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[LIVE] Gozo whistleblower met Busuttil, Said over works-for-votes

Continuation of compilation of evidence against former Gozo minister Giovanna Debono's husband, Anthony, over alleged works-for-votes he administered as head of the construction and maintenance unit inside the Gozo ministry

matthew_agius
Last updated on 26 May 2015, 12:05pm
by Matthew Agius
1 min read
Whistleblower Joseph Cauchi and his lawyer. Photo: Ray Attard
Whistleblower Joseph Cauchi and his lawyer. Photo: Ray Attard
Anthony Debono climbs the steps to court
Anthony Debono climbs the steps to court
17:36 The case will continue on Tuesday at 0900hrs Matthew Agius
17:36 But Inspector Abdilla described this as an insult, saying that Giglio was pandering to the media. The prosecution requested being given time to prepare a reply to this claim by the defence and to consult with the Attorney General. The court gave the AG 48 hours to file any reply or observations that he may wish to submit in this regard. Matthew Agius
17:34 Giglio requested that the court order the Commissioner of Police to provide the defence a copy of the police file on this case, excluding internal police correspondence between the police and the Attorney General. He described the Attorney General’s position on the matter as a conflicting one, saying that this position will cause prejudice to his client’s case. Effectively, the decision of the Attorney General to issue the so-called Whistleblower certificate, is “in manifest conflict with his function in compilation proceedings.” Matthew Agius
17:34 Giglio informed the court that in view of jurisprudence which declares that the court of inquiry cannot differentiate between several offences which a person may be charged with when deciding on whether to issue a bill of indictment, he is not therefore in a position to contest prima facie with regards to several crimes which the defence believes have not been proven, even to the prima facie level. The defence believes this to be a disadvantage to the accused who is going to have to undergo compilation proceedings for a number of accusations, which had not been substantiated. Matthew Agius
17:17 Giglio asked him what happened after he started whistleblower proceedings. He said he had gone to Castille where he was advised to engage a lawyer. He said that he had met with the Attorney General. Robert Abela, appearing parte civile told the court that Giglio’s questions appeared to be aimed at the whistleblower certificate, and pointed out that it was exhibited and that questioning its validity would be disrespectful to the court which issued it. Matthew Agius
17:16 Giglio asked whether any more emails were exchanged with Chris Said. “Said did the same as Agius, in that he sent me a pamphlet saying that he wanted to work for a better Gozo.” This upset him, he said, in view of the fact that he was owed a great deal of money. Matthew Agius
17:16 Giglio: “Did you tell David Agius about the pending works? This conversation about works for votes took place during the meetin with Busuttil? I don’t think I did. “ He said he limited himself to saying that the works were made for the private sector. Giglio, pressed him, did you tell the leader of the opposition that the works were being performed for the private sector? Yes or no?” “I think so, ” replied Cauchi. Matthew Agius
17:15 Cross examining, lawyer Joe Giglio, asked him when he was told that he would be given a whistleblower certificate. The witness said he had spoken to Minister Anton Refalo on 17th October 2014, who had told him this was a whistleblower case. Matthew Agius
16:56 Asked if he had ever tried to get his money back, he said he had spoken to Director Portelli , the Permanent Secretary and subsequently, he sent an email to Simon Busutiil. Busuttil asked him to then meet him. David Agius promised to “investigate and get back” to him. This was in spite of Agius having said he would sack mayors found to have engaged in corruption. “When I met him, Simon Busuttil asked me why I kept on performing the works, he said ‘don’t you know we aren’t going to be elected Matthew Agius
16:21 "On the 29 December 2014, he came to my house and gave me a cheque. “He had told me that all this money is coming from the mouths of his children.” Matthew Agius
16:21 “After Anthony Debono finished with CMU, he asked me to give him time. In February 2014, he came to my house and gave me €10,000 in cash. He told me not to tell anyone that he had given him this money “as there are others like you who haven’t been paid.” Matthew Agius
16:16 Cauchi met with Chris Said to take stock of what has been done in 2013. Before doing so, he had asked an employee of his to draw up a balance statement, which he then sent to Chris Said. “But the employee had innocently made a mistake.” The witness and the prosecution are referring to figures mentioned in the document, however. Matthew Agius
16:10 The witness was asked what outstanding balances. “He has paid €44k and €34595 are still owed. Up till 2006, it is all paid for.” Matthew Agius
15:55 Inspector Abdilla asked Cauchi whether he knew Sammy Camilleri, (known as tal-Geziz)? “Sammy Camilleri from Gharb is a close friend of Tony Debono. I know this because he helped him in many things, such as fixing his fields, or arranging for a generator room in his quarry.” He said that Camilleri would often call Cauchi up directly, in the knowledge that Debono would not refuse. He said he carried out excavation works in the quarry, starting in 2005 and carrying on till 2011. Cauchi was asked why he expected to be paid by Debono, if Camilleri would request a job to be done. He answered that Sammy Camilleri would expect everything to be done by Debono. “We had dug a trench for the drainiage pipes- I know they were government pipes as they use a different type of pipe. Debono brought them, I found them already there. He was not content with having them done, he wanted to take over.” Matthew Agius
