The two police chiefs who vindicated Vito Palazzolo last year are likely to come under investigation as part of a new police probe, reports Andy Duffy
Police chief George Fivaz has called on the presidential investigation task unit to re- open a probe into an alleged crime ring involving police, state officials and convicted Mafia money man Vito Palazzolo.
It is understood the investigation may include the role of the former chief of the unit, Director Andre Lincoln, who led its previous probe into Palazzolo. Lincoln is currently on suspension, facing fraud and theft charges.
The unit also wants to examine Palazzolo’s relationship with Neels Venter, the former chief commissioner of the organised crime unit – the key division dealing with crime syndicates and drug trafficking.
Lincoln last year provided Palazzolo with a signed statement, clearing him of allegations that the South African and Italian police had been jointly probing since 1995. Venter, who has known Palazzolo since the late 1980s, provided him with a similar, though less detailed, written vindication.
It is believed Venter’s support also strongly influenced the decision by the Department of Home Affairs to grant Palazzolo citizenship in late 1994. Palazzolo was on an Interpol wanted list at the time, and is still wanted.
The identity of the other state officials the unit wants to probe remains unclear. It is thought they include at least one high-profile former politician.
Lincoln and Venter could not be reached for comment. Palazzolo has previously claimed he is victim of a smear campaign. His lawyer, Norman Snitcher, declined to respond this week.
Palazzolo served one year in a Swiss jail in the 1980s, for his role in the Pizza Connection scam – his Swiss bank held money raised from heroin the Sicilian Mafia had sold through United States pizza stores.
He arrived in South Africa in 1986, and has established a thriving business empire in Southern Africa, stretching from bottled water to diamond prospecting.
The Italians have been chasing Palazzolo for 14 years, claiming he must stand trial in Italy for his Mafia activities. The Department of Justice is currently reviewing a revised request from the Italian government for his extradition.
The Italians’ resolve hardened late in 1996, amid allegations that Palazzolo was harbouring in South Africa three Italians wanted for the 1992 murder of a Palermo politician. Italian police worked with members of the commercial crime unit in Cape Town from June 1995, before Lincoln’s unit took over the probe in late 1996.
However, Lincoln closed down the investigation early last year, months before writing the letter of vindication for Palazzolo. “The letter was issued contrary to police working procedures, and it could jeopardise any resultant criminal proceedings,” a representative for Fivaz says.
Some sources have suggested Lincoln was merely taking the investigation in another direction, to throw Palazzolo off guard.
Lincoln is a former senior member of the African National Congress’s intelligence network, and frequently reported on the unit’s activities to Deputy President Thabo Mbeki.
Minister of Safety and Security Sydney Mufamadi told Parliament last week there was no joint investigation by the South African and Italian police into Mafia-related activities in this country.
His announcement, in response to a question from Inkatha MP Velaphi Ndlovu, caught unit members by surprise, particularly as Mufamadi was kept briefed on their previous Palazzolo probe.
“I have read the question carefully and I understood the question,” Mufamadi said this week. “If the said [MP] is of the view that I was misleading, I believe nothing stops him from saying so to me.”
Ndlovu, a member of the parliamentary portfolio committee for safety and security, says he will probably submit a rephrased question. “I know there was an investigation, but it seems the minister is afraid of revealing something. I thought his answer was just a cover-up of some kind.”