Prominent republican 'Slab' Murphy pleads not guilty to tax offences
screenshot windows 7A prominent republican has pleaded not guilty to nine tax offences in the Irish Republic.
Thomas "Slab" Murphy, who owns a farm in Co Louth straddling the border with Northern Ireland, appeared before the non-jury Special Criminal Court in Dublin.
The charges relate to the alleged failure to comply with tax laws by not furnishing authorities with a return of income, profits or gains or the sources of them over an eight year period from 1996 to 2004.
The trial was adjourned until Thursday to allow defence and prosecution lawyers to discuss material being disclosed for the trial.
Murphy appeared in court to enter the pleas wearing a pink open neck shirt and brown jacket, almost eight years since he was arrested as part of a tax investigation.
The 66-year-old from Ballybinaby, Hackballscross was remanded on continuing bail with the court ruling that the requirements for him to sign on at a Garda station are to be removed on any date he is in court.
The three-judge court heard a disc containing thousands of pages of documents has not been thoroughly examined by defence lawyers ahead of the trial.
Judge Paul Butler, presiding, told the court he was surprised the defence and prosecution lawyers had not held talks on the disclosure of material ahead of the trial.
"It's astounding, and we can't attribute blame, but it's astounding that both sides have not spoken until today," he said.
"We are dealing with a Revenue case here. We have people in custody waiting for their cases to he held. We need to get on with this."
The trial is scheduled to last two to three weeks.
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Crime figure 'Mr Big' isolated and broke as pressure grows on all sides
free screenshot softwareCrime figure 'Mr Big' is almost completely broke and becoming increasingly isolated as pressure grows on all sides, sources have said.
The north Dublin-based crime lord is becoming increasingly paranoid and hindered following a number of high-profile drug seizures he has been involved with.
Sources told the Herald he has been left "extremely paranoid and frustrated" following the busts.
"He has run out of money because the gardai have managed to intercept at least three major drugs shipments which he was involved with in the last 18 months," a source said.
"Because there is so much of a massive threat on his life, he is unable to get drugs on tick because no one wants to run the risk of losing money if he gets whacked."
It is a volatile and uncertain period and many of his close associates have fled Ireland. This means the Coolock-based figure is becoming increasingly disengaged.
"Not everyone has turned their back on him, he often goes around with a 28-year-old criminal from the Darndale area who is suspected of being involved in a very bad knife attack on a younger man a number of weeks ago.
"This incident had nothing to do with Mr Big, who has really been trying to keep his head down, as he is completely paranoid about being shot dead," the source said.
The criminal, who is in his early 30s, is also being monitored by gardai under his bail conditions. He is facing serious charges in the court and is likely to be jailed.
"He needs to keep a curfew as part of his bail conditions and gardai have been doing a good job of making sure that he is at home when he is meant to be there," the source said.
"This often involves officers knocking at his house at night, which is not something he is very happy about at all."
He is also the subject of a considerable amount of interest from the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB).
"That gang's involvement in organising the Alan Ryan murder has brought nothing but bad luck to them, it is something they must really regret at this stage," the source said.
"Up until Mr Big got into a feud with the Real IRA he was able to operate in the shadows, but now he is under severe pressure from every direction."
In the meantime, a family-based gang has moved in on his territory and has reportedly made a fortune in recent months.
Gardai have also seized high-powered vehicles from Mr Big as part of their investigation into his finances. As well as making lucrative profits from the drugs trade, Mr Big has made significant amounts from tiger kidnappings and other robberies.
CAB are expected to hit him with a bill believed to be in the region of €1.5 million.
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Gardai arrest one male following cocaine, cannabis and cash bust
image hosting above 5 mbA 53-year-old man is in custody and a quantity of cocaine, cannabis and cash have been seized by gardai in Co. Sligo.
The man was arrested yesterday evening after gardai stopped his car and found more than €24,000 worth of cocaine and cannabis inside it.
Gardai then conducted follow up searches at a number of addresses in Sligo town where they uncovered €91,000 in cash and further, smaller quantities of cocaine and cannabis.
A female aged in her 20s was arrested at the scene. She is currently detained under Section 2 of the Criminal Justice (Drug Trafficking) Act, 1996 at Ballymote Garda Station.
The arrested man is currently being detained under the provisions of Section 2 of the Criminal Justice Drug Trafficking Act, 1996 at Ballymote Garda Station, where he can be held for up to seven days.
Cannabis Resin with an estimated street value of €45,000 (pending analysis) has been seized by Gardaí in Sligo investigating the sale and supply of controlled drugs.
Cannabis and Cocaine with an estimated value in excess of €70,000 (pending analysis) and €91,000 in cash has been seized during this operation to date.