15:36 The list of works goes on. A certain George from CMU had a well being dug for him by another contractor, but the works stopped before being completed. “I don’t know if the original contractor got wind of the fact that he wasn’t going to get paid, but I was asked to take over the job.” Matthew Agius
15:19 The prosecution continues to go through the list of sites, one by one, asking for dates, details about the works carried out, who commissioned the works, who took Cauchi to the site and who supplied the concrete. Regarding tan –Nappli lane in Kercem the witness said that he , his brother and two others had gone to the site on the seventh of Match 2013. Anthony Debono was there, he said. “In this case I had a letter of acceptance, but he didn’t come to invoice me,” said Cauchi. This job was not for CMU. The inspector asked Cauchi about an area for Ghadira ta San Rafflu. The job had been partially completed by Cauchi’s company and part by someone else. Matthew Agius
15:09 The inspector asked the witness about works carried out at a school in Kercem. After consulting with some documents, Cauchi confirmed that he had gone on site the 11th of February 2013. “Toni told me, we are going to open a four metre road and close off another road. Kercem council has an excavator and a JCB and we used these to carry out the works. I don’t know the reason why Toni wanted me to carry out the works. Later, I was called by Michael Buhagiar, who worked with the minister and who told me to put everything back as it was. Matthew Agius
14:50 The sitting has resumed. Matthew Agius
14:26 Sitting suspended for 15 minutes. Matthew Agius
14:21 In March 2013, he had been to asked by Debono to go help a woman called Renance, from Ghasri as a favour. In 2013 I worked for €6000, in 2012 I only earned €2000, in 2010 there was some other election...” he said, trailng off. “Anthony would deal with me and I would delegate. My brother had gone to buy supplies in order to perform drainage works at Renanc’s house. But Paul Scicluna from Gozo Farmhouses called me up and we had a senseless argument over the phone because the drainage system he was going to connect to was also connected to his establishment.” Asked whether he was paid, he said that he had been, in the same manner as usual. He never met Renance or her family, nor had he invoiced her, he said. He was not aware that the woman had any involvement in politics. Matthew Agius
14:10 On the day of the election in 2013, the contractor laid concrete at Zebbug next to cemetery. He was unhappy with being asked to lay concrete over a pre-existing layer of concrete which had cracked. Cauchi told the court that he did not issue an invoice for this job and had not been paid for it. Matthew Agius
14:08 The prosecution’s line of questioning with regards to every job is loosely: “Who commissioned the works? Who took you to the site? Who supplied the concrete.” P&J Debono appears to have supplied the concrete in the vast majority of cases. Matthew Agius
13:54 The questions turn to the parking area in Triq it-Trux in Gharb. Cauchi exhibited an invoice for the works. He said he had cleared the area and provided the steel mesh, but the concrete was supplied by Anthony Debono. “The invoice shows clearly that I did not receive payment for the concrete, just for transporting the mesh.” Matthew Agius
13:43 Cauchi said he had been asked to perform works commissioned by David Apap Agius, the mayor of Gharb. Anthony Debono supplied the concrete. Asked who had issued the invoice, he said that after much to-ing and fro-ing he said his only chance for payment was to get paid by Tony and then go to David. He received a letter from Apap Agius’ lawyer saying that while he did not deny the fact that he had carried out the works, his client denied asking him to perform them. He has not been paid to this day, he told the court. Matthew Agius
13:33 An agreement between the MFA, the Gozo Football Association and Gharb Rangers was exhibited. Cauchi was asked whether he recognised any signatures. He recognised his own, but said that the initials on the document were not his. This could be because the current president is also named Joseph Cauchi, explained the witness. He denied having signed any documents for the works on the ground. Matthew Agius
13:29 Inspector Abdilla is questioning Cauchi on his connection with Gharb Rangers football team, who would use the pitch for training purposes. Cauchi said he was the president of the club at the time. Matthew Agius
13:27 The work on the five-a-side pitch was carried out in 2006, said Cauchi, adding that he never had to order concrete for works he performed for CMU. Matthew Agius
13:22 Works were spread out over six days, said Cauchi. Asked if he had invoiced or been paid in cash, he said he couldn’t invoice Debono as there was no tender. Inspector Abdilla asked why he didn’t use the invoicing method he had used for the other works. “What happened was that Toni and David fought over politics.” Giovanna Debono and her daughter appear to be amused at this. He said that Debono had explained to him that he could not obtain payment from David Agius. Matthew Agius
13:18 “One day, Inspector. Stivala called me and told me to go to Gozo depot. He told me ‘if you don’t come of your own accord, we will come for you’” recalled the witness. “I was told that I have a pardon, to be careful not to lie and to tell the truth.” Inspector Abdilla, showed the witness a set of pictures of the football ground at Gharb, asking him what he remembers about this place. “First of all, Toni called me and asked me to come to Gharb. We and David Agius, the Gharb mayor, went to the football ground. They wanted to make the pitch bigger, so we demolished three walls and made the ground bigger.” Anthony Debono and David Agius had been present on the site, he confirmed. Asked why Agius did not pay him, he said he didn’t know as he was working with Debono. Matthew Agius
