Leonor Cipriano sentenced for lying about torture by Portuguese (PJ) police officers

Eight-year-old Joana Cipriano disappeared from the village of Figueira, near Portimão, Portugal, on 12 September 2004 and was later assumed to have been murdered, though her body has never been found. A lengthy investigation ended with the conviction of Joana's mother, Leonor Cipriano and  Leonor's brother, João Cipriano, for murder. Leonor subsequently accused a number of PJ (Polícia Judiciária) officers of having beaten a confession out of her even though a prior confession is not admissible in Portuguese courts.

Today, Leonor Cipriano, who is serving 16 years in prison for the murder of her daughter, was given an additional 7 months sentence for lying about the torture. 

Read the background to the Joana case here (McCann Files) and here (Gazeta Digital)

The Public Prosecutor’s Office opened a criminal investigation and ordered a police line-up, with the CID officers named and accused by Leonor Cipriano of beating her;
The line-up took place with Leonor Cipriano behind a two-way mirror and she couldn’t recognize any of the aggressors;
The Public Prosecutor’s Office magistrate that was in charge of the criminal investigation decided to accuse the five CID officers, but didn’t mentioned, in the accusation sent to the Court, that Leonor Cipriano couldn’t identify any of the aggressors, in the police line-up; (Gazeta Digital)

Leonor Cipriano's original lawyer, Marcos Aragão Correia, has recently taken himself to Brazil and Leonor was appointed a public defence lawyer. Marcos Aragão Correia was allegedly paid my Metodo 3, a group of Spanish private investigators hired by Kate and Gerry McCann to search for their daughter Madeleine, to dig the dirt on Gonçalo Amaral, the PJ inspector who worked on both the Joana case and the Madeleine McCann case.

The trial of the PJ inspectors revealed many attempts by Leonor Cipriano's lawyer to discredit Gonçalo Amaral, both professionally and personally. The lawyer, Marcos Aragão Correia - who previously hit the headlines when he organised an underwater seach for Madeleine's body at the Arade Dam, in Portugal - has admitted that Metodo3 ordered him to do "an investigation" into the accusation of torture but he denies he is being paid just to frame Gonçalo Amaral. (McCann Files)

On 22 May 2009 Gonçalo Amaral received an 18-month custodial sentence, suspended for the same length of time, for misrepresentation of evidence. He was acquitted of the charge of failing to report a crime.

Following the delivery of the verdict, Leonor Cipriano's lawyer, Marcos Aragão Correia, said: "Target was hit, Gonçalo Amaral was convicted".

In December 2011, Scotland Yard detectives who are currently working on a review of the Maddie case, removed 30 boxes of files concerning the case, from the Metodo 3 offices in Barcelona. Those boxes of files may reveal what the detective agency, whose previous investigations centred around cases of money laundering, actually did in their alleged search for Madeleine McCann. The agency had no previous experience of searching for missing children. In February this year several detectives employed by Metodo 3 were arrested on charges of spying. 

The McCanns, as we know, have not been too lucky in their choice of detectives in the search for their daughter. Apart from Metodo 3, there was Kevin Halligen, recently extradited to the USA to face charges of fraud.

We now await the start of the delayed libel case being brought by Kate and Gerry McCann against Gonçalo Amaral for alleged defamation in his book "A Verdade da Mentira", in which he detailed the investigation into Madeleine McCann's disappearance and the conclusion of the joint working teams of English and Portuguese police that Madeleine had probably died in apartment 5A at the Ocean Club in Praia da Luz. Personally, I don't see how Kate and Gerry McCann can win this case when the highest court in Portugal, the Supreme Court, upheld the decision of the Appeals Court in October 2010 to overturn the ban on Amaral's book. At the time of the successful appeal by Amaral..

The court said the decision to block sales of the book had broken "a constitutional and universal right: that of opinion and freedom of expression."

"The contents of the book do not breach the basic rights of the plaintiffs," the court said, according to the Jornal de Noticías newspaper's website.
"The book is an exercise in freedom of speech," Amaral told Portugal's Lusa news agency. "Portuguese democracy has won, as banning the book was unconstitutional." (The Guardian)

So, let's see where we have arrived at: Leonor Cipriano, her lawyer who has scarpered to Brazil, a bunch of dodgy detectives and a libel trial based on a book which has already been judged by both the Appeals Court and Portugal's Supreme Court not to have breached the McCanns' basic rights. 

Good luck Dr Amaral! This truly is a tangled web! 

Maddy police 'following eight major new leads.'

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Or so says This Is London in their headline of today's date. However, they don't actually tell us who said that!

Scotland Yard detectives searching for Madeleine McCann are examining up to eight "very important" new leads after meeting Spanish private investigators, it was claimed today.

Claimed by whom? Scotland Yard removed 30 boxes of documents from the Metodo 3 offices, and Francisco Marco, told the British detectives that, "there were "six, seven or eight very important leads" within the files which he claimed could help police to solve the case."

That doesn't mean, though, that those leads are either, 'major,' or being followed up. I haven't read anything from the detectives themselves to say that they are following up those leads, only that Francisco Marco has indicated that they are there within the handed over files.

Metodo 3, who started working for the McCanns in September 2007, I believe, and were paid £50, 000 a month to search for missing Madeleine McCann. Funny choice of agency, if you ask me, a bunch of dodgy geezas (just my opinion of course!) who had never been involved in searching for missing adults or children.

Yes, dodgy geezas, folks! This is the band of intrepid investigators, who were going to have Madeleine home by Christmas. That was published on December 14th 2007, giving them 11 days. They claimed to know who had taken Madeleine and that she was going to be back in the bosom of her family in time to take her place at the Christmas dinner table! I assume they meant Christmas that year, but who knows!

