THIS IS the smuggler who has become the black heart that pumps the lifeblood of the New Real IRA war machine.

Today the Sunday World exposes the shadowy world of 'Mr Black',the elusive fixer without whom the dissident terror group would grind to a halt.
Mr Black is pivotal, the man who greases palms, oils wheels and fuels the engine of the terrorist campaign.

His smuggling activities are key to the renegade republican leadership as he provides everything they need to run their terrorist outfit. From finance to guns, Mr Black has it covered, working directly for the collective leadership of the New RIRA. _ 1

All roads lead North - paved with the cash and guns raised by the mobster. Until now, Mr Black has been the faceless money man, protected and hidden by those reliant on his dirty cash. Not only do we blow his cover, we reveal his alleged role in the contract killing of Dublin RIRA boss Alan Ryan.

Killing

For Mr Black has publicly claimed he provided the lion's share of the bounty for Ryan's killing.But crucially, a special Sunday World investigation, aided by well-placed and informed security and dissident sources, reveals Mr Black to be the lifeblood of a killing machine.

Working directly for N-RIRA lead-ers Brian Arthurs and Frankie Quinn in Co. Tyrone and in turn Colin Duffy - all members of the collective leadership - he breathes life into the dissident campaign.
The man in his fifties has man-aged to stay one step ahead of the law, despite being named by

Spanish police as the ringleader of a criminal gang which led to the seizure of half-a-million pounds worth of smuggled contraband,The Dubliner has also been the subject of a Criminal Assets Bureau claim for the proceeds of crime as a result of smuggling and was hit with a bill for over a million euro!

Despite this, sources say Mr Black has been allowed to continue to build his empire unhindered and has been cashing in even further by opening his web of international networks to the New Real IRA_ Funding a terrorist organisation can be lucrative - Mr Black has often been seen behind the wheel of a top-of-the-range BMW and also spotted driving a plush Range Rover, allegedly "gifted" to him by a West Dublin operator in return for the use of the smuggler's "road net- works".

Mr Black has a long association with Real IRA members, enjoying a close "business" relationship with the terrorists for many years.
However, the 'marriage' hit the rocks when Dublin RIRA boss Alan Ryan, tried and failed to extort money from him.

His refusal resulted in Ryan targeting Mr Black's business interests and associates, and the gangster's close pal and well-known Dublin criminal Collie Owens was gunned down during the bitter feud.

Reputation

It was the beginning of the end for Ryan because, despite his reputation as a hard man of the criminal underworld, he underestimated Mr Black - and his influence.

Ryan paid a heavy price for his greed and betrayal when he was gunned down on Grand Lodge Avenue on Dublin's northside last September.
Immediately after the death of Owens, Mr Black and criminal cohort Mark 'the Guinea Pig' Desmond, and two other men, we cannot name at this time due to court proceedings, created the Criminal Action Force (CAF).

Shortly after CAF was formed, Alan Ryan's paid hitman of choice,Daniel Gaynor, was gunned down in Finglas in July 2012.

It is known that Mr Black hired Keith Wilson for the killing. Wilson is currently serving life for the murder after his DNA was found at Gaynor's murder scene. Gaynor had previously shot innocent Tallaght postman Robert Delanp in 2008 and he remains in a permanent vegatative state.

The CAF was also behind a gun attack, on the Players Lounge Pub in Fairview, a short distance from the RIRA chief's murder scene.

Three innocent bystanders