13:11 “Who asked you to make those invoices”, asked Inspector Stivala. “Toni Debono,” replied Cauchi. “What was the process like?” Cauchi explained how he would make formal invoices, hand them to Anthony Debono. Debono would pass it on for payment and Cauchi would then receive a cheque in the mail. Cauchi would then issue a fiscal receipt, he said. Matthew Agius
13:05 The last four invoices are being shown to the witness. The prosecution’s approach of showing the witness every single invoice, whilst very time-consuming and tedious for all involved, appears to be yielding the desired results. Several instances of over-charging or inexistent works have been identified. Matthew Agius
12:57 Two more invoices. One, JCB8, refers to “Ghajn Tuta, Kercem, Marsalforn and ta’ Boroz.” Cauchi said he was not aware of a place called ta’ Boroz. Matthew Agius
12:54 Inspector Abdilla noted that several localities are mentioned repeatedly in several invoices, much more than others. “Triq il-Gifna, I have never heard of it,” said Cauchi. Debono is seen shaking his head at that reply. Matthew Agius
12:47 Another batch of documents has been confirmed by the witness as false. "Hire of Bobcat, without a description, hire of excavator without a description, hire of dumper...” “Cleaning Qala road,”is one job. This may have been correct, as they would occasionally do so, together with government workers, said Cauchi. Giglio protested at the repetition saying that around four of the suspect invoices have been found to be correct. Cauchi reads off a list of places representing jobs. Ta Pinu, parking at Victoria, Ta’ Dbiegi, Wied l-Infern – all of these works lack important details; dates, rates and descriptions. Matthew Agius
12:40 The prosecution appears to be planning to go through every single invoice with the witness. Cauchi has confirmed that the last five were all incorrect. Matthew Agius
12:37 More invoices. “These are places...hours...to bring up the total to six hundred,” said the witness. Matthew Agius
12:35 Debono has not moved or said a word since the start of the sitting. He remains seated, head bowed, in the dock. Matthew Agius
12:33 Cauchi: “If there is a hire of trucks at a place, it should be included in the invoice, not invoiced separately. To me this invoice was made to reduce the difference in works.” Matthew Agius
12:24 “Did the work in these invoices happen?”Inspector Abdilla asked Cauchi directly. “These works did not, but work was done at other places,” came the reply. Matthew Agius
12:21 The inspector is reading out addresses to the witness and asking him if he remembers performing any of them. The witness is replying that he needs access to his records to be sure. “This morning I found one [job] which we had done for the heliport, we had worked 22 hours and invoiced for 25.” He was asked if he had anything to say about another invoice for €20 per hour, for work using a high-up. “I never used a high-up, I had garaged it in 2013” Matthew Agius
12:11 Inspector Abdilla asked the witness what jobs Debono would engage him to do. Reading from his worksheet for the period 2004 to 2013, Cauchi gave examples of various construction and landscaping works. The inspector asked him how we would be paid. He said that Debono would come to his house once a year, in February. “If you look at my payments documents you will find all the dates on which I was paid.” “I could not send invoices because I didn’t have a contract,” explained the contractor. On his annual visit, Debono would bring the necessary documentation so Cauchi could fill in the invoice. He identified his handwriting on an invoice which he was shown by the prosecution. “16 hours at Lm6 at ta’Kunjat limits of Zebbug road. These are hours which we invented to deduct from the balance.” Matthew Agius
12:03 The witness said that George Cini and Joseph Sciberras, who work in another government department, had issued another tender. “I told Toni that I had won a tender of €23,000. He came to my house and made me these two invoices.” Matthew Agius
11:57 Witness exhibited an email sent on 12 September 2014. Inspector Abdilla asked him why he felt he needed to send it to Debono. “Toni Debono would tell me to give him time,” [possibly referring to payment]. “Remember this is work without contracts. Tat-taħwid, as we call it” Matthew Agius
11:52 He told the court that he had spoken to Simon Busuttil, who accepted him into his office at PN HQ as well as with Chris Said. Afterwards, he also sent a document about payment to David Agius Matthew Agius
11:51 Inspector Abdilla asked the witness how the story began, but Cauchi is consistently referring to the documents he had given to the prosecution Matthew Agius
11:51 Inspector Abdilla asked the witness how the story began, but Cauchi is consistently referring to the documents he had given to the prosecution Matthew Agius
11:46 Cauchi recognised the accused in the courtroom. He said that he has known him since the time he took over CMU from Paul Lanzon Matthew Agius
11:44 Cauchi explains he has worked on several tenders. "When one contract expires, another begins." Matthew Agius
11:44 Cauchi explains he has worked on several tenders. "When one contract expires, another begins." Matthew Agius
11:41 Inspector Abdilla asks Cauchi about the works he had been performing excavation works for the government Matthew Agius
11:40 Joseph Cauchi "is-Sansun", who is being assisted by lawyer Robert Abela, has taken the oath and begins to testify. Matthew Agius
11:29 Inspectors Ian Abdilla and Rennie Stivala have entered the courtroom, together with Anthony Debono and his wife Giovanna who are being assisted by lawyer Joe Gigilo. The hearing is expected to begin shortly Matthew Agius
08:49 Proceedings are expected to start at around 11am at the Gozo Courts, Victoria. Matthew Vella