The same bunch of highly paid private investigators, who, in February 2009, were under investigation for embezzlement and money laundering and who, in March 2008 were accused of paying witnesses in Morocco to say they had seen Madeleine.

One of the detectives working for Metodo 3 had paid witnesses who claimed to have seen Madeleine in Morrocco. The accusation is made by a source from Morroccan security, responsible for witness interrogation in the kingdom, where Metodo 3's working methods are criticised by the authorities.

The arrest of Antonio Jimenez, one of the private detectives working for the McCanns, who is accused of links to the theft of several hundred kilos of cocaine and corruption of public servants, has reinforced the authorities suspicions regarding the work of the agency.

In the report of the interview, one of the witnesses heard by Morroccan security admitted to having received several thousand Euros from the Spanish detective, who asked him to keep the arrangement secret, "in order to not affect the investigations"*

So, I'm not too sure that the Scotland Yard detectives have carted away 30 boxes of documents in order to follow up these 'six, seven, or eight very important leads.' If they only found out about them as the boxes were being trundled off to a waiting vehicle, there may have been other reasons for removing them in the first place.

And who's next? Kevin Halligen, being charged with money laundering, to whom the McCanns paid £300,000 to look for Madeleine?

The McCanns appear to have found a few dodgy geezas in their choice of detectives to look for their daughter! Bad luck or what? I'd hazard a guess it's the 'or what.'!!

*This blog from an article posted by Duarte Levy on SOS Madeleine McCann

Metodo 3 posts: http://frommybigdesk.blogspot.com/search/label/Metodo%203

Kate McCann: "Metodo 3 made significant strides."

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Francisco Marco; director of Metodo 3

This is what Kate McCann states on page 283 of her recently published book, "Madeleine."

We have no doubt that Metodo 3 made significant strides, but unfortunately, in mid-December, one of their senior investigators gave an overly optimistic interview to the media. He implied the team were close to finding Madeleine and declared that he hoped she would be home by Christmas Gerry and I did not pay much heed to these bullish assertions”.

"Significant strides."? In what way? How did they do this? Kate McCann doesn't actually say what these "significant strides," were, though she goes on to tell us that one of the "senior investigators," hoped that Madeleine would be home by Christmas. Of course, we all know that she wasn't, but I wonder why we never read in the newspapers that reported this hope that Kate and Gerry thought Metodo 3 was making "bullish assertions."

So, Kate McCann waffles on without giving details of the "significant strides."

“That glitch apart, Metodo 3 worked very hard for us and, just for the record, their fees were very low: most of the money they were paid was for verified expenses…we maintain good relations with Metodo 3 today. We had the sense that they genuinely cared about Madeleine’s fate…”

Wow! A "glitch."!! A child is missing, allegedly abducted from her bed by a paedophile, and a company's overly optimistic suggestion that she would be home by Christmas was just a "glitch." Nothing to get worked up about. We've now got a spare place at the Christmas dinner table, let's invite one of the relies! I guess I might have seen it as a bit more than a "glitch," a trivial set back, but hey ho! I've never mislaid a child.

Who introduced this company to the McCanns? They were in search of a group of private detectives to carry on the search for their daughter. So, who introduced Metodo 3? Why not a company that had experience of searching for missing people/children? Surely some research would have found such a company? Metodo 3 had no previous experience in that field of investigation.

Duarte Levy and Paulo Reis presented a run-down on the previous work undertaken by this agency. They had no previous experience of dealing with cases of missing children, their work having been focused on clients from the commercial and industrial sectors, dealing with such issues as money-laundering and security. Based in Barcelona, Metodo 3 was responsible for the new phone line set up after an appeal for information from the McCanns. The Portuguese police had not been consulted about this phone line.

So, what did Metodo 3 do for the McCanns? This information from Duarte Levy

November 10th 2007: An Irish citizen on holiday in Bosnia contacted Metodo 3 to report that he had seen Madeleine in a Bosnian city. Clarence Mitchell said this sighting was being taken very seriously.

November 18th 2007: Francisco Marco states that he knows who kidnapped Madeleine.

November 20th 2007: A woman gives a witness statement to Metodo 3, stating that she had seen Michaela Walczuch, Robert Murat's friend, in Morocco, close to where Madeleine had been sighted.

Ah yes! If nothing else crops up, point the finger at Robert Murat!

December 22nd 2007: Metodo 3 admits never having known where Madeleine was, although they had assured that they would have Madeleine home by Christmas.

December 28th 2007: Metodo 3 comes up with two witnesses who say they had seen Robert Murat in the vicinity of the McCanns' apartment on the night she disappeared.

Names of these witnesses? Payne and Tanner by any chance? None of the local people saw Robert Murat that night.

February 23rd 2008: Metodo 3 detective who had been involved in their hunt for Madeleine, is arrested for theft of cocaine from a police warehouse in Barcelona.

March 13th 2008: A detective working for Metodo 3 in Morocco is alleged to have paid witnesses to say they had seen Madeleine, according to a senior Moroccan police officer.

February 2nd 2009: Metodo 3 under investigation for money-laundering.

In spite of all of the above, Kate McCann states: "..we maintain good relations with Metodo 3 today." Why? Suspected of theft of cocaine? Money-laundering? Paying witnesses? Suggesting that they would have Madeleine home by Christmas and then owning up to the fact that they never had any idea where she was? Perhaps, Kate and Gerry need to maintain good relations with that cheap (that's what Kate said!) bunch of detectives because of what they might have to tell about their so-called "investigation," into Madeleine's disappearance?

