Ray Pace case: Desira says Judge Quintano 'acted strangely'

Darren Desira, a convicted drug pusher who is at the heart of the Judge Ray Pace bribery case told a court today that he had known he would be jailed for 18 years well before Mr Justice Lawrence Quintano handed down the sentence. He also said in court that the judge had ‘acted strangely' while presiding over his case. Two men, Raymond Caruana and Sandro Psaila, have been accused of attempting to bribe former Judge Pace in order to use his influence for a long prison sentence to be imposed on Desira. Dr Pace, himself stands accused of bribery and trading in influence. He resigned in December and is out on bail. During today’s sitting, Mr Desira said that when his case was appointed, he instructed his lawyers to contact the Attorney General’s office with a plea bargaining proposal on admission. Dr Aaron Bugeja, representing the Attorney general’s office, offered 15 years imprisonment. Mr Desira said this was on the high side since co-defendants with more involvement had been jailed for less. Mr Desira said he knew Sandro Psaila through Raymond Caruna. Caruana pestered him about wanting him to meet judge Pace and used to ask him to call at his restaurtant, where, he said, he would...