Noel Arrigo did not receive money to reduce a jail term - Defence

The prosecution did not prove that former Chief Justice Noel Arrigo had accepted money to reduce a judgement on appeal, the defence in the trial of former Chief Justice Noel Arrigo argued in court this morning.

On the other hand, the evidence heard in court was exactly the opposite: refusal after refusal to take money, defence lawyer Joe Giglio told the court.

Addressing Mr Justice Giannino Caruana Demajo in his submissions in the final stages of the trial, Dr Giglio said all the evidence showed that Dr Arrigo never wanted the money and had always refused any gift whenever it was offered.

He said his childhood friend Anthony Grech Sant and Joseph Zammit, Is-Sei, had offered him the money but Dr Arrigo always refused. Dr Giglio explained that a few days before the judgement was handed down, the first draft of the judgement had already been written.

The day after the judgement was handed down, Mr Grech Sant went to Dr Arrigo's office, they spoke about football and then Mr Grech Sant threw an envelope on his desk, telling him there was Lm5,000.

"He was flabbergasted and he froze. He was mentally confused. Had he expected them, he wouldn't have frozen or been flabbergasted. He was caught in this situation and he went to look for his employee Joe Galea to tell him what happened. Had he been bribed, would he have gone to tell someone about it?"

Dr Giglio asked. He insisted that the money got to Dr Arrigo after the judgement had been written and handed down. Dr Giglio said that in their submissions before the Appeal's Court in April 2002, the prosecution and the defence in Mario Camilleri's case said that they had agreed on a minimum of eight years and a maximum of 12 years. Therefore, he said, the reduced jail term was within the parameters of the law.