I'd love to know what those "significant strides," were that Kate McCann mentions, but does not describe. She is quite descriptive in her details of what a paedo might be doing with her daughter and at times the minutiae of her daily life in Portugal, but not about the work done by Metodo 3 in the search for Madeleine. We know that on the day she disappeared, Madeleine had been wearing clothes from Gap and Monsoon, but we don't know what Kate McCann considers to be significant in Metodo 3's search for her. Apart from the many false sightings reported by Metodo 3, too many to mention, what did they do?

What were those "significant strides."? None that I have seen being reported. Perhaps it's all very sensitive information that will now be handed over to the joint teams of Portuguese police and Scotland Yard who will be reviewing the files? Somehow I don't think the file they might hand over would be very thick!

I wonder if Kevin Halligen also made "significant strides," for his money! He disappeared with £300,000? Well, he definitely wasn't cheap!

So, come on Kate McCann, what exactly did Metodo 3 do that was so significant because in your place, I'd be downright embarrassed to admit any connection with that bunch of cowboys!

Gerry and Kate McCann: serial child neglectors in search of a reputation

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Kate and Gerry McCann arriving at the Lisbon Court February 2010

In February this year, the McCanns were successful in persuading a Portuguese judge that their right to a 'good reputation,' was more important than Dr Gonçalo Amaral's right to freedom of speech, and the injunction banning Dr Amaral's book, "The Truth of The Lie," was upheld.

By the McCanns' own admission, they left three small children alone in an unlocked apartment in a foreign country, night after night, checking on them every 30 minutes, as though a couple of doctors had no idea that a child could choke in just a few minutes, meet with an accident in a strange apartment, or wander out of that unlocked door. We were told though that their daughter Madeleine, who disappeared into thin air on one of those alone nights, could not have wandered off, but we haven't yet been told why her parents were so sure of this.

Gerry and Kate McCann, as we know, have maintained a global media presence since Madeleine disappeared, apparently intent on finding the person or persons who abducted their daughter. No other thesis is acceptable to them: she is alive, she could not have wandered off, she has been abducted, but there is no evidence that she has come to harm.

A child who has been abducted by a stranger has not come to harm? I guess if you seriously think that three small children alone in an unlocked apartment cannot come to harm, then believing that a child taken from her bed by strangers has not come to harm might not be too much of a leap of faith. She would, of course, be able to walk into her old home and take up that, 'spare place,' at the dining table. Nae bother!

If either of you, Kate or Gerry McCann were my doctor, your reputation as health professionals would have suffered serious harm. I don't think I could trust a doctor who thought it was OK to go out wining and dining while their three small children were alone in an unlocked apartment and who also thought that abduction was not bad for a child's physical and emotional well-being.

Anyway, in search of upholding their good reputation, our fine doctors hired Carter-Ruck, who describe themselves as, 'the UK's pre-eminent media law practice.' In doing so, the McCanns are in a special kind of company! Carter-Ruck is the law firm that stopped General Augusto Pinochet's extradition to Spain to answer to charges of human rights violations. Carter-Ruck is also the firm that unsuccessfully tried to prevent the Guardian newspaper from publishing an MP's question in the House of Commons on the activities of the oil company Trafigura.

The latest well-publicised Carter-Ruck client is Nadhmi Auchi, whom Mark Kirk, US Republican, has linked to Democrat Senate candidate Alexi "the Mob Banker" Giannoulias. Warner Todd Huston of the blog Chicago Now has responded to Carter-Ruck's attempts to silence American bloggers on this issue:

And, before you Carter-Rucksters begin to start addressing another threatening email this time to me, don't bother. Your email will be ignored and THIS post will stay up. Just like the Illinois Review, THIS post is just reporting the news. If the allegations made against your client are false, that is YOUR problem. Not mine. You should take up your concerns with the Illinois GOP.

Still, don't get your hopes up. Unlike your foreign experience, in America libel is properly hard to prove. Here we do not cotton to libel tourism as they cater to in England. Basically I'm telling you attorneys and your client Nadhmi Auchi to pound sand.

Oh dear! They're not impressed by Carter-Ruck's reputation, are they?

The McCanns hired Carter-Ruck soon after their speedy exit from Portugal. Was that because of Carter-Ruck's experience as media lawyers, or because they had managed to successfully save Augusto Pinochet from extradition? Either way, why would two medical doctors, intent on protecting their good reputation, hire lawyers who had defended the likes of General Augusto Pinochet? You are not only judged by the company you keep Kate and Gerry, but by the help you hire!

Carter-Ruck have threatened various bloggers and The Madeleine Foundation (Read Carter-Ruck's letters under the 'Newsletters,' link on the Madeleine Foundation web site) and anyone else who dares to question the McCanns' version of events, that version being that Madeleine was abducted by a stranger. However, there does not appear to be any evidence of that abduction. According to Locard's Exchange Principle:

No matter how much someone tries to clean up a crime scene, something is generally left behind. It may not always be detected, or even be visible to the human eye, but it's almost impossible to take any kind of violent action without shedding something. This principle, called Locard’s Exchange Principle, has become one of the motivating factors in the development of forensic science.

Yet, the person who allegedly abducted Madeleine McCann, whom Gerry McCann felt may have been hiding in the apartment when he checked on the children at around 9.05pm, left absolutely nothing of himself, not even glove prints. The shutters had not been damaged and the only prints on them were Kate McCann's and from their position, it appeared that she had been trying to manually lift the shutters from the inside.

