Latest Press release today by Sunday Mirror

by Pedro Silva Sun Jul 12, 2009 11:32 pm

Maddie parents sue cop for £1 million book profit. Kate and Gerry McCann are suing the police chief who bungled the investigation into their daughter´s disappearance for £1 million. For more information, see Sunday Mirror.

by christabel Sun Jul 12, 2009 11:37 pm

Pedro Silva wrote:
Maddie parents sue cop for £1 million book profit. Kate and Gerry McCann are suing the police chief who bungled the investigation into their daughter´s disappearance for £1 million. For more information, see Sunday Mirror.

Pedro thats made my year Laffin

by Rosie Sun Jul 12, 2009 11:46 pm

Pedro, you are the bearer of very glad tidings!

Thank you my friend, I will try and bring over the news so everyone can read it!

by Rosie Mon Jul 13, 2009 12:01 am

EXCLUSIVE: MADDIE PARENTS SUE COP FOR £1M BOOK PROFITS

By Tom Worden

Kate and Gerry McCann are suing the police chief who bungled the investigation into their daughter's disappearance - and blamed them for her death - for £1million.

In a 36-page writ handed to the Sunday Mirror, they lay bare in painful detail how Gonçalo Amaral's accusations left them "totally destroyed" and caused them "irreparable" damage.

It also gives a harrowing insight into the day-to-day life in the McCann household as they struggle to cope without Madeleine.

The writ - which the Sunday Mirror has had translated from Portuguese - outlines how the couple both suffer from "permanent anxiety, insomnia, lack of appetite, irritability and an indefinable It also says Kate McCann is "in a deep and serious depression".

'Disgraced former police Amaral has pocketed £ 1million writing a lurid book and making documentary full of cruel about Madeliene and her And now they are suing him every penny of it.

He accuses them of accidentally killing their three-year-old daughter and then covering up her death.

Amaral, who was thrown off case after five months, repeatedly claimed Madeleine in the holiday apartment on Algarve. In his book The About The Lie he spouts his theory that the couple hid daughter's body.

The lawsuit also highlights fears for four-year-old twins and Amelie when they start later this year and begin to hear rumours that Madeleine is dead.

And it accuses Amaral of being a self-obsessed, manipulative money-grabber with no morals.

The couple, both 41, have hired Portuguese lawyer Isabel Duarte to sue Amaral for defamation and for breaching their human rights. Mrs Duarte, 54, said: "Somebody has to stop him and shut him up. He is a rich man now, earning millions from the distress of this family. We believe he has made up to 1.2million euros (£1million) from the book and the video. We want the court to punish him by taking at least that much from him."

The McCanns have a good case for defamation as they have already been cleared by Portugal's Attorney General. The case will go to trial in Lisbon next summer and Amaral, 49, could force the McCanns to take the stand. Madeleine is named with Kate and Gerry and the twins as a complainant in the lawsuit, lodged on June 24.

The McCanns, both doctors from Rothley, Leics, claim Amaral's repeated insistence that their daughter is dead has stopped people looking for her. The lawsuit states: "Madeleine has been deprived of the possibility of a fair and adequate investigation into her disappearance, putting her moral and physical integrity at serious risk."

It says Gerry and Kate have been "totally destroyed from a moral, social, ethical, emotional and family point of view, beyond the pain that the absence of their eldest daughter causes them".

The couple want a minimum of £430,000 in damages for Madeleine, which will be used to keep the search for her going. They also want a minimum of £215,000 each for them, and another £86,000 each for the twins. It is thought any money they get will go to the Maddie fund.

Amaral's book has sold around 330,000 copies worldwide. The father of-three has become a celeb in Portugal, and has a new Jaguar.

The McCanns say his "sole objectives" in writing the book were "to earn a lot of money", using "lies". It says the book and his 50-minute documentary, which has been shown twice on Portuguese TV, are "manipulative, perverse, false, destructive, defamatory, deeply damaging and therefore illegal".

Amaral was in charge of the 30 detectives looking for Madeleine after she vanished in May 2007 on a family holiday in Praia da Luz.

