One of two men being charged with the murder of a bank messenger divulged his involvement in the crime after he was nettled when an unidentified man boasted of having carried out the hold-up himself.

A confidante, whose name cannot be published by court order, yesterday told Magistrate Jacqueline Padovani-Grima that Richard Grech told him he was behind the San Gwann bank robbery hours after both happened to overhear the boasts of a man outside a school in Qormi.

The young man testified at the arraignment of Grech, 35, of San Gwann, and Joseph Zammit, 44, of Floriana.

Both are pleading not guilty to the murder of Bank of Valletta employee Alphonse Ferriggi in San Gwann on September 18, 2000, at about 5.30 a.m.

They were also charged with holding Ferriggi against his will, stealing bank documents, carrying a shotgun without a licence and at the time of the commission of a crime, firing a gun within 200 metres of a residential area, causing damage to a BoV van, stealing a VW Golf from Sliema a day earlier and relapsing.

Yesterday's male witness, one of two heard with urgency, told how he had only known Grech for a few days before the robbery.

They had met one evening at a bar in San Gwann with their partners and Grech had boasted he was about to go on a job and they would hear the details of it on the street.

The witness explained how he knew Grech through his wife and Grech's girlfriend at the time.

He said Grech did not specify what kind of job although he (the witness) seemed to understand that it was a robbery or something which would net Grech money.

The second time the "job" was mentioned, the witness said, he and Grech were near St George's school in Qormi when an unknown man he described as short, blonde and tattooed on the hands, started bragging that he had been behind the San Gwann bank robbery.

A few hours later, Grech had drawn him aside and told him: "Did you hear that idiot bragging outside the school? I don't know what he was shouting about when I was the one on that job."

The witness said he had been previously told by a certain Carmel, known as l-OK, that Grech had been behind the robbery and that he had shot the messenger out of fear because he was shaking and pulled the trigger.

"When I heard the news on television, I told my wife what Ritchie had said and she told me she did not want to be seen in their company ever again and I obeyed because she was four months' pregnant at the time."

Under cross-examination, the witness said he had a drug problem and was about to start a rehabilitation programme. He had been taking drugs for three years.

He was followed to the witness stand by Grech's ex-girlfriend who said she lived with him for a year and two months in San Gwann, just up the road from the bank.

She moved in with him two months after the bank robbery. At the time however, they were already seeing each other and she had met Grech one morning at 9.30 a.m. and found him quite agitated.

She asked him what had happened and he told her that he had an accident because someone was about to shoot his friend and he had to shoot him and thought he might have killed him.

The young woman, whose name cannot be published either, said Grech had told her he had gone to rob the San Gwann bank but she did not believe him and still could not believe he was involved in it.

She said she had since split up with Grech and had to move out. Her family was in court with him because he had allegedly threatened her brother at knife point.

The case continues.

Police Inspectors Carmel Bartolo and Christopher Pullicino are prosecuting.

Dr Anglu Farrugia and Dr Edward Gatt are appearing for Grech while Dr Franco Debono is counsel to Zammit.

Dr Jason Azzopardi and Dr Kris Busietta are representing Ferriggi's heirs.