Now, back to the hired help! There was Metodo 3, Spanish detective agency that had no previous experience if searching for missing children. According to SOS Madeleine McCann in February 2009, Metodo 3 agency was under investigation for money laundering. In July 2008, SOS Madeleine McCann reported that Metodo 3 was under investigation for attempted murder: a former cell-mate of João Cipriano, uncle and convicted murderer of Joana Cipriano, had allegedly offered information to Metodo 3, but after receiving payment, had failed to deliver and his life had been threatened as a consequence.

Francisco Marco, director of Metodo 3

Is that the kind of hired help that enhances the reputation of our good doctors?

Then there was Kevin Halligen whose company Oakley International, was paid £300,000 in 2008 to look for their daughter.

A 48-year-old man wanted by the FBI who allegedly defrauded people across the world, including the Madeleine McCann fund, was arrested last night at a hotel in Oxford.

Kevin Halligen, from Surrey, was hired by the Find Madeleine fund as a security consultant. His Washington-based company, Oakley International, was awarded a six-month £500,000 contract by the fund, but Mr Halligen allegedly disappeared with £300,000. He had allegedly boasted that his contacts in the US capital could provide high-tech satellite imagery to help the search.

He is also said to have made £1 million from links with Trafigura, the controversial Dutch company accused of causing mass illness after waste was dumped on the Ivory Coast.

Links with Trafigura? Now, that's interesting!

What of the unpaid help and how that might affect one's reputation? Well, there's Brian Kennedy of double-glazing fame, who according to SOS Madeleine McCann was prepared to finance Kate and Gerry for the rest of his life. Does that mean out of his own pocket, should his business empire collapse owing to breach of covenants on loan agreements? (The Business Desk)

Oh dear! Is that the kind of support that is good for one's reputation?

And finally, Jim Gamble, of CEOP (Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre) who produced the video, 'A Minute For Madeleine.' Jim Gamble was the senior police officer who presided over Operation Ore.

Operation Ore was a major police operation in Britain which became known to the public in 2002 targetting thousands of alleged users of child pornography websites. In the words of Wikipedia, the statistics were:

7,250 suspects identified, 4,283 homes searched, 3,744 arrests, 1,848 charged, 1,451 convictions, 493 cautioned, 879 investigations underway, 140 children removed from suspected dangerous situations (although the definition of what constitutes such, has varied and remains vague) and an estimated 39 suicides.

The work of journalist Duncan Campbell amongst others has already cast serious doubt over the integrity of the police investigation in Operation Ore.

As I write, Liverpool solicitor Chris Saltrese is taking a test case to the Appeal Court for wrongful conviction:

In the UK, thousands of people were implicated and convicted or cautioned even though they protested no knowledge of having visited the site or any interest or intention to access child pornography.

It has since emerged that the blueprint employed to incriminate suspects was fundamentally flawed, so that many people may have been implicated in a crime they did not commit.

With the help of experts, Chris Saltrese Solicitors has carried out groundbreaking evidential and legal research into Operation Ore.
Some apologists have used Operation Ore to campaign for our current set of laws around child abuse. For example Margaret Moran MP who quoted incorrect and misleading statistics as fact in a debate in the House of Commons in 2005.

Characters such as controversial Senior Police Officer Jim Gamble, who presided over Operation Ore and has refused seriously to consider the possibility that significant mistakes were made, and perhaps some figures originally from the world of Child Protection Charities, will be in a very difficult position. (Matt Wardman.com)

The test case being brought by Chris Saltrese has been postponed until late 2010.

Concern about the prevalence and accessibility of child pornography has magnified in recent years with the growth of the internet.

The law is clear that it is a serious crime to intentionally access or possess such material.
However, when it comes to identifying intention and criminal acts in this complex ephemeral medium, there are many pitfalls ensnaring the innocent as well as the guilty.

Operation Ore was a large-scale police investigation supposedly targeting paid subscribers to an internet child pornography gateway.

In the UK, thousands of people were implicated and convicted or cautioned even though they protested no knowledge of having visited the site or any interest or intention to access child pornography.

It has since emerged that the blueprint employed to incriminate suspects was fundamentally flawed, so that many people may have been implicated in a crime they did not commit.
With the help of experts, Chris Saltrese Solicitors has carried out groundbreaking evidential and legal research into Operation Ore. Leave for appeal was granted for a test case before the full court in Spring 2010 but has been postponed. It is hoped it will be heard before the end of 2010. This will unveil fresh evidence and expert opinion. If you were wrongly convicted or cautioned in relation to Operation Ore, please get in touch and we may be able to assist. (Chris Saltrese)

So, for me, what kind of reputation does all this give to the McCanns? Simply in my opinion, what am I left with thinking? What do they have a reputation for and as?

• Two doctors who left three small children, with a combined age of seven years, alone in an unlocked apartment while they wined and dined with friends. I'd call that child neglect or even abandonment.
• People who don't care about the tactics used by a very expensive firm of media lawyers, as long as they can silence anyone who disagrees with their theory of abduction.
• Two supposedly well-educated people, who, nonetheless cannot seem to find a reputable detective agency that has experience of finding missing children.
• People who are guided by a man who buys up companies, liquidates them leaving customers with nothing for their money, and breaches covenants on loans. (Perhaps someone will leave a comment about Mr Kennedy's visits to witnesses)
• People who, having lost a child, are supported by a man who presided over a major police operation, now thought to have been seriously flawed, which allegedly wrongfully convicted many people.

Now, what kind of reputation is that?

Madeleine McCann: who searched for this little girl? (Part 4) Metodo 3?

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Above: the McCanns arriving back in the UK soon after being made arguidos.

