Pendergardens project bidders charged with trading in influence

Two businessmen were arraigned in court, on charges of attempting to influence an €18.5 million contract covering another phase of the massive Pendergardens project.

35-year-old Josef Dimech, a company director from Ta’ Xbiex and self-employed Pierre Mercieca, 55 of Attard, both pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Mercieca is already facing charges for bribing a member of the committee adjudicating tenders in connection with the contract for the installation of the IT system at Mater Dei Hospital. The case has been ongoing since 2007 and has not been decided.

Police Inspector Ian Abdilla told the court that the two incidents were reported by George Borg, director of GP Borg Construction Group.

His company, together with Cuschieri Aluminium and Tagline Ltd, issued a tender for the construction and installation of water and electricity for two Pendergardens towers.

Three bids were submitted. Two of the bids included a consortium between Attard Brothers, JS Dimech and Mekkanika Limited and a second consortium formed by Elbros Limited, were also submitted.

Abdilla said Borg had informed him of a visit on May 29 by Josef Dimech, who told him that Pendergardens gad disapproved of the subcontractors he had chosen and preferred Dimech’s company and Mekkanika.

The inspector said that Borg went on to claim that Dimech invited him to cancel the business agreements with his subcontractors and to take them on board instead, with the aim of winning the tender together.

This visit was followed by a mysterious anonymous phone call later that day, asking him to meet the caller in Sliema. Borg went to Sliema where he was approached by a “well-dressed man” who told him that he was aware that his bid was of €18.5 million, while Elbros was bidding for €19.5 million and Attard Brothers €21 million.

The unidentified man, who turned out to be Mercieca, asked him to increase his bid by €400,000. From this amount, said the man, he would give the unwanted subcontractors an ex gratia payment of €60,000 for the trouble and instead introduce Aluserv, who had partnered with Elbros, or JS Dimech and Mekkanika.

Borg told the police that he panicked at that point, calling the chief executive and chairman to notify them that information regarding the bids was in the public domain.

During the course of his investigation, Inspector Abdilla said the police traced the anonymous call and found that the number matched a number already in the police records: it was found in files relating to the investigation into Mater Dei IT contract and belonged to Pierre Mercieca.

Mercieca was called in for questioning and claimed that he had overheard a mobile conversation the director of JS Dimech had while he was doing some work at his Sliema flat in which Dimech was saying that he would need to shed part of his workforce if he didn’t win the Pender Gardens contract.

He claimed that his intentions were altruistic and insisted that no compensation was ever promised. He denied ever telling anyone to put up prices but that he had simply wanted to change subcontractors and compensate the ones he had been using for terminating their business relationship prematurely.

When called in for questioning, Dimech said that he had seen that in all likelihood, his consortium would not win the tender and had panicked, asking Borg to replace one of the other subcontractors with his company.

Dimech denied all knowledge of Mercieca’s subsequent visit to Borg. He also denied Mercieca’s story regarding the phone call.

Lawyers Arthur Azzopardi and Kathleen Grima are representing Mercieca . Lawyer Joe Giglio is appearing for Dimech. Lawyer Franco Debono appeared in parte civile for Borg.