The compilation of evidence against Anthony Debono, 59, continued yesterday, following last week’s sitting in which his defence counsel tore into the prosecution’s evidence of works carried out by the Gozo ministry’s construction and maintenance unit (CMU), allegedly carried out gratis for private constituents.

Whistleblower Joseph Cauchi 'is-Sansun' is expected to testify today, where he is expected to explain how he was left some €50,000 out of pocket for works he carried out on order of Anthony Debono, and for which some were falsely invoiced to the Gozo ministry.

Last week, defence lawyer Joe Giglio said that the allegedly ‘private’ works that Debono commissioned using public funds under his authority as head of the CMU were in fact public works. They form some of the outstanding works identified by Cauchi, for which he says he was never paid after the Nationalists were not re-elected to power in 2013.

Debono is accused of having misappropriated over €5,000 in public funds by virtue of his employment; of having profited to the tune of over €5,000 from public monies and private contractors; used his official capacity as a civil servant to his own private advantage, in dereliction of his public duty; rendered himself an accomplice in the falsification of public documents for the issuing of payments and goods; and abused of his public role and of public acts entrusted to him.

But Debono is also known to have attempted to pay Cauchi's outstanding bill personally, handing him some €10,000 in cash.

 

Matthew Agius was Senior Reporter on Law and Court Affairs at MaltaToday from 2014 to 2024...
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