I'm still on a mission to find the McCanns searching for their daughter. While in Portugal, they traveled a great deal, they probably did a little shopping, but did they search? Even when they eventually reached Morocco, in spite of reported sightings there, which were thought to have been interesting, the McCanns never went to investigate the relevant areas for themselves.

Back to The McCann Files for a detailed diary of events leading up to and following Madeleine's disappearance. Nigel Moore, what would we do without you and your meticulously maintained site?

http://mccannfiles.com/id12.html

We are finally approaching some searching folks....well, I think we are, ye know, well, really...

October 2007 saw a great tsunami of activity in the UK press, based on articles in Portuguese journals for the most part.

At the beginning of the month Carlos Anjos, head of Portugal's Police Federation ridiculed Gerry's theory that an abductor had been hiding in the apartment when he went to check on the children. Gonçalo Amaral was removed from the investigation following an outburst about his English colleagues.

Eileen McCann, Madeleine's grandmother who lives in Scotland, stated that any of Madeleine's DNA that was found in the hired car could be explained by the fact that Amelie was wearing Madeleine's sandals and her tops. (Daily Mail 2/10/09)

I find it quite strange that Amelie was wearing her sister's clothes. If one of my children had disappeared, there is no way that their clothes would have been worn by another child in the family. At some point I may have given some to a charity shop, just some, but I would not have immediately been dressing another child in those clothes. This seems like another clue that Kate and Gerry were not expecting Madeleine to turn up any time soon.

It emerged that the McCanns were carrying out their own 'secret investigation,' and their legal team was interviewing all witnesses to the events of May 3rd, the McCanns being confident that they would be cleared by Christmas. (Daily Mail)

A friend of the McCann couple said that evidence gathered would be presented to the Portuguese prosecutor. They would say, 'This is what we have got. We advise you not to go any further.' (Daily Mail)

A very worrying way to address a public prosecutor, I would say. If that really was how they would have worded it, there is a hint of threat there, in my opinion.

On October 18th, Channel 4 broadcast their Dispatches programme about Madeleine, in which it was claimed that entry via the shuttered window would have been almost impossible.

On October 25th, the McCanns released an artist's impression (another one!) of the man Jane Tanner had seen, carrying a child in the vicinity of the McCanns' holiday apartment. The McCanns went into reverse about their claim that an abductor had broken in through the window of apartment 5A and reveal that they believe the window was opened from the inside as a means of escape. Clarence Mitchell said he couldn't go into detail about the matter.

And here we come to the first mention of Metodo 3, Spanish detective agency hired by the McCanns. They are quoted as saying that they are convinced that Madeleine is being held in Morocco.

http://mccannfiles.com/id26.html

Into November and there is another alleged sighting of Madeleine in Morocco, which turns out to be old news as the event took place on August 21st.

On November 22nd, Portugal's top law officer, Pinto Monteiro, is quoted as saying that the huge publicity surrounding Madeleine's disappearance would have turned her into a liability if she had been abducted and 'There's a greater possibility of the girl being dead than alive.' (In an interview with current affairs publication Visao)

Searching folks! It is confirmed that Spanish detective agency, Metodo 3, is being paid £50,000 a month by the Find Madeleine Fund, for a 6 month contract. Metodo 3 is said to have up to 40 operatives working on the ground in the hunt for Madeleine, in at least 3 countries.

So, let's have a wee shufftie here at the search for Madeleine by this detective agency.

SOS Madeleine McCann 24/10/2007

By Duarte Levy and Paulo Reis

Levy and Reis present a run-down on the previous work undertaken by this agency. They have no previous experience of dealing with cases of missing children, their work having been focused on clients from the commercial and industrial sectors, dealing with such issues as money-laundering and security. Based in Barcelona, Metodo 3 was responsible for the new phone line set up after the latest appeal for information from the McCanns. The Portuguese police had not been consulted about this phone line.

SOS Madeleine McCann 31/10/2007

By Duarte Levy and Paulo Reis

A top-ranking Moroccan police officer stated that most of the children taken to Morocco were children who were involved in custody disputes, between a Moroccan and a non-Moroccan parent. There was paedophile activity in Morocco, but it was usually Moroccan children being abducted by foreigners for the prostitution trade in other countries, like Italy.

Metodo 3 claimed to know that Madeleine was being held in the Rif area of Morocco, but a Moroccan organisation against paedophilia, 'Touche pas a mon enfant," was quoted as saying there were hundreds of blonde children in the Rif area and also they did not believe that Madeleine would have been taken there by a paedophile ring, as claimed by Metodo 3, who state that they have a number of leads to follow up and know precisely where Madeleine is being held.

SOS Madeleine McCann 5/11/2007

Another blonde Moroccan child who isn't Madeleine McCann. A Spanish woman contacted the Metodo 3 help line to say that she had reported to the Spanish police in August having seen a blonde child whom she was 100% sure was Madeleine McCann. The Moroccan police were obliged to follow up every sighting and this child was not Madeleine. Metodo 3 insist that they have witness statements from lots of people who have seen Madeleine in Morocco.

SOS Madeleine McCann 10/11/2007

An Irish citizen on holiday in Bosnia contacted Metodo 3 to report that he had seen Madeleine in a Bosnian city. Clarence Mitchell said this sighting was being taken very seriously.

And so it goes on:

November 18th 2007: Francisco Marco states that he knows who kidnapped Madeleine.

November 20th 2007: A woman gives a witness statement to Metodo 3, stating that she had seen Michaela Walczuch, Robert Murat's friend, in Morocco, close to where Madeleine had been sighted.

Miss a few! See SOS Maddie blog for all posts on this subject.

