Kory Oxley, who worked for Lendlease, also part of the consortium managing the signature government project, faced court on Wednesday over 11 criminal charges, which include authorising $75,000 in labourer wages for work allegedly done on Mr Winter's private home last year. The labourers working on the home renovation are accused of using trucks and excavators belonging to the project. Mr Oxley, a 37-year-old from Berwick, was also charged with allegedly running a wage rort costing nearly $200,000, which saw labourers fill out bogus timesheets to claim lucrative hours for shifts they never worked - a practice known in the construction industry as "ghosting". Victoria Police has also accused Mr Oxley of buying a Lancer 530 boat and an Avante 556 caravan using money said to have been siphoned from the project. He faces charges relating to the theft of more than $10,000 worth of power tools and safety lights bearing the labels ‘‘CTD’’, which stands for Caulfield-to-Dandenong – the name of the level crossing project.

Kory Oxley (sunglasses) leaves the County Court. Credit:JOE ARMAO Victoria Police also allege that he threatened to kill someone and to seriously hurt someone in November last year, around the time that he is said to have authorised the fraudulent timesheets. It comes as a second man has pleaded guilty to stealing lucrative rolls of copper from the level crossing project. Labourer Hayden Tarawa admitted to stealing six rolls of copper valued at $150,000 in the Magistrates Court on Tuesday. He sold the copper, which fetches about $20,000 a roll, to scrap metal merchants in outer south-eastern suburbs in a two-week spree in September last year.

Hayden Tarawa (centre) at the Melbourne Magistrates Court. Credit: Luis Enrique Ascui Tarawa is the second person to admit to the theft, after Hozay Crewther was fined $1750 for stealing copper from the sky rail project, also in September. Victoria Police have also charged another person in relation to the sky rail project, which means a total of seven people are now either facing criminal charges or have pled guilty to charges relating to the alleged illicit operations, including a 36-year-old Clyde North Man and a 29-year-old Frankston man. Tarawa pretended to be an authorised seller of copper when he sold nearly $10,000 of the stolen materials to Al-Sahel Metal Recyclers in Carrum Downs. He also sold more than $14,500 of stolen copper to Amit Metals in Doverton, pretending to be an authorised seller, and on two occasions, using the identity of his girlfriend.

More than $6000 linked to the sale of the copper was deposited into Tarawa's bank account, the documents show. The copper was owned by LendLease, which is part of the consortium that carried out the level crossing removals along with CPB Contractors, WSP Parsons Brinckerhoff, Aurecon and Metro Trains Melbourne. Tarawa initially faced 17 charges, which dropped to eight. When asked to make a plea, Tarawa looked straight at the judge, his head slightly bowed and hands clasped and said: "Guilty, your honour". Another labourer Dayle Prebble also faced court over copper theft charges on Tuesday; however these charges were dropped and he was ultimately found guilty of stealing his boss' number plate for the illicit operation. He was fined $200.

The $8.3 billion cost of removing 50 level crossings, including the Caulfield to Dandenong sky rail project, blew out by at least $2.3 billion, according to the Victorian Auditor-General. The removal of another 25 will push the cost of the entire project out to $14.9 billion. Mr Oxley faced a committal hearing that was adjourned. Tarawa will be sentenced in the County Court in October.

Know more? Email timna.jacks@theage.com.au