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Gardai to monitor boxing event which could be platform for Hutch murder revenge
imagehostingThe ‘Second Coming’ boxing event, which takes place in November, will be heavily monitored by gardai amid fears of a revenge attack for the murder of Gary Hutch.
The event, which will take place at the national Stadium on Dublin’s South Circular Road, will feature fighters from Macklin’s Gym Marbella (MGM), which members of the feared Christy Kinahan mob travel around the world to support.
It is believed that Kinahan sanctioned the murder of 34-year-old Gary Hutch, who was formerly regarded as one of his most senior lieutenants.
Gary Hutch
Members of the organised crime outfit, including the gangster’s son, Daniel, and other henchmen regularly attend boxing events at the stadium in which their prized fighters take part.
MGM Gym in Spain
Despite calls at Hutch’s funeral for no retaliation, close associates of the deceased are said to be furious over his death and are intent on seeking revenge for their murdered pal.
Surveillance arrangements are expected to be put in place for next month’s fights, with officers from Kevin Street and Sundrive Road Garda Stations expected to liaise with one another before the event.
Yesterday, slain gangland figure Gary Hutch’s mother pleaded for no retaliation for her son’s gun death in Spain, saying, “Let God be our judge.”
Kay Hutch told hundreds of mourners at his funeral that the family does not want to see further violence.
“We don’t want any retaliation. We don’t want any family to feel the pain we are feeling. Our son is gone, so let God be our judge,” she said.
Parish priest Fr Richard Ebejer said “evil does not overcome evil” and told the congregation they were not there to judge the circumstances of Hutch’s death.
Dubliner Hutch – a nephew of former criminal Gerry ‘The Monk’ Hutch – was gunned down outside his Spanish apartment as he returned from a morning jog two weeks ago.
His funeral Mass was held yesterday at Our Lady of Lourdes Church, on Sean McDermott Street.
Hutch’s close pal ‘Fat’ Freddie Thompson was a noticeable absentee, as were several other of his close associates.
Thompson’s attendance was always in doubt as he is regarded as the next target of the Christy Kinahan gang.
Fr Ebejer called on the “cycle of violence” to be broken by not seeking revenge for Hutch’s violent death. He described Hutch as a “family man” who was “a great dad to his daughter”.
“We are all aware of the circumstances surrounding Gary’s death. We are not here to judge, but to mourn,” he said.
Hutch's funeral
“To those who are here, especially the young, I repeat the words of St Paul: ‘Do not overcome evil by evil, but overcome evil by good’.
A letter was read out on behalf of Hutch’s brother, Derek ‘Del Boy’ Hutch, who is serving a lengthy prison term for manslaughter.
In it, he said he would always cherish the memories of the two of them growing up in Dublin, “me blaming you and you blaming me and ma killing the two of us”.
Del Boy was refused temporary release for the funeral, but was allowed to view his brother’s body at a funeral home on Sunday evening.
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Gardai responding to gun attack on car are pelted with stones by mob
imagGardai responding to an gun attack on a car owned by an innocent man were pelted with stones by a mob of youths.
The officers had been originally responding to reports that four blasts from a shotgun had been fired into a car parked outside its owner’s home. The gardai then had to call for back-up.
It is understood that a large rock was thrown at their marked patrol car and the windscreen of the vehicle was smashed-in.
Back-up was called in as the gardai were unable to secure the scene of the shooting, but when additional officers arrived the mob dispersed.
The incident unfolded at around 8pm on Monday in Kippure Park in Finglas, north Dublin.
The owner of the car – a dad-of-two in his 40s – has no involvement in crime and lives in the property with his wife and two sons, aged 23 and nine.
Sources have revealed that the family have become targets for local criminals after being falsely blamed for an incident that happened in the area during the summer.
“The incident – which this family had absolutely nothing to do with – was a threatening behaviour incident which is linked to a boy-racer club.
“It had absolutely nothing to do with them,” a source said.
“This is very much a local issue and it is a cause of great concern that this has happened,” the source added.
Officers from Finglas Garda Station rushed to the scene of the shooting on Monday night.
However, as soon as they got to the location in Kippure Park, a mob of local youths threw stones and screamed abuse at the responding officers. The culprits are not suspected of being involved in the shooting.
Gardai eventually managed to preserve the scene and a technical examination took place.
There have been no arrests in relation to either incident, but sources said that gardai were following a definite line of enquiry.
The car which was shot-up was removed by gardai, who examined the vehicle yesterday.
Last month, figures released by the Central Statistics Office revealed that possession of a firearm was up by 21pc to 214 recorded incidents of this type of crime during the 12 months up to the end of June this year.
However, despite more guns being recovered by gardai the statistics also revealed the number of those firing an illegal weapon dropped by 2pc in that time period.
