The contractor turned whistleblower in what has become known as the Gozo works-for-votes scandal confided to a senior ministry official that he feared an arson attack, a court heard yesterday.

“I have exposed myself to huge risks and I am afraid they might set fire to all my possessions,” contractor Joe Cauchi told Gozo Ministry chief of staff Christian Zammit.

Mr Cauchi, who was granted protection under the Whistleblower Act last April, is the main witness in the case against Anthony Debono, 59, the husband of Nationalist former Gozo minister Giovanna Debono.

Former Gozo minister Giovanna Debono and her husband arrive at court. Photos: Matthew Mirabelli

Mr Debono is facing 13 charges including fraud, misappropriation and falsification of documents during the time he headed the Construction and Maintenance Unit within his wife’s ministry, when he allegedly used public resources to carry out works in 22 private properties.

Testifying before Magistrate Neville Camilleri at the Gozo Courts, Mr Zammit yesterday said that on Friday, October 17, 2014, ministry officials met the contractor on the latter’s request.

Mr Cauchi complained to the officials that he was owed €50,000 for several jobs he had carried out. According to the contractor, three-quarters of them were done in private properties on the instructions of the accused.

The contractor told them he used to get paid for such works through invoices issued for unrelated projects on other sites. He also brought along a file allegedly containing “false” invoices related to the case, Mr Zammit said.

These allegations, Mr Zammit testified, were taken seriously but at the same time they did not rush to take action, as they wanted to do some preliminary verifications.

I have exposed myself to huge risks and I am afraid they might set fire to all my possessions

Eventually the permanent secretary at the Gozo Ministry referred the case to the whistleblower office in Malta.

The chief of staff said that some time after this meeting, Mr Cauchi had asked to meet him privately as he did not want to be seen at the ministry again. The contractor was “agitated” when they met and asked him whether there had been any developments.

Mr Cauchi was afraid he would be the target of an arson attack so he was keen for the case to move forward, Mr Zammit said.

During yesterday’s proceedings, the prosecution, led by Inspector Ian Abdilla, questioned George Pace, a clerk who has worked at the Construction and Maintenance Unit for 22 years.

Mr Pace recalled that the accused used to hand him invoices certified by the works’ department supervisor. These documents would then be sent to the treasury department in Gozo. Mr Cauchi was among the contractors who supplied the ministry with construction machinery through period contracts, Mr Pace said.

Defence lawyer Joe Giglio pointed out that from documents exhibited in court it transpired that under Mr Debono’s predecessor, the unit had carried out works in a number of football grounds between 1993 and 1994.

This evidence, he said, was extremely relevant in light of the fact that his client was being accused of carrying out similar works at the Għarb football ground.

Dr Giglio said that such jobs were within the remit of the unit his client used to head. He noted that the ministry even had a number of workers whose job it was to look after the maintenance of the netting around football grounds and play areas.

Mr Pace corroborated these claims, adding that the unit carried out works for NGOs including the two opera theatres in Victoria. He also confirmed the existence of a fund dedicated to improving farm access roads and sports facilities. “This proves that contrary to what the prosecution is claiming, my client did nothing wrong when he instructed his unit to carry out works to improve farm access roads,” Dr Giglio said.

Asked if he saw anything suspicious or abnormal in the documents exhibited in court by the prosecution, Mr Pace did not mince his words: “Rest assured that if this had been the case I would have flagged it up,” he said.

The case has been adjourned until October 7 at 10.30am.