He was largely responsible for making the McCanns "arguidos" - suspects - four months after Madeleine vanished. But he was kicked off the case in October 2007 days after the Sunday Mirror revealed he was working as little as four hours a day and was enjoying long, boozy lunches.

He was removed from the case on his 48th birthday. Amaral took early retirement shortly afterwards, ending 27 years on the force.

He began writing his book, promoting it by travelling around Europe giving newspaper interviews.

It went on sale in a blaze of publicity in July last year - three days after the McCanns' "arguido" status was removed. Earlier this month Amaral was charged with torturing a witness during a separate missing child case. He faces jail if convicted.

The Couple Want a Minimum of £430,000 damages for Madeleine which will be used to continue the search for her.

£215,000 for each parent for the emotional distress the book has caused them. They say they suffer 'permanent anxiety, insomnia, lack of appetite, irritability and an indefinable fear'. The writ also says Kate McCann is 'steeped in a deep and serious depression'.

£86,000 for each of their twins Sean and Amelie, who could hear his allegations when they start school in September.

HOW AMARAL MADE HIS MONEY

£500,000 from the book which has sold 180,000 copies in Portugal alone.

£430,000 from the extra 150,000 books which have been sold in Brazil, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Holland.

£100,000 for a TV documentary watched by one in five people in Portugal - 75,000 copies have sold on DVD.

It should also be remember that Goncalo Amaral was also convicted last month (June 2009) for withholding evidence of a torture of a witness in custody and for lying and perjury.

He received an 18 month suspended prison sentence.

by Rosie Mon Jul 13, 2009 2:16 am

In my humble opinion and an opinion I have held for almost two years, there is something deeply suspect about this man Goncalo Amaral.

In the book written by members of this forum, it states that there is upwards of 150 questions that Goncalo Amaral should be made to answer.

In order to answer these questions, I have always believed that he should be arrested and made an official witness and thus under Portuguese law, be forced to answer the questions.

The book written by members of this forum has been wholly justified, it is realised when you read the basis of what the McCanns are going to sue Goncalo Amaral on, the book and especially the questions, are extremely relevant to situation today and will be when this gets to court next summer.

I also believe that Goncalo Amaral's conduct and the way he conducted this investigation should be questioned.

He headed this investigation for almost 5 months and it was he who presided over a whole catalogue of serious errors, just about every mistake that could have been, was actually made and these mistakes started happening from the first instance of the Portuguese police being involved.

Amaral is said to have 27 years experience as detective, he apparently headed the drug squad too.

If this is so, then why is it that Goncalo Amaral made every mistake under the sun? Mistakes that you would NOT expect, even a rookie police officer to make!

Yet we are expected to believe that Amaral made mistake after mistake after mistake?! There were so many mistakes, that you would be forgiven for thinking that these mistakes were made on purpose.

WHY? HOW?

How come a man of his experience made these fundamental mistakes? How come he allowed the golden hours, after a child has been abducted to tick away, while he stayed in a bar wining and dining his friends?

OK be generous and say we can understand a couple of the immediate errors taking place, they are not experienced in child abduction cases, but these errors carried on being made. Then Amaral himself presided over leaks, smears, lies that came from the PJ and he did nothing.
He allowed the characters of Kate and Gerry McCann to become besmirched and he did nothing.

Also there was something that occurred during this investigation, which if happened in the UK or virtually any other European country, would have automatically triggered an inquiry, because it was so serious a breach.

While Goncalo Amaral was still heading this investigation, his "alleged" close friend, journalist, Felicia Cabrita, was handed highly sensitive documents from the investigation. These documents contained the witness statements, witness names, addresses and mobile and home telephone numbers, of all the main witnesses and she contacted many of them.

How did this happen?
Who gave Felicia Cabrita these documents?
Did her paper pay for them?
If so who received the money?

When witnesses give their information and their personal details, they have every right to have their identities kept confidential, if this is not done, then witnesses are open to all kinds of threats, intimidation and fear etc.

Yet Portugal did absolutely nothing about this. WHY?

Isn't it strange how Felicia Cabrita and Goncalo Amaral are close friends and she gets hold of this personal information?

Strange also that the name of Goncalo Amaral's lawyer is Antonio Cabrita. Rumour has it that Felicia is the wife of Antonio, I do not know if this is true, I have looked but cannot find confirmation of it.

