Sliema’s former Nationalist mayor Nikki Dimech, who was sentenced to a year’s imprisonment for bribery last December, was yesterday charged with defrauding construction magnates Polidano Brothers Limited of some €24,000.
Mr Dimech, 33, is pleading not guilty to falsifying the signature of Charles Polidano to take what he claimed was rightfully owed to him for consultancy services.
The alleged offence took place sometime between June 2010 and March 2011.
Mr Polidano and his brother Paul denied to police that they had ever engaged Mr Dimech.
Mr Dimech is currently appealing against a one-year jail term after he was found guilty of bribing the former contracts manager at the Sliema council.
Taking the witness stand yesterday, Police Inspector Angelo Gafà said the Polidano case first came to light when the Water Services Corporation reported cheques issued to Mr Polidano had ended up in the wrong hands.
It emerged through investigations that WSC accountant Victor Testa, a friend of Mr Dimech who used to teach him accounting, had given him cheques that were meant to be paid to Mr Polidano for works carried out, Mr Gafà said.
There were five cheques in all. Three of them were cashed for amounts adding up to some €24,000 while another two were given to another man, Alex Grech, by Mr Dimech as payment, the officer said.
Mr Dimech had told police they were friends and that Mr Testa used to teach him but Mr Testa denied they were close and said he only knew Mr Dimech through the St Gregory Band Club in Sliema.
Defence lawyer Roberto Montalto asked Inspector Gafà if he knew that the work carried out by his client amounted to negotiating with the tax compliance unit over alleged evasion amounting to some €2.3 million.
Mr Dimech, Dr Montalto said, was meant to receive 2.5 per cent of any money that he managed to save Mr Polidano from paying in tax.
Inspector Gafà said there was no documentation to prove that this relationship existed between Mr Dimech and Mr Polidano but Mr Dimech claimed there was a verbal agreement.
At this point, Dr Montalto asked the officer if he knew of a payment of €8,000 that had been made by Mr Polidano to his client using a Banif Bank cheque.
Inspector Gafà said that, while he had become aware of this at a late stage and Mr Polidano denied it, it made no difference to the case.
Following a request from the prosecution, Magistrate Claire Stafrace Zammit ordered that Mr Dimech’s assets up to €25,000 be frozen.
The case continues.