December 22nd 2007: Metodo 3 admits never having known where Madeleine was, although they had assured that they would have Madeleine home by Christmas.

December 28th 2007: Metodo 3 comes up with two witnesses who say they had seen Robert Murat in the vicinity of the McCanns' apartment on the night she disappeared.

If they can't find Madeleine, it's that fall-back technique, once again, finger a patsy!

February 23rd 2008: Metodo 3 detective who had been involved in their hunt for Madeleine, is arrested for theft of cocaine from a police warehouse in Barcelona.

March 13th 2008: A detective working for Metodo 3 in Morocco is alleged to have paid witnesses to say they had seen Madeleine, according to a senior Moroccan police officer.

February 2nd 2009: Metodo 3 under investigation for money-laundering.

The Metodo 3 contract was not renewed on the same basis, but the agency was kept on a retainer and would raise its head again!

First of all, a very unlikely detective agency to be hired to hunt for a missing child, one that had no experience in this area of detective work and one that had previously been under suspicion for illegal phone tapping (The McCann Files day 206)

And what a shower they turned out to be: theft of cocaine, suspected of paying witnesses, suspected of money-laundering and admitting that they had never actually known where Madeleine was.

Metodo 3 didn't seem to do a great deal of actual searching for Madeleine. Their mission appeared to be to find as many witnesses as possible to alleged sightings, none of which turned out to have any basis in truth.

Hey ho! Next!

SOS Madeleine McCann: Metodo 3 under investigation in a case of embezzlement and money laundering.

http://sosmaddie.dhblogs.be/

2/02/09

Metodo 3, the Catalan detective agency hired by Kate and Gerry McCann to look for their daughter Madeleine, is today cited in a large scale investigation launched by the Spanish authorities involving six ministers of the Generalitat of Catalonia.(*)

According to a memo from the prosecutor's office, in recent years, the Catalan government, has allegedly commissioned and paid for a significant number of reports that seem to have no purpose or interest, quoting by way of an example, "the socio-economic enquiry on hazelnut farming," commissioned to the Metodo 3 detective agency for the modest sum of 30,000 Euros.

According to the prosecutor's office in charge of the investigation, we will be looking at a case of embezzlement and money laundering.

The Spanish authorities' investigation follows accusations by the "clean hands," collective and targets a case of embezzlement and money laundering, as confirmed by the prosecutor's office.

Metodo 3: after Maddie, the search for hazelnuts.

It was the Agriculture adviser, the socialist, Joaquim Llena, who commissioned from Francisco Marco - director of Metodo 3 - a "socio-economic enquiry into hazelnut farming," costing 30,000 Euros.

According to a spokesperson for the prosecutor's office, "only the name of the agency linked to such an investigation, drove the investigators to wonder about the real purpose envisioned by the adviser's commission."

According to a source close to the investigation, the report presented by Metodo 3 about the Tarragona region, the region in Spain that produces most hazelnuts, was allegedly copied word for word from the internet, information elsewhere confirmed by "El Confidencial," which states that Metodo 3 allegedly copied word for word a report previously published by the region's official newspaper on its internet site.

In Spain, Metodo 3 has already been linked to other scandals linked to the world of politics and finance and, recently, has been investigated for its work in the investigation into Madeleine McCann's disappearance where one of Francisco Marco's close associates, António Jimenez, has been accused of having taken several British journalists to meet witnesses, who were paid in advance to say that they had seen the little British girl in Morocco. Metodo 3's associate, head of the Maddie investigation was, thereafter, arrested in a case of trafficking and theft of cocaine.

According to sources linked to the legitimate Metodo 3, several detectives in its service have called into question Francisco Marco's competence in the Madeleine McCann investigation, accusing him of having destroyed the agency's credibility, notably after having set up a disastrous communication strategy.

According to the prosecutor's office, the embezzlement and money laundering could involve huge amounts of public money.

Duarte Levy & A. Finkelstein

2/02/09

(* The Generalitat de Catalunya ("Government of Catalonia") is the institution under which the Spanish Autonomous Community of Catalonia is politically organised. It consists of the Parliament, the President of the Generalitat and the Executive Council or Government of Catalonia.)

Metodo 3 seeks to restore its image after Madeleine McCann

http://sosmaddie.dhblogs.be/

From Duarte Levy (Huelva)

Detectives are seeking to claim credit for dismantling an image-exchange paedophile network.

Metodo 3, the Catalan agency which worked for the McCanns during the months following Madeleine's disappearance, is now seeking to restore its image, tarnished by the lack of results in that case, but also by the recent allusions made by the couple's spokesperson.

Francisco Marco, director of Metodo 3 has convinced the Spanish daily, El Mundo, that its detectives helped the Spanish police to arrest members of an image-exchange paedophile network on the internet, information denied by a source from the National Police.

"The operation did not originate with that agency. The network in question was already under surveillance by our services for some time, but we were waiting for the right time to catch the most individuals and thus to bring an end to their activities," states a spokesperson for the National Spanish Police, contacted by SMM, stresing that "the intervention of that agency only precipitated matters. It was a risk to wait knowing that private detectives and particularly those ones, had information and were risking putting our investigators work in jeopardy."

According to the daily newspaper, known for its relations with the Barcelona agency, information gathered by the Metodo 3 detectives in the course of their investigation into Maddie's disappearance, allegedly helped the Barcelona Computer Crimes Squad to catch up to 23 internet users, 13 of whom were arrested in the course of the operation "Lolita P-mix" launched by the Spanish authorities.

