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! 

"As CEOP dies Jim Gamble saves himself....."

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There seems to have been quite a lot happening with and around individuals and organisations directly or indirectly linked to the Madeleine McCann case over the past few weeks. I present this little list, which is probably incomplete and not necessarily in chronological order.

• Jim Gamble resigns from CEOP.
• John McCann and Gerry's boss resign from the Madeleine Fund
• Kevin Halligen of Oakley International subject to extradition proceedings on fraud charges.
• Operation Ore test case coming up.
• Kate McCann goes to Praia da Luz for 'emotional reasons and to pray for Madeleine.'
• New detectives join Dave Edgar's team in Portugal.

"As CEOP dies, Jim Gamble saves himself..."

http://theopinionsite.org/?p=161

October 7, 2010

By Andromeda

Operation Ore, the UK’s biggest investigation into alleged child pornography, resulted in numerous innocent people being jailed or cautioned, led the politicians to invoke draconian legislation, caused the erosion of civil liberties in the name of ‘child protection’ and also caused the death of 39 people.

The man who was at the centre of its momentum was Jim Gamble, a senior police officer with a somewhat dubious history. He has done well and made a load of money from his endeavour, by most people’s standards anyway. He has resigned after suggesting that the amalgamation of CEOP into the proposed National Crime Agency is not in the best interests of children. We suspect that he has simply thrown his toys out of his pram as he will no longer be granted unfettered power and money by the new government. He is going now before he is sacked, in our opinion at least.

Tony Blair slapped a D-Notice on Operation Ore just before going to war with Iraq because senior cabinet members were alleged to have been under investigation. This has prevented any enquiry into the matter by the police.

Appeals against Gamble’s crusade are due to be heard in the High Court in November.

Now, Jim Gamble's resignation may actually be solely related to the proposed amalgamation of CEOP into the proposed National Crime Agency or methinks the timing of the announcement by the government may be Jim Gamble's lucky break. The Operation Ore test case just happens to be coming up, which could lead to some embarrassment for Mr Gamble and bring into disrepute anything he has been involved with. So, maybe Jim has been on his knees thanking God for this reason to resign and claim the moral high ground before the brown stuff hits the proverbial air cooling device.

What makes me wonder about poor Jim's protestations about his commitment to CEOP and its loss of independence is that last year Jim applied for the post of Chief Constable for the Police Service of Northern Ireland. Men hoping to become PSNI chief

The McCanns issued a statement in support of their good buddy, Jim Gamble, in which they stated that they it was "extremely saddening that he feels unable to continue to lead Ceop, apparently as a consequence of the proposed Governmental changes.." (Daily Express ) So, was it saddening when Jim applied for a new job last year? Was it potentially a great loss for child protection or did Kate and Gerry wish him good luck?

So, anyway, Jim's resigned and the Operation Ore appeal is coming up. Operation Ore and internet allegations - test case on appeal (Chris Saltrese solicitor)

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.

A good time to be jumping ship then, Jim Lad!

Also coming up in November is the postponed Kevin Halligen extradition proceedings.

Private cop '£1.3m scam' Daily Mirror

21/09/2010

Court

A private detective accused of ripping off the Madeleine McCann fund is also wanted in the US over an alleged £1.3million fraud, it was revealed yesterday.

Kevin Halligen, 49, is being sought by the FBI for allegedly conning UK law firm Waterson and Hicks out of the sum by claiming he could help free two staff of a client, oil company Trafigura, jailed in the Ivory Coast over a 2006 chemical spill.

Westminster magistrates remanded Halligen, from Surrey, in custody until November 3.

What have we got so far of events somewhere in the McCanns' orbit? In November, their buddy Jim will be confronted by an appeal on behalf of men allegedly falsely accused as a result of the Operation Ore investigation, of which Jim was in charge. In the same month, Kevin Halligen goes back to court for his extradition hearing.

Could the timing, then, of Kate McCann's solo visit to Praia da Luz 'for emotional reasons and to pray for Madeleine,' be somehow related to those two events? Distraction?

And what of this new team of detectives now sitting in an office somewhere in Lisbon, waiting for new leads? Kate McCann went out there, prayed alone and wept, - though who saw her? - but didn't meet up with these new investigators to discuss the case and where they're going to get the new leads from? But, we are told that simply visiting Praia da Luz has brought fresh hope.

Kate and Gerry McCann are convinced three new investigators will help solve their daughter’s disappearance and she told a friend yesterday: “A new team, new ideas and new hope!”

The three, paid by the Find Maddie Fund, are now in the Portuguese capital Lisbon.

Kate has made a return trip to the resort where her daughter, now seven years old, was snatched nearly three-and-a-half years ago.

She visited friends in Praia da Luz and went alone to the Catholic Church and wept as she prayed.

A family source said: “Kate has been given fresh hope by her visit to ‘Luz’ and by the fact three new highly regarded investigators are injecting new impetus into the search for Madeleine. She didn’t meet the investigators but stayed with the local Anglican priest Father Haynes Hubbard and his wife Susan, who have become very close friends.

“Kate went out alone to have a break and, of course, to pray for Madeleine.”