At one point Felicia Cabrita's name was linked to several different detectives - who knows if this is true, but the more you look into these two cases of Joana Cipriano and Madeleine McCann, both headed by the same now disgraced detective, Goncalo Amaral, the more it makes one raise ones eyebrows in total disbelief.

The bottom line of all of these errors was that people stopped looking for Madeleine and that poor child, did not get the full and proper investigation into her disappearance as a direct result of the measures that were and were not put in place by Goncalo Amaral.

I end with this, in the infamous documentary of lies that Goncalo Amaral appeared in, he is pictured standing by the wardrobe in the children's room in apartment 5a.

As Amaral has never once spoken to the McCanns and did not even bother to turn up on the night Madeleine was abducted, perhaps if he had of bothered to go look at that cupboard and that apartment BEFORE he made this documentary nearly two years later, he may have had some hope of discovering what happened to Madeleine McCann.

When was the first time that Amaral decided to visit the scene of the abduction? Was it when he first had it made a crime scene THREE months AFTER Madeleine was abducted? Or was it when he made this documentary almost TWO YEARS after?

by Pedro Silva Mon Jul 13, 2009 2:49 am

I agree with your opinion, my friend Rosiepops, and I have asked many times the same as you did, and I ask this: why a ex-cop, who expertise was drug dealers (which has nothing related with an investigation about an abduction of a little child) was put in charge of an investigation about an abduction? This is one more question, which needs to be answered.

by rosemary Mon Jul 13, 2009 2:59 am

It is heartrending to read of the mental and physical suffering that Kate and Gerry are enduring. My heart bleeds for them now and for the monstrous way they have been treated since Madeleine disappeared. Such horrendous injustice and the perpetrators of it must ALL be brought to account. The power is finally in the hands of Kate and Gerry. God Bless them both and give them the strength to see it through.

by Rosie Mon Jul 13, 2009 3:02 am

Rosemary, I think that this is just the start of it. I feel very soon that we will possibly see the arrest of Goncalo Amaral.

How much longer can the Portuguese government allow him to bring shame on their country and upon all the good decent Portuguese folk?

It seems to me that Madeleine, her parents and her family are not the only victims of this heinous crime!

by Rosie Mon Jul 13, 2009 3:05 am

Pedro, you are absolutely right, why was he put in charge of the investigations of Joana and Madeleine, when he had no experience in this field?

It is a question that needs answering!

by vee8 Mon Jul 13, 2009 3:34 am

Just got back in from the weekend away, and this is the cherry on the cake! I hope they sue the idiot for every penny, then see to it he is locked away for a VERY long time. Justice is coming, gonzo, you can run, (Well, no, you can't, but maybe you can wobble,) but you can't hide.

by sadie Mon Jul 13, 2009 4:56 am

Excellent news.

Poor old gonzo. His ill deeds are coming home to roost. I feel no sorrow for Amaral, he has juggled with the lives of others, but I do feel for his wife and children.

The best place for a guy like him is locked away where he can do no harm. But I am sorry for his kids; they dont deserve this.

Now who was it that put Gonzo in charge of these abductions? That is the next question. Who is he and why did he place Amaral in the position of working on child abduction cases?.....Hmm?

by dianeh Mon Jul 13, 2009 9:29 am

Rosiepops wrote:Pedro, you are absolutely right, why was he put in charge of the investigations of Joana and Madeleine, when he had no experience in this field?

It is a question that needs answering!

Rosie, Pedro and Sadie

I think that is not quite the right question. Why was he no longer in charge of the drug squad? That is the question that needs to be asked.

Was it a promotion, with more money and benefits, or was it a sideways move?

