today with defence and prosecution lawyers expected to make closing speeches.

On Friday Horton, who has been suspended as assistant Director of Tourism, took the stand and testified while his co-accused, blue flag taxi driver Weldon Dowling, declined to do the same and submitted his Police statement as his only evidence.

Horton, 52, of North Shore Road, Hamilton Parish, and Dowling, 50, of Wellington Back Road, St. George's, have pleaded not guilty to the charge of conspiring together to defraud the Accountant General between 1993 and 1995.

The Crown claims the pair filed invoices for work that was never done and as a consequence of their alleged wrongdoing netted a total of $720. It is also alleged another $1,140 or $1,240 claimed for was not handed over.

Horton told Senior Magistrate William Francis that he liked to be the Tourism officer who signed paperwork certifying payment for a tour as it was his responsibility.

Earlier, the court heard that Tourism Director Gary Phillips had questioned why Horton authorised payment for a trip that Dowling submitted an invoice for but never performed.

Horton said Dowling must have made a mistake on the invoice, when questioned by his lawyer Julian Hall.

He denied ever submitting false documents and said he never had an agreement with Dowling to join forces and defraud the Bermuda Government.

Under cross-examination by Crown Counsel Philip Storr, Horton said he was "the expert'' on the subject of familiarisation trips.

He said on occasion there would be no documentary evidence to prove a trip occurred but this could be determined by either contacting the person who took the trip or the person who organised it.

However, if it involved taxi drivers he had done business with, then he would trust them if they said they did a tour.

Mr. Storr showed Horton a taxi chit he had signed in the space where the passenger was intended to sign. Horton said this was the case with most of the taxi chits in the Tourism Department.

The name on top of the chit, pointed out Mr. Storr, was Weldon Dowling.

He put it to Horton that it was a false document and that was why there was no passenger signature which was denied.

Mr. Storr then questioned Horton about a taxi chit he had signed that was allegedly connected to a free trip to the Island won in a US radio promotion Horton claimed to have set up.

However Horton said the promotion never materialised and he knew nothing about the prize or the $240 taxi tour on the chit.

A second taxi chit for a Suzanne Almeida -- whom Horton said he knew from doing business with -- was produced but Horton said he could not remember issuing a taxi tour to her.

Mr. Storr noted Meserve Travel was marked on the chit yet Ms Almeida did not work for that firm at the time of the alleged tour. Horton denied the chit was fictitious.

He also denied that a third chit issued for a Valerie Perez was false.

Horton said Ms Perez had visited the Island several times and he could have authorised a chit for her even if she did not approach him in person.

On Thursday the court heard Ms Perez's boss at the time of the alleged tour, Puerto Rico Tourism's director of operations Enrique Vila, testify that she would never have visited the Island on official business.

And a fourth chit for Ivory Isle Travel Ltd. was issued because he was contacted by an agent from the firm who booked a tour, said Horton.

He said he could not remember if there was any other correspondence confirming the visit.

Horton told the court that he was due to leave for the US when he realised he had not prepared a purchase order for the trip which was due to occur while he was away.

Horton testified that he made the order out and asked department employee Wayne Smith to sign it for him. He said he had Mr. Smith sign it because another officer would have to certify it and he liked to do that.

Mr. Storr asked why that was the case with this chit when he would be away and unable to know if the services Government were paying for were rendered while Mr. Smith would have been able to certify that the work was done.

Horton said he liked to be the certifying officer and could have found out if the trip had occurred even though he was off the Island when it was due to happen.

In this case he did not ask if the trip was performed when he returned to the Island because he felt Dowling was trustworthy so he signed his invoice.