The director of projects at the Gozo Ministry had complained to Gozo Minister Giovanna Debono about unauthorised works which were carried out by the Construction and Maintenance Unit, which her husband Anthony was responsible for, a court heard today.

The compilation of evidence against Mr Debono, a 59-year-old Nadur resident who is accused of using public funds to carry out works for the benefit of individual constituents, continued this afternoon before Magistrate Neville Camilleri. Mr Debono is pleading not guilty to a total of 13 charges, including misappropriation of public funds, fraud, abuse of power, falsification of documents, making false declarations, committing crimes he was duty bound to prevent and preventing people from giving evidence.

The allegations first surfaced on MaltaToday, which reported that a contractor claimed to be owed money for works carried out in private residences. He availed himself of the provisions of the Protection of the Whistleblower Act - the first person to do so - and his claims were apparently corroborated by other Gozitan contractors.

Mr Debono's wife resigned from the Nationalist Party following his arraignment, although she remains in parliament as an independent MP. She has publicly declared that she had no doubt of her husband's innocence, and that the charges against him had been filed for political reasons.

Prosecuting inspector Ian Abdilla, who had testified extensively last week, presented a number of files before his colleague, Rennie Stivala, took the witness stand.

Insp. Stivala's testimony largely mirrored that of his colleague, as he explained how investigations started on the same day allegations leaked in the press on the request of the permanent secretary within the Gozo Ministry, John Borg.

As part of their investigations, the police spoke to director of projects John Portelli, who was Mr Debono's superior.

Mr Portelli said that it was not unusual for Mr Debono to carry out unauthorised works, and that he had complained about his actions to Ms Debono, who was then minister.

He confirmed that he had raised the issue with the ministry last September, after the contractor turned whistleblower - Joe Cauchi - had spoken to him over the money he was owed. Mr Cauchi was directed to speak to Mr Debono, since he had commissioned the works.

Mr Cauchi, who was interviewed by police on 1 April, claimed to be owed €50,000 for the works Mr Debono asked him to do, and said that he was asked to falsely declare that his services were needed elsewhere to avoid raising suspicions.

On one occasion, Mr Cauchi said that Mr Debono had paid him €10,000 in cash, that he did not know where this money came from. He claimed that he received a further €10,000 from Mr Debono last October.

The day after his statement to the police, Mr Cauchi accompanied the two inspectors and a number of other police officers to 22 sites in Gozo in which he had provided services to the CMU.

Mr Debono was first arrested on 28 April, and he stayed at the police headquarters overnight. While he was spoken to six times during this arrest, he chose not to reply to questions made to him, telling his interrogators that he believed he should remain silent as he felt that he and his family were being used for political purposes.

He was then rearrested on 4 May and arraigned the next day.

No other contractors made similar claims

Defence counsel Joe Giglio started cross-examining Insp. Abdilla after Insp. Stivala concluded his testimony.

During cross-examination, the inspector agreed that the case proceeded slowly until Mr Cauchi was questioned. He said that the police decided to wait until Mr Cauchi formally received protection as a whistleblower.

Insp. Abdilla stressed that the police did not want to rely on the media's allegations but on first-hand information, also pointing out that reports that other contractors were ready to corroborate Mr Cauchi's claims did not materialise. So far, Mr Cauchi was the only one claiming to be commissioned to carry out illicit works on private property using Gozo Ministry funds.

Dr Giglio then moved on to question the inclusion of works on the Għarb football ground on the list of works flagged by Mr Cauchi and by the prosecution, although the inspector stressed that at this point, the prosecution has not distinguished which of the works may have benefited the general public. But the lawyer pointed out that the decision to temporarily freeze his client's assets was also based on this project.

Insp. Abdilla then noted that the football ground was devolved to the Għarb local council, and that neither the council nor the ministry was claiming responsibility for the works and pay for them.

He also highlighted that not simply charged with misappropriation but also other charges, and that at this stage, the football ground works had to be included in the list, and later stressed that there were irregularities since the works were not covered by a tender and no invoice was issued.

But Dr Giglio argued that as far as he could tell, the only grievance was that Mr Cauchi had not been paid.

Insp. Abdilla later agreed with Dr Giglio that there was no misappropriation of funds related to the football ground, noting that Mr Cauchi has not even been paid for the works, before Dr Giglio moved on to another project: the 5-a-side football pitch at the Għarb primary school.

Once more, Insp. Abdilla pointed out that Mr Cauchi's works were not covered by a tender or contract - although others involved in the project were. Dr Giglio questioned how Mr Cauchi was apparently the only one who needed to issue false invoices and who needed to chase Mr Debono to be paid.

Flaring tempers led Magistrate Neville Camilleri to suspend the sitting for a few minutes, before the topic turned to the next project in the list: the setting up of a concrete platform in Wied Ġulja, Għarb, so that a statue commissioned by a member of the Għarb village feast committee could be displayed there.

Insp. Abdilla highlighted that this was work carried out without a permit - it was subsequently sanctioned - on the request of a private organisation which could have carried out the work itself. But Dr Giglio pointed out that it was the CMU's remit to help voluntary organisations, among others, while the inspector, once more, highlighted the irregular situation related to the award of works to Mr Cauchi.

The topic turned to road works in the vicinity of the San Dimitri chapel, and Dr Giglio stressed that road works were clearly part of the CMU's work. Dr Giglio also noted that while the prosecution highlighted that the road led to a fireworks factory, it was also known as part of a scenic nature walk.

But Insp. Abdilla then noted that the payment that took place - or should have taken place - over these road works was through the illicit use of false invoices.

Dr Giglio then argued that concrete works in front of a converted farmhouse to enlarge a parking area actually took place on public land, and in reply to his question on excavation carried out for the wall of a privately-owned field in Għarb, the inspector was unable to confirm whether the CMU could intervene on dangerous structures.

On another project - drainage services in a quarry belonging to a certain Sammy Camilleri - Dr Giglio highlighted that Mr Camilleri had said that he sought Mr Cauchi's services directly and paid him in full.

The next project on the list was the construction of a ramp in a countryside lane close to the Ta' Pinu Church, with Insp. Abdilla stating that the extent of the project made it clear that it was meant to benefit the owner of a particular field. But Dr Giglio highlighted that the CMU could carry out work on countryside lanes, as he did when the topic turned to similar works in Żebbuġ.

Next on the list were drainage works in Għasri, with Dr Giglio pointed out that the CMU had the right to upgrade the sewer system to provide access to homes. But Insp. Abdilla noted that in this case, the CMU did not provide a main pipe so households in the area could use it, but paid to connect a specific household to the mains. The project actually fell through, as the pipe was leading to private sewer pipes, rather than the public system.

Dr Giglio then said that another project - the laying of large volumes of concrete in an area in Fontana - was actually meant to address a situation which saw underlying fields flooding whenever heavy rains occurred. But Insp. Abdilla said that there was no documentation substantiating the claims.

The lawyer noted that Mr Cauchi had claimed that another project - the enlargement of a bridge over the Lunzjata valley - was meant to benefit one individual, who has since died. But he noted that ultimately, the bridge was over public property.

The next project had involved the creation of a passage through the Kerċem school grounds to allow a farmer access to his fields, as his brother was preventing him access. Once more, Dr Giglio emphasised that the project - which was stopped following the change of government due to its impact on the school grounds - was carried out on public land.

Works on a privately-owned rural water reservoir in Qala were also justified by Dr Giglio as flood control measures, with the lawyer noting that road works had affected the flow of water and had created serious flooding problems in a number of fields.

The case continues next Tuesday at 11:30am, when Mr Cauchi is expected to testify.