If it is not a promotion, then ???????

by jean Mon Jul 13, 2009 10:38 am

This is all very good news - but it still doesn't bring us any closer to finding Madeleine!! It is so distressing that Kate and Gerry have had to suffer in the way that they have during the last 2+ years and, as Rosemary says, it breaks my heart to hear that they have to endure this pain, and I too hope to God that they have the strength to carry on. This man, Ameral, should be hung drawn and quartered and left to rot in prison for doing this to Madeleine and her parents. I hope that now something is done about him instead of all this pussy footing around.

by Rosie Mon Jul 13, 2009 10:51 am

Good point Diane, it would be good to know the answer to this question!
There is a reference made to this by no other than Goncalo Amaral's wife, in her open letter to Kate McCann.
Sofia Leal Amaral, says the reason why her husband got passed over for promotion, was apparently because he spent all of his time away from the comfort of behind his desk, fighting crime elsewhere, he got ignored for promotion because apparently he wasn't seen in the office! mental

Jean, we hope so too. How come the Portuguese government is allowing Amaral to swan around doing all of this? But it is good to see the Portuguese judiciary start to tackle him now.
Apparently Amaral is not like by people high up in the Portuguese echelons, probably the reason why he was passed over for promotion!

by jean Mon Jul 13, 2009 11:17 am

It is good that the Portuguese judiciary are doing something about him, but the only reason that they are is because of all the pressure that has been put on them from outside sources. If Madeleine had not been abducted just imagine what else he could have got away with. He must be one thick, or conceited, man to think that he could get away with everything that he has done to the McCanns. It really does beggar belief that he has got away with it for so long.

by Rosie Mon Jul 13, 2009 11:41 am

I understand exactly what you are saying Jean. I have found this absolutely mystifying for almost two years that this man has seemingly been allowed to get away with the most disgraceful behaviour.

What he did to Kate and Gerry McCann, was nothing short of wicked in my book. In my opinion, he deliberately made them arguidos to silence them, while he leaked lies, smears etc to deliberately blacken their characters in order to make his trumped up charges stick! To me that was nothing short of inhuman psychological torture in the extreme and for that alone I think Amaral should be thrown into prison! Not withstanding of course, that when he went to the prosecutor to have the McCanns made arguidos, he already 'KNEW' that there was no evidence on which to make them suspects, he had been informed of this by John Lowe of the Birmingham FSS, he ignored it! truth be known of course was he was rushing to have them made arguidos because he knew they were 'already' planning their return to the UK and if he waited for a few days longer, because of a statutory law change due to take place in Portugal, he would be UNABLE to have the McCanns made arguidos, because it would have required evidence on which to do so, evidence he (Amaral) KNEW he did not have.

Every case he has been involved in seems to have ended in some kind of controversy.

I think Goncalo Amaral has been pushing his luck for a long time, and now he has pushed it once too often!
He is going to prison! and I hope his 18 months suspended prison sentence is added on to any sentence he receives for other offences!

This in itself will not bring Madeleine back, but the proceedings may give that certain 'someone' the courage they need to come forward and tell the police everything they know about the abduction of Madeleine McCann and they KNOW who they are!

by Royal Tue Jul 14, 2009 5:39 am

I am extremely pleased to hear Kate & Gerry are suing Amaral for damages, I am also pleased to hear other charges may be brought against the man on similar charges to those of which he has already been convicted, (and got off lightly!) If and when he is returned to court on civil matters related to his treatment of the McCanns and their family, I have no doubt he will try very hard to wriggle his way out of this one also! So what sort of defence could he come up with? I expect he will say that he acted in good faith on the amount of evidence available to him, which as we all know there was very little if indeed any at all! He would also no doubt insist that he employed a large force of men under his control to carry out extensive searches far and wide, leaving him with the conclusion that the parents were involved in their own childs disappearance! He will of course also put forward evidence that blood stains were found in the apartment and further evidence in the boot of the hire car, even though these were proved to be totally inconclusive and incorrect! He may even use the excuse that he was put in charge of the case against his own wishes due to lack of experience in that field, but that he carried out his duties to the best of his ability under the circumstances! He will no doubt also accuse Kate and Gerry of being 'unco-operative and refusing to answer questions whilst under interogation further leading him to suspect their guilt! All of these excuses including supporting PJ character witnesses and much more will be put forward in his defence so it will not be an easy ride by any means for Kate and Gerry! However, if at the end of the day he loses the case, which we all hope he does, this in itself will then completely 'rubbish' his publications and DVD promotions and will no longer be held in the same 'high esteem' as at present by some of the Portuguese people! Good luck to Kate and Gerry, we are all with you, give him hell!