Francisco Marco explained to the daily that the agency had created a call centre for world-wide exposure of Madeleine McCann's disappearance and that it was following an email received, saying that the little British girl figured in a paedophile video, that they happened to locate a series of images exchanged on the networks "Peer 2 Peer", "Gnuteklla" and "Donkey 2000". Maddie did not figure on any photo or video but Metodo 3 was obliged to pass on the information to the Computer Crimes Squad in Barcelona, a legal obligation that not even the detectives can escape.

Since the creation of the Computer Crimes Squad in 1995, many thousands of people have been arrested in Spain, or abroad, for crimes linked to paedophilia, in particular the exchange of photos or videos on the internet. The Squad now maintain excellent collaboration with other foreign police forces, which has allowed them to contribute directly to the dismantling of many large networks.

19/01/09

Léonor Cipriano - doctor states that the photos do not correspond to the injuries.

http://sosmaddie.dhblogs.be/

18/11/08

The Léonor Cipriano case: the sound does not match the picture.

According to the doctor at the Odemira Health Centre, where Léonor Cipriano had been examined a few hours after the alleged assaults by PJ inspectors, the details he recorded at the time of the examination do not match the bruises seen in the photos presented to the court in Faro.

The resumption of the trial of the five PJ inspectors, accused of acts of torture against Léonor Cipriano, who was sentenced to 16 years in prison for her daughter Joana's death, has thus been marked by a new witness statement that calls into question the authenticity of the photos.

"What I saw was a single, very heavy knock, to the right side," the doctor stated, stressing that it would be possible for the bruises to the left side of the face to have been done before his examination. According to the explanation given to the doctor by Léonor, the presenting injuries to her face at the time of the examination were caused by a deliberate fall down the stairs, after her interrogation.

This is not the first time that the authenticity of the photos, taken at the prison, has been called into question, because they show a Léonor Cipriano with bruises to both sides of her face, in particular to her eyes.

A digital analysis, carried out by legal experts at the request of the inspectors' defence, had already stressed the lack of reliability of the photos. Their low resolution, the absence of date or time, rendered complex analysis impossible.

Léonor was beaten in the prison itself and not by the PJ

A former cell-mate of Léonor Cipriano, in statements exclusive to this blog, had already confirmed that LéonorCipriano was indeed assaulted in the prison after her return from interrogations by the PJ.

"The bruises on Léonor Cipriano's face were not done by the inspectors (of the PJ) ..she was well pasted in the prison after she arrived. In prison nobody likes child killers," this former cell-mate of Joana's mother confirmed, about the assault within the prison, stressing that there were never so many bruises on Léonor's face or body, thus contradicting the authenticity of the photos.

A former chief prison guard had already come to the witness box to indicate unusual behaviour from the director of the prison, Ana Maria Calado, verging on a strange relationship with Léonor. The prison governor had then allegedly suggested that he change a written report about a few red marks on Léonor's face when she returned from her interrogation with the PJ. In the same report, also gave account of Joana's mother's explanation about her bruises: according to her the red marks were indeed the result of falling down the stairs after her interrogation.

Today, at the request of the defence lawyers for the five PJ inspectors, the presiding judge agreed not to hear the witness statement of the prison director, Ana Maria Calado. According to Me António Pragal Colaço, representing four of the five inspectors, the request is based on the existence if evidence that the director of Odemira prison, Ana Maria Calado, would not be a credible and impartial witness.

A letter from a cell-mate, addressed to the authorities after the accusations made about the inspectors, reinforces this version: according to this witness, Joana's mother had admitted to her cell-mates that she had fallen down the stairs, but that, after a meeting with the prison director, she had changed her version stating having been tortured and that she was counting on pocketing compensation.

A trial mainly targeting Gonçalo Amaral

Marcos Aragão Correia, Léonor Cipriano's lawyer, now claims that the Public Minister is authorising the opening of separate proceedings against the former inspector, Gonçalo Amaral. According to the lawyer, the former coordinator of the investigation into Madeleine McCann's disappearance, would be "the main perpetrator" of the alleged assaults on his client. In statements to journalists as he left the court room, the lawyer, known for his connection to the Madeleine McCann case, indicated that the indictment was incomplete as long as Amaral was not being tried as main perpetrator and punished for the alleged acts of torture.

Five PJ inspectors are before the court in Faro, accused by the Public Minister (MP) of various crimes: Gonçalo Amaral, former coordinator of the Portimão Department of Criminal Investigation, is accused of not having denounced the alleged assaults; Leonel Lopes, Pereira Cristóvão and Marques Bonne, are accused of having tortured Léonor Cipriano in order to obtain a confession, while inspector Nunes Cardoso is accused of falsification of documents.

Marcos Aragão Correia, who had already admitted taking up the Léonor Cipriano case at the request of the Spanish detectives working for Kate and Gerry McCann - which Metodo 3 however denied - continues to particularly target Gonçalo Amaral in a trial where no one exactly understands what the role of the former coordinator into Madeleine McCann's disappearance would be.

The alleged assaults took place in 2004, but it was only in February 2008 that the court decided that Gonçalo Amaral would also be tried alongside the other four inspectors, this in spite of the fact that LéonorCipriano had always asserted that the former head of the PJ was not present at the time of the events.

SOS Madeleine McCann

18/11/08

SOS Madeleine McCann - "McCanns had access to confidential PJ information."

SOS Madeleine McCann 11/11/08

Maddie: the private (detectives) received help from a PJ mole.

A private Spanish detective reveals how the McCanns were able to have access to confidential police information in the Maddie case.

