Former Bermuda Housing Corporation General Manager Raymonde Dill has refused to speak to detectives investigating allegations that an ex-Property Officer defrauded the organisation of more than $1.3 million.

The jury hearing the trial of Terrence Smith also head a former BHC worker tell yesterday how her whistle-blowing letter to the Housing Minister led to the scandal becoming public for the first time.

Smith faces 46 charges of defrauding the BHC between September 2000 and February 2002, all of which he denies.

The prosecution alleges that he obtained bundles of cash and goods for his luxury home worth more than $900,000 through a scam involving carpenter Steven Barbosa. Mr. Barbosa has previously testified that Smith instructed him to submit overpriced bills to the BHC for the work he did on its homes.

It is alleged that Smith took advantage of his position to rubber-stamp these requests for payment in the knowledge that they were false.

Mr. Barbosa, who says that he passed all the profits made from this exercise to Smith, finished seven days in the witness box being cross-examined by defence counsel Larry Scott on his motive for giving evidence. Mr. Scott ? who has previously claimed that a row over Mr. Barbosa?s private life lead him to seek revenge on Smith ? put it to him that he used a photograph of the accused man as a dartboard.

?The fact is that once the BHC matter became public there was a picture of Mr. Smith in a newspaper and you had a copy of it stuck on your wall of your office with several darts thrown,? alleged Mr. Scott.

Mr. Barbosa responded: ?I don?t even own darts.?

Mr. Barbosa was followed into the witness box by his wife of two months Gerlie Barbosa, who is originally from the Philippines. Mrs. Barbosa told the case that, after Mr. Barbosa split up with his first wife ? her sister-in-law Anne Marie ? she took over her role of helping him with his business affairs.

She spoke of preparing his invoices to the BHC based on hand-written notes from Smith which instructed what figure to put on the financial claims.

She also told how she would see Mr. Barbosa hand over cash to Smith, on one occasion passing him a brown paper bag full of money one Friday night while parked in the City Hall car park in Hamilton.

?It?s something that happened. That?s one thing I don?t forget about,? she reiterated in response to Mr. Scott.

Next to take the stand was Det. Sgt. James Hoyt who began investigating BHC matters in 2003.

He said that when he asked Raymonde Dill on two occasions to speak to him ? most recently three weeks ago ? Mr. Dill said he did not want to talk to the Police.

Two former Property Managers who have already testified in the case have levelled criticism at Mr. Dill.

Tudor Smith said he had ?upset the management process completely? at BHC and Jerry Robinson indicated he had disregarded concerns over invoices rubber-stamped by Smith.

Det. Sgt. Hoyt also told the court that he travelled to the Philippines in September 2003 to interview Mr. Barbosa?s first wife, Anne Marie. He obtained documents and statements from her, but she has refused to give evidence in court.

Beginning her evidence Lavonne Lee, a former Assistant Financial Officer at the BHC, said she had believed all the documents she handled requesting payments to to be genuine.

However, she said that she had become concerned about certain payments being made and had written to the then Housing Minister Nelson Bascome about this in early 2002.

After that, she said, news about alleged improprieties at the BHC became public with ?a few days?. Ms Lee is due to continue her evidence this morning.