Alroy.

by Tinkerbell43 Tue Jul 14, 2009 7:53 am

He needs more than his bloody money taken off him!. I hope his life is destroyed like he has destroyed The McCanns and god knows who elses!

Roll on Summer 2010! We will be with Kate and Gerry all the way!

by Rosie Tue Jul 14, 2009 8:23 am

There are several cases that have been lodged with the court against Amaral.

The appeal lodged by Marcos to increase Amaral's sentence and to have him serve his sentence in prison. (Criminal prosecution)
The case lodged by Marcos for defamation of character. (Civil action)
The action for defamation that the McCanns are bringing against him, which is going to total around £1 million. (Civil action)
Then last week Amaral was charged by the prosecutor for torturing another witness, this time Leonor's partner, Leandro Silva. (Criminal Prosecution)
Leandro Silva is also suing Amaral for € 500.000, for torture loss of earnings etc.
Also indirectly involving him is the appeal against her conviction and sentence is a case lodged by Leonor Cipriano. (And this is going to massively damage Amaral's reputation)

This is certain. I read in the paper yesterday that Amaral's lawyer said he is looking forward to getting the McCanns into court, which is just a load of baloney, that is the last place he will want his client's case reaching and I bet he is trying to work hard for an out of court settlement, if the McCanns get into court then Amaral is not going to have the proverbial leg to stand on, he will be slaughtered! It is not 'if' Amaral is returned to court Alroy, it is 'when'.

Amaral can wriggle all he likes, there is no way he is going to get off of any of these actions, Amaral is guilty. His whole book is a tissue of lies, built on lies and fantasy and bizarre theories. There is no defence for what he has done, the only defence he should have is the truth and he has not got the truth, it is as simple as that!

In order for him to win the case the McCanns are bringing, he will have to prove that Madeleine has died in order to back up what he is saying and he cannot do this. Interestingly Amaral was depending on Duarte Levy and ever since Duarte Levy has known his fantasy evidence may be called upon in court, he has disappeared, kaput, doesn't want to know, because he too cannot produce any proof because he too is a fat lazy liar and fantasist. Amaral is on his own and by the time these court cases are though, Goncalo Amaral is going to be persona non grata in Portugal.
He can say what he likes about acting in good faith and about how many people were employed on the investigation, it has no bearing on the case the McCanns are bringing against him, what matters is the truth and the McCanns have the truth on their side and the courts do not work on conclusions, they work on truth and fact and Amaral does not have either, so I hope he has reserved £1million, because he is going to need it and more besides, because he will also have to pay court costs.

He also cannot prove anything, there was no proof in the way of DNA, this was a lie that Amaral made up and told the prosecutor, in order to make the McCanns arguidos. There was NO blood found in the car and no conclusive DNA found and nothing to link any of it to Madeleine, other than the DNA you would expect to be there by natural process such as Locards Principle of transference. The blood found in the apartment was identified as coming from an Easter European man and the much talked about blood said to have been found under the block flooring which was in fact floor tiles, was NOT blood and the samples were so minute that no identifying process could be carried out, not even LCN (Low Copy Number DNA). This was confirmed by the Portuguese Attorney General, who cleared the McCanns and said that there was no coherent or logical or rational reason to suspect them of any wrongdoing and even on the lesser accusation of negligence, the Portuguese prosecutors and Attorney General, said that the McCanns were not negligent and that they were not expected to know that their child would be in danger by leaving them.

Now with that kind of evidence stacked against Amaral, he is going to lose and lose BIG TIME, it is a foregone conclusion and the libel lawyer that Amaral has hired knows he is on a hiding to nothing and is just taking his money, yet another one leaching off of the back of an innocent abducted child!

The biggest laugh in all of this is that Amaral is so deluded that he has filed a counteraction against the McCanns, which is going to get absolutely laughed out of court. How on earth does Amaral think he can win a defamation case against the McCanns? They have never defamed him, Amaral saw to that, the whole reason that Amaral had the McCanns made arguidos was to shut them up, silence them and render them defenceless in being able to defend themselves!