According to one of the Spanish detectives hired by Metodo 3 in the context of their contract with Kate and Gerry McCann, a PJ inspector allegedly gave confidential information to the Spanish agency concerning the movements of the Portuguese investigators and their British colleagues in the investigation into Maddie's disappearance.

The information thus obtained allowed the private detectives to inform the McCann couple and their entourage about work being planned by the Portuguese investigators: "Several of Amaral's men's initiatives failed thanks to information given by their colleague...but there was also information coming from informers linked to the British embassy," this detective states.

"This is the information that allowed us to know in advance what inspector Amaral and his colleagues wanted to do," the private detective continues during an interview recently recorded in Spain, stressing that, "the investigation would probably have ended differently without the intervention of the private (detectives), but also of certain British professionals."

In his interview, video recorded in unusual conditions, and which will be included in a documentary for television about Madeleine McCann's disappearance, the Spanish detective clearly identifies the PJ inspector and also puts forward, "that he benefited from a certain protection by the PJ at Faro."

The detective goes further and states, "that at times when the investigation was closed, thanks to information received from the Portuguese inspector, we created diversions in the media."

"That didn't always work, because I noticed that certain operations were set up without our knowing in advance. I imagine that Amaral must have had his suspicions and that he limited access to information to men he trusted," the detective adds.

"The investigation was practically condemned in advance...we knew in advance what Amaral was preparing and the desired objective in his operations," states the detective who, after several months of working for Metodo 3, had even tried to make contact with the Portimao DIC coordinator, before he was dismissed from the investigation: "I had personally met Gonçalo Amaral a few years ago, but he mustn't have remembered me and as soon as he heard that I was linked to Metodo 3 he refused to speak to me, arguing that if I had important information to bring to the case, this should be done in an official manner."

"He (Gonçalo Amaral) was known to us as a hard guy, in particular in cases of fighting drug trafficking...he is incorruptible," the detective concludes.

The revelation which risks creating controversy around the Algarve PJ, meanwhile confirms the suspicions raised by certain investigators. At least two PJ inspectors, contacted by SMM, directly put forward the name of the inspector who allegedly passed on the confidential information to the detectives of the Spanish agency. According to them, the man benefited from a certain protection from the Faro commission and his behaviour was not new, because he had allegedly previously committed the same offence in other investigations.

"We are no longer looking for Maddie....me, in any case, I was never hired to do that."

According to the same detective, he was allegedly never hired to look for Madeleine MCann: "We are no longer looking for Maddie..me, in any case, I was never hired to do that. All I was asked to do was gather the most details serving to direct the Portuguese investigation towards Morocco or Spain.

This former detective - who is no longer able to carry on his work - further states that the Spanish agency allegedly led British journalists to Morocco for them to meet previously selected and paid witnesses: "the aim was to spread the Moroccan lead in the media and thus confirm that it was indeed an abduction, which the Portuguese and British police did not want to believe," states the detective, stressing that he is unable to say whether theMcCanns were behind this kind of operation.

"The couple never asked me to lie about anything whatsoever. Unfortunately, I cannot say the same about the agency or the couple's entourage," the detective concludes.

(Editor's note: so who did ask him to lie? And about what?)

Duarte Levy

11/11/08

McCann case: one of the Oakley International detectives infiltrated a paedophile network.

http://sosmaddie.dhblogs.be/

Duarte Levy et Paulo Reis

"There aren't 36 ways to infiltrate a paedophile network....There are only two: that is you are a victim or you are an oppressor, " explains a spokesperson for the Belgian Federal Police, confronted that night with the information from the British media that one of the detectives working for Kate and Gerry McCann allegedly infiltrated a paedophile network in Belgium.

According to the British media, quoting a source close to the McCann family, one of the detectives of the Oakley International Agency allegedly used some of the 600,000 euros paid by the Find Madeleine Fund in its efforts to infiltrate a paedophile network in Belgium.

"We are not aware of the existence of a paedophile network, especially one with the characteristics claimed by the British media. Unfortunately, we have paedophiles in Belgium, in the same way as they exist in the United Kingdom where, I think, their number and importance is far greater than in our country," states the same police officer, stressing that, "Belgium is known for the Dutroux case, but it mustn't be forgotten that England had Ian Huntley. In this particular case, if the McCanns' detectives have infiltrated a supposed network or approached paedophiles in Belgium, why haven't they informed the relevant authorities?"

According to the latest information, Oakley International, a supposed detective agency, is no longer working for the McCanns, after six months of a relationship that hasn't produced any results to speak of, but cost the fund set up by Kate and Gerry McCann after Madeleine's disappearance, 600,000 euros.

Like the Metodo 3 Spaniards, Oakley International, supposedly made up of former British and American intelligence agents, was supposed to operate the McCanns' hotline, investigate several leads and analyse possible images of Madeleine from new witness statements.

To be continued.

Duarte Levy et Paulo Reis

http://sosmaddie.dhblogs.be/

SOS Madeleine McCann: Charlotte Pennington, Noel Hogan and Metodo 3

In January 2008, according to the documents of the investigation, included on the DVD given to journalists, a Leicestershire police officer, (Graham Michael) spoke with Charlotte Pennington (a former Ocean Club nanny) in the United Kingdom. She stated that she had no additional information to give him and confirmed the statements made previously to the PJ, while she was still in Portugal.

Charlotte Pennington also indicated that she had spoken to a British private investigator, Noel Hogan, working in the name of Metodo 3. She assured Graham Michael that she had only given Noel Hogan the same information that she had provided for the PJ in Portugal and for the Leicestershire police, in August 2007.

Duarte Levy & Paulo Reis

http://sosmaddie.dhblogs.be/madeleine_mccann/

22/08/08