A man who tried to blackmail his former employer by accusing him of cheating on government tenders was yesterday given a suspended sentence.

Mario Picarelli, 44, from Birkirkara, had worked for the pharmaceutical importers EJ Busuttil for three weeks in 2007 before being fired.

He felt that he was unfairly dismissed and wrote a letter to the Office of Fair Trading claiming that the owner of the company, Edwin Busuttil, had a contact, whom he named as Marcette Mercieca, at the Health Department who would alert him to tenders bring issued, thus giving him an advantage over competitors.

The police investigated the matter and the allegations proved to be baseless.

During investigations, Mr Busuttil received an anonymous letter demanding a year’s salary to buy silence over the alleged wrongdoing with tenders.

Magistrate Audrey Demicoli found Mr Picarelli guilty of blackmailing and harassing Mr Busuttil and Ms Mercieca and handed down a 12-month jail term suspended for 18.

Police Inspector Ivan Cilia prosecuted.

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