You are right, at the end of the day Amaral will have no credibility at all, if he ever had any n the first place. Amaral will be persona non grata! he will also be a lot poorer, s he had better enjoy the trappings of luxury he is now enjoying, which Madeleine McCann has purchased for him and his family.

And Amaral and Sofia Leal his wife have the cheek to mention God and penitence?

Beggars belief, quite how they can sleep at night knowing they are using an innocent missing child as a cash cow is beyond me.

What also beggars belief is the way that Amaral is so arrogant, swaggering around like a beachball with legs, blaming every single other person, nothing is ever his fault, nothing! Even the Portuguese paper the Expresso has turned against him, calling him arrogant and questioning why he blames everyone else for his mistakes!

by rosemary Tue Jul 14, 2009 8:49 am

Great post Rosie!!

Bit concerned as to what Amaral is doing with his illgotten gains right now........I want Kate and Gerry to have their 1 million. Will it be buried somewhere in his back garden I wonder???

by sadie Tue Jul 14, 2009 9:46 am

rosemary wrote:Great post Rosie!!

Bit concerned as to what Amaral is doing with his illgotten gains right now........I want Kate and Gerry to have their 1 million. Will it be buried somewhere in his back garden I wonder???

I couldn't agree more rosemary, and I can think of at least two tapas people who could and really should sue him, as well.

But where is he going to get all the money from to pay for all this? I haven't calculated it, but it must be about £1,750,000 (2,400,000 euros.) plus Court costs

No way could he have earned this sort of money as a cop. Ok, he has made some with his heinious book and from TV interviews etc. ....... but how can he have made that sort of money? How old is he? How many years has he worked?

I wonder just how much he could have earned from his police career? Presumably if people are sueing him for these quantities of money, then he must have it - or have I got that wrong?..........Hmm, another puzzle!

by dianeh Tue Jul 14, 2009 9:56 am

HI Sadie

IMO, he will have to hand over everything he has, including any future royalties from the book or tv documentary, sell his house assets etc, and then declare bankruptcy to protect any future unrelated earnings from his new job as ____________ (insert any low paying manual job such as cleaner, grape picker).

Usually what happens when there is some wealth but not enough to make the settlement is that assets are seized by the court to pay the settlement (leaving personal items etc and some consideration is made for the children), but of course he will appeal when he loses, which will eat up more of his money.

So unless it all goes in legal fees, the Find Madeleine Fund will get something.

by Royal Tue Jul 14, 2009 8:47 pm

Good morning Rosie and my other friends, yes, I agree entirely with what you have said Rosie and as you pointed out his lies and false assertions in his book are in themselves enough to get him hung, well not hung exactly but certainly will result in being a very costly experience! Having retired from the police force Amaral decided his pension wouldn't be enough to fulfill his future extravagaza ambitions and life styal so made the greedy decision to make a small fortune by producing a catalogue of lies in his new book, irrespective of any further hurt and distress this would cause Madeleine's parents, but as he will find out to his cost, goodness will always prevail over evil!

Alroy.

by Sponsored content

Latest Press release today by Sunday Mirror

Latest Press release today by Sunday Mirror

Re: Latest Press release today by Sunday Mirror

Re: Latest Press release today by Sunday Mirror

Re: Latest Press release today by Sunday Mirror

Deeply Suspect!

Re: Latest Press release today by Sunday Mirror

Re: Latest Press release today by Sunday Mirror

Re: Latest Press release today by Sunday Mirror

Re: Latest Press release today by Sunday Mirror

Re: Latest Press release today by Sunday Mirror

Re: Latest Press release today by Sunday Mirror

Re: Latest Press release today by Sunday Mirror

Re: Latest Press release today by Sunday Mirror

Re: Latest Press release today by Sunday Mirror

Re: Latest Press release today by Sunday Mirror

Re: Latest Press release today by Sunday Mirror

ROSIE AND OTHERS! ABOUT AMARAL!

Re: Latest Press release today by Sunday Mirror

Hi Alroy

Re: Latest Press release today by Sunday Mirror

Re: Latest Press release today by Sunday Mirror

Re: Latest Press release today by Sunday Mirror

AMARAL, EX-UNDETECTIVE?

Re: Latest Press release today by Sunday Mirror