up businesses in Malta without needing a 51% Maltese shareholding. At the moment what you stated is true and it also applies to Maltese businessmen and companies in other EU countries. Air Malta set up Azzurra Air in Italy in 95/96 and it had a 49% shareholding due to the fact that Air Malta was not a community carrier.
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Old 21st Oct 2003, 04:32
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malta

Just a comment to nerik and flap operator.....
The 51% rule is pretty easy to get around if you have a good corporate attorney.
For example european 2000, It has three Maltese as directors.
I would point out that one is the attorney for O.S. Wyatt. As his attorney there are certain obligations he must fufill. Thus his vote as a director is probably controlled.
I would also point to the difference between common stock and preferred stock which is held in the above company. Look who holds what and which stock has voting rights. I think you will figure it out.
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Old 21st Oct 2003, 04:41
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privateer01

I wonder if Mr. O. Wyatt is aware of what is going on in Malta and how his funds are being used?

What is your opinion about the connection?

It's a pity so many people have had to suffer due to one man's blind ambition.
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Old 21st Oct 2003, 10:56
  #75 (permalink)  
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While this thread is going on 11,000 plus hits already, Im sure Mr Wyatt and all his attorneys have seen it....If the matrix were known we could sit here and connect the dots on phone conversations also.
Just remember boys and girls regarding your posts here. When it comes down to the We'ums and the They'ums. The side with the most Money usually wins......
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Old 22nd Oct 2003, 20:45
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Mr. Wyatt

If Mr. Wyatt was a resectable business man, he would repair the damage done by this criminal Mr. Micallef, his partner. Regretably, it appears the Mr. Wyatt is an equal criminal.

It's sad that such people, people who have wealth and means, must use it to the disadvantage of others who have to work hard and use their hard-earned savings to try to get ahead, only to be taken and then have to suffer.

Worse, is the fact that these people exploit the governments of these "Third World" countries where the laws which apply to them in their own countries (USA & EU) can not be used to portect their innocent victims.

What is worse, is that these criminals will inflict themselves on other pilots. I only hope that the old adage, "what goes...comes!" is reallytrue, and that people like Wyatt and Micallef one day have this happen to them.


BTW...I think some airlines would be interestted to know that another of Mr. Wyatt's companies is in the aircraft leasing business.




http://www.forbes.com/global/2003/0609/026.html

"...The trick is finding financing to carry your inventory. Lenders like GE Commercial Finance and commercial banks that specialize in aviation financing shiver at the thought of accepting used aircraft 15 to 20 years old as collateral. Stuart Peebles quit his job as president of US Airways Leasing and Sales one year ago and bought 90 737s, MD-80s and DC-9s after Texas businessmen

Oscar Wyatt

and Douglas Jaffe backed him with $100 million. Peebles now runs Jetran International, a company with a parts warehouse in Miami the size of two football fields and a team of engineers, pilots and mechanics in Romania. Five years ago 737-200s sold for $5.5 million, $4 million more than today's prices. "The buyers look at these and say, 'This aircraft is going to last me maybe five years, and at that price, this is a good deal,'" Peebles says. .."
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Old 24th Oct 2003, 17:47
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Oh, Oh, we are talking about pprune here :

http://www.independent.com.mt/daily/...w.asp?id=21718

Website claiming airline scam doing ‘untold damage’ to Malta’s name

Staff Reporter

An airline pilots’ forum is carrying a story which alleges a scam by a Maltese businessman with a new local airline. The allegations that are being made paint a very ugly picture of Malta and its institutions and have not, to date, been cleared up.

Sources said the topic has proved to be one of the hottest in this forum for quite a while and has already produced some 12,000 hits in three weeks. The damage being done to Malta and to its aviation industry, it was claimed, is “untold and incalculable”.

Following the allegations, a man who claimed he is a British businessman, stated that this story has swayed his decision definitely not to invest in Malta due to what he has heard about the Maltese laws and stories of alleged corruption.

The story told in the forum regards alleged arrest of four pilots with a new airline and court action undertaken by both sides in the issue.

The link is: http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthr...5&pagenumber=1

Attempts to get in touch with some of the people mentioned in the link proved unfruitful yesterday.
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Old 24th Oct 2003, 18:46
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yes, this story appeared today in our media, The Malta Independent.

I bet this forum will receive record hits today.

Worse, is the fact that these people exploit the governments of these "Third World" countries where the laws which apply to them in their own countries (USA & EU) can not be used to portect their innocent victims.
Malta is not a third world country. Our laws should be in line with those of the EU which we will join in May 2004.

A lot of exagerations & outright lies were said against Malta here on this forum. I hope investors don't decide whether to invest or not in Malta on these posts. May I remind you that Sicily & South Italy are far from being a business honesty heaven.
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Old 24th Oct 2003, 19:13
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Flying.Coyote

At last a media report of this terrible scam. But is it effective enough to rise a few eyebrows in the justice department.

Heard from the grapevine that the people involved especially the pilots might had all left the island of Malta. This is due to the pilots concern about their own safety as one of the directors, father of the CEO, is an high ranting ex-police. Also threats from the CEO has caused the pilots to flee the island state as indicated by Susana (It should be PINK) that her husband was jailed by his ordeal.

An insider had told of an early incident related to the Canadian pilot who seek his embassy help in Malta was later threaten by his own Canadian embassy consulate general, whom is a local Maltese, that "if he causes any trouble in Malta he should beware of his action".

One can clear see the corruption within the Maltese civil laws are higly undesirable. I hope these pilots would not be victims of another Mr Ray Micallef's scam. Justice should prevail.
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Old 24th Oct 2003, 22:20
  #80 (permalink)  
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Now that PPrune has the Notoriety, Im sure the Moderators will be watching closely for their own protection. Lets keep the thread going as long as possible to get the word out. Just make sure you dont cross the lines of civility.
Your playing with the folks who have the Golden Rule...." He who has the most Gold Rules." Lets hope the little guys can do a number on Goliath. If you cant find Justice in Malta, dont forget, some of the Players are in the States or have assets here.... We have more Lawyers than People.....

Let the games Begin.................
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