Family doctor Kate, 42, spent last weekend in Luz while relatives looked after her twins Sean and Amelia, five.

Family doctor Kate? She hasn't been a GP since before she went to Praia da Luz in May 2007, though 'family doctor,' may be an appropriate description since she managed to doctor her own family quite nicely while she was there!

So, what gives Mr Gerry and Mrs Kate? Getting a bit nervous with all these goings-on? As if all that wasn't enough, that Portuguese police officer, Gonçalo Amaral, has managed to get Marcos Aragão Correio, erstwhile lawyer to Leonor Cipriano, formally accused of defamation by the Portuguese Public Minister, charged with defaming the Polícia Judicária when he accused them of torture. I guess a few of your supporters who actually accused Dr Amaral of torturing a suspect may have to be a little more careful if Snr Correio is found guilty!

With thanks to Joana Morais for the translation of the article which appeared only in the paper edition of Correio da Manhã.

The Public Ministry accuses lawyer Marcos Aragão Correia of defamation against Gonçalo Amaral, a former PJ coordinator, due to a document in which he recounts supposed torture acts against Leonor Cipriano, who in 2005 was condemned to a 16-year prison sentence over the death of her daughter, Joana, and the concealment of the child's cadaver.

The lawyer - who represents Leonor Cipriano - has sent the aforementioned document to the Association against Exclusion for Development (ACED), and its head, António Dores, also stands accused of the crime of defamation. After filing the complaint against the lawyer, Gonçalo Amaral requested for Aragão Correia to be considered unimputable, even suggesting his commitment to a psychiatric hospital.

Within the case of alleged aggressions against Leonor, Gonçalo Amaral was condemned to a one-and-a-half-year suspended sentence over false deposition*. The former PJ coordinator is represented by João Grade, Cipriano's former lawyer

(*I believe the charge brought against Dr Amaral was that of failing to submit a report.)

Oh dearie me! I think that new team of cack, I mean crack, detectives needs to come up with a few more sightings and/or suspects because it does appear to me, just in my opinion of course, that like the well-constructed facade represented by The Tower in the Tarot deck, lightning may be about to hit the McCanns' own house of cards.

And I wish them a very unhappy landing!

Ken Thompson got on his bike and found his son Andrew

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Sydney Morning Herald September 9th 2010

Almost three years after his son went missing, former NSW deputy fire chief Ken Thompson has learnt the six-year-old boy is in Amsterdam.

Andrew Thompson was three years old when he was abducted in Sydney by his mother, Melinda Stratton, on April 24, 2008, after a custody battle.

Ms Stratton eluded the Australian Federal Police, Interpol and missing children's organisations until she was picked up on Monday after attempting to enrol Andrew in school.

Noticing the six-year-old's passport had expired, the school's principal ran a security check and discovered the boy was the subject of more than 180 Interpol alerts.

Mr Thompson quit his job in May to cycle across Europe on a public crusade to find his son.

Ken Thompson went out there in the world and physically searched for his son, handing out posters, leaflets and bumper stickers as he cycled through Europe. He actually went to the places where his son might have been taken. He didn't set up a fund and hire dodgy detectives who had no previous experience of finding missing children. He wasn't working very hard doing other things!

When the McCanns' private detectives issued a statement to the effect that they thought Madeleine was being held in a 'hellish lair,' in one of the, 'lawless villages,' within 10 kilometres of Praia da Luz, did the McCanns or even their detectives rush out there to comb those villages to find her? Not that I am aware of. The area covered by those villages within a 10 km radius Praia da Luz seems like a rather smaller search area than the whole of the UK and mainland Europe, but when the McCanns went back to Praia da Luz, did they get on their bikes and trundle round those villages? No! They were busy doing other things, like being photographed gazing out to sea, thinking about their missing child.

‘I didn’t know where in Europe he might be,’’ Mr Thompson told Macquarie Radio from Amsterdam on Thursday morning, having just arrived in the city.

‘‘I just knew Europe was the most likely place, so I decided I would do whatever I could do to raise public awareness to Andrew, and to some other kids who are missing in Europe as well, by riding a bicycle and just trying to generate as much media interest as I could in Andrew.’’

Europe was the most likely place? A rather big place, but Ken Thompson's way of raising awareness was to go there, not set up a fund and ask for donations and plan 100 days, 500 days and 1000 days events with any z list celeb who was willing to lend their name to a media campaign by parents who left their three small children alone in an unlocked apartment in a foreign country.

A family friend, Robin Bowles, said police had contacted Mr Thompson advising him that his son was safe with welfare officials and his former wife was in custody. Arrangements for her extradition were due to be raised in a court appearance yesterday.

"Ken's ecstatic, emotional, relieved, overjoyed and still in a total state of shock," Ms Bowles said. "It is no secret there were fears for both Melinda's and Andrew's safety and the longer time went on, the fear grew deeper within Ken that maybe he'd never see his son again. He wants to see him. He can't wait a moment longer."

Ms Stratton fled Australia four months after she and Mr Thompson failed to reach a custody settlement. She flew with Andrew to Germany, then vanished. In a letter to her family, she claimed she was forced to flee after losing faith in the Family Court over its handling of serious allegations she levelled against her former husband.

But in December 2008 Ms Stratton successfully lobbied the Family Court to lift a ban on identifying Andrew and his plight.

In granting the order, the court allowed Mr Thompson to release a psychiatric report – compiled before his former wife's disappearance – revealing she had a paranoia disorder that severely impaired her ability as a parent.

Mr Thompson said: ‘‘He is safe. We’ll hopefully now get him back to Australia and then Melinda and I can resume the process that needs to be resumed, that was started in 2008."

See, that's how you do it if your child is missing. You get off your butt and go to the places where the child might be found. This year, Gerry McCann got on his bike and rode up and down Scottish hills in record time, we're told, to raise money for the Find Madeleine Fund. He might have done better to have been out there searching when his child first went missing or to have got on his bike when he visited Praia da Luz and cycled round those 'lawless villages,' handing out leaflets and photos. Now, why didn't he do that? How much does it cost to hire an effin' bike for a few days? A great deal less than the £500,000 paid to Kevin Halligen of Oakley International, now fighting extradition to the USA on charges of fraud and money laundering!

Gerry went to America, he visited the Pope, he did the grand tour of Europe and had his piccie taken, but he didn't get on his bike and search those areas where the private detectives thought Madeleine was being held. I guess it was a bit like the night his daughter disappeared: he was busy doing other things.

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?

Updated: McCann search businessman, Kevin Halligen, in court today

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According to the Sydney Morning Herald, Kevin Halligen, the businessman whose company Oakley International was paid £300,000 by Kate and Gerry McCann to search for their daughter, will appear in court today, Thursday, facing extradition to the United States, to face charges of fraud and money-laundering.

So, how come this hasn't hit the UK media?* And how come the McCanns are not jumping up and down demanding their money back? They don't seem to have had much luck with their private detectives, do they?

The Sydney Morning Herald brings us news that the UK media appears not to be taking any notice of, which seems odd to me when anything vaguely smelling of McCann usually gets front page coverage in at least one tabloid. Don't Messrs Edgar and Cowley wish to question Mr Halligen about what he has done with all that dosh? Why so quiet intrepid investigators?

*Update: Belfast Telegraph

In The First Post, 23rd November 2009, we read that the McCanns were suspicious of Halligen from the start. Well, why hand over all that money? Didn't they learn to be more careful after the Metodo 3 fiasco, when they were promised that their daughter would be home by Christmas? So, let's ask the question: why aren't the McCanns on the list of people seeking recompense from Kevin Halligen? The money he was paid was supposed to be used in the search for Madeleine, so why no publicity today in the UK media about this man who swindled a 'vulnerable family.'? Maybe it just wasn't the McCanns' own money anyway and as far as that fund is concerned, it almost appears to be, 'easy come, easy go.'

More than two years after the disappearance of Madeleine McCann from the Portuguese resort of Praia da Luz, it has emerged that Kevin Halligen, a British security consultant hired by the Find Madeleine fund, allegedly conned detectives working on the case out of £300,000.

Halligen, whose firm, Oakley International, is based in Washington DC, was paid £500,000 by the fund to employ private investigators to look for the missing girl. But the Sunday Times has reported that he failed to pay them the money, and has now gone on the run. One detective, Henri Exton, a former national head of undercover operations for the British police, claims that Halligen personally owes him £100,000.

An unnamed friend of Kate and Gerry McCann said that they had suspicions about Halligen, a 50-year-old businessman with a colourful past, from the start. "He had this sense of cloak and dagger, acting as if he were a James Bond-style spy," the friend said. "He promised the earth but it came to nothing."

Another source claimed that Halligen promised to use his contacts in Washington to find satellite images of Praia da Luz and lists of telephone calls from the evening of May 3, 2007, but failed to do so. "All he came up with was a Google Earth image," the source said.

The Conservative MP for the McCann’s constituency of Charnwood, Stephen Dorrell, said: "This man clearly saw a vulnerable family going through a terrible ordeal and the only thing he was focused on was that there were people offering money to help find Madeleine."

Sydney Morning Herald - 22/07/2010

A businessman whose firm helped look for Madeleine McCann and who is wanted in the US over an alleged STG1.3 million ($A2.24 million) fraud will face an extradition hearing on Thursday.

Irish national Kevin Halligen, 48, is accused by prosecutors in America of attempting to defraud a London law firm of $US2.1 million ($A2.4 million).

The defendant's assets were frozen after his arrest on November 24.

Officers acting on a request from US law enforcement agencies detained Halligen after finding him in a hotel in Oxford where he had been staying under an assumed name.

The alleged crimes for which he is wanted in the US relate to money taken from a Dutch company, Trafigura, as part of a deal to secure the release of executives under arrest in the Ivory Coast.

Instead it was spent on, amongst other things, a mansion and a gift to his girlfriend, it is alleged.

The businessman's firm Oakley International had been employed by Kate and Gerry McCann for about six months in 2008 to look for their missing daughter.

In all the Washington-based firm was paid around STG300,000 ($A517,687.66) for its services by the McCanns.

The extradition hearing will take place at City of Westminster Magistrates' Court.