The police told Mr Justice Lawrence Quintano that he was not a suspect when they questioned him over allegations that his late colleague Ray Pace had been bribed in a bid to influence a sentence.
Mr Justice Quintano testified in a case in which two men – Raymond Caruana, a 51-year-old truck driver from Żebbuġ, and Sandro Psaila, a 40-year-old restaurateur from Valletta – are pleading not guilty to having bribed Dr Pace.
The prosecution alleges that Mr Caruana and Mr Psaila tried to influence a sentence about to be handed down by Mr Justice Quintano, so that convicted drugs trafficker Darrin Desira would receive a longer prison term.
Dr Pace was found dead at home on May 5, with the police ruling out foul play. He was facing charges of accepting bribes, conspiring to commit a crime and trading in influence in a case in which Mr Justice Quintano had also testified.
In proceedings yesterday, Mr Justice Quintano sat at the Bench to the left of Magistrate Edwina Grima while testifying.
The pivotal point in the evidence is a brief meeting between Dr Pace and Mr Justice Quintano, who had retired to his chambers before sentencing Mr Desira.
Dr Quintano said by this stage he had already heard submissions on punishment from both the defence and prosecution after they failed to reach a plea bargain.
He was struck by the way the prosecution had made their arguments with “might and main”; with an insistence normally reserved for cases where life imprisonment was being requested.
The defence team had also made powerful emotional arguments that left him with a lot to think about, so when Dr Pace turned up unannounced at his office Dr Quintano said he tried to indicate through body language that he was busy.
He said he did speak to Dr Pace because the latter was his senior and although he was not the most diplomatic of men, he tried to show him politely that he was too busy to talk.
Dr Pace asked him what he was doing and Dr Qunitano said he was writing a judgment in a drugs case, to which Dr Pace said “it was serious” as he left the room.
Asked about the time he was called in for questioning, Mr Justice Quintano said: “Police Commissioner John Rizzo told me that he did not have any suspicion about me.”
Asked about the seriousness of drug cases, Mr Justice Quintano said even personal possession of drugs was serious because it could very easily lead to prison or even the cemetery.
Asked how many years of experience he had in dealing with drug cases, Mr Justice Quintano said he had handled trials since 2010 as a judge and since 2003 as a magistrate.
He also took care of bilateral agreements on drugs when working at the Attorney General’s Office and accompanied late Emeritus President Guido de Marco to the UN for international meetings on the issue.
The case continues.