Two in court on lotto fraud

A police inspector yesterday told a court how a Sta Venera man asked another from Zabbar to exchange a counterfeit winning lotto ticket into the cash prize in return for some money.

"After the owner of the Sta Venera Lotto Office, Carmelo Borg, filed a report claiming that two men had made use of, or attempted to make use of, counterfeit tickets police arrested Patrick Mangion and Lino Bezzina," Police Inspector Joseph Cordina said.

"During questioning, Mangion initially denied his involvement but he then admitted that Bezzina had given him a counterfeit lotto ticket to exchange for cash at the lotto office. He said that he agreed to do it in exchange for some money."

Inspector Cordina testified, before Magistrate Miriam Hayman, in the compilation of evidence against Mangion, 41, of Zabbar and Bezzina, 37, of Sta Venera.

Mangion is pleading not guilty to making use of a counterfeit lotto ticket, defrauding the Sta Venera Lotto Office of Lm250 and relapsing on September 15, 2000.

Bezzina is pleading not guilty to complicity in the fraud and to attempting to defraud the lotto office of Lm475.

Carmelo Borg, the owner of the Lotto Office, testified earlier and said that on September 15, 2000 at about 6 p.m. Mangion walked into the lotto office to exchange a winning lotto ticket for Lm250.

Borg cashed the ticket. He explained that at the time he was very busy so he did not examine Mangion's ticket but explained that the manner in which he behaved led him to suspect something unusual.

Later on, he examined the ticket and realised that it was a counterfeit one. So he went to the Sta Venera police and filed a report.

Borg went on to explain that, the following day, Bezzina went to the lotto office and said that he had found a winning ticket of Lm475. Borg told him that the ticket was not a valid one and Bezzina left.

Meanwhile, the police asked Borg to go to the police station where he saw Mangion and recognised him to be the man who had made use of the counterfeit ticket.

The case continues.

Police Inspector Cordina prosecuted.

Dr Franco Debono and Dr Malcolm Mifsud appeared for the defendants.