A Canberra man on trial accused of planning a cafe arson attack told police he was Greek and knew "thousands" of Nicks when officers questioned him about the man they suspected of lighting the fire.
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Brierly's Cafe in Weston went up in flames about midnight on March 13, 2014, with a surveillance camera capturing a person in a green hoodie splashing fuel around the business before setting it on fire.
It's alleged the hooded figure in the dramatic footage from the arson was Nick Parlov, 24, and that Leo Nicholas Eliadis, 47, helped plan the attack. Both men are now on trial in the ACT Supreme Court and both have pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Detectives searched Mr Eliadis' Belconnen house in December 2014 after linking him to a green car caught on camera leaving the scene.
"Who?" he had said when police asked if he knew Nick Parlov.
"I can't say, I don't know the last name."
When police asked how many Nicks Mr Eliadis knew, he said: "I'm Greek. My father's Nick, my cousin ... a couple of thousand."
In the interview with Mr Eliadis, police asked what he knew of the fire and he said "no idea" before telling them he was home that night.
Mr Parlov also denied knowing Mr Eliadis.
"Who?" Mr Parlov had replied when police asked him in April 2015 if he knew a man named Leo Eliadis.
He denied knowing about the fire, or knowing the cafe, and told police he didn't have a car or licence to get to Weston.
Prosecutors on Thursday played the interviews to the jury.
The jury also heard intercepted phone calls from Mr Eliadis' phone, and from a listening device in his car recorded in 2014.
Lead investigator detective acting Sergeant Callum Hughes told the court officers had listened to thousands of conversations.
In one between Mr Eliadis and Mr Parlov, the younger man is heard asking Mr Eliadis if he had "paper" for him, before arranging to meet.
In another conversation, Mr Eliadis is heard saying to an associate who had done some work for him saying he should be giving him $200,000 and "not complaining about $300."
Acting Sergeant Hughes said the associate had family links to Mr Eliadis' godfather, who owned another Weston cafe nearby.
Another witness told the court on Thursday Mr Eliadis had picked up Mr Parlov one night in 2014 to do a "job".
She remembered Mr Parlov returned with a green hoodie Mr Eliadis was said to have given him, which was later ripped and destroyed.
The witness denied suggestions from Mr Eliadis' defence barrister Theresa Warwick that Mr Eliadis would often pick Mr Parlov up for work on maintenance jobs, but only in the mornings.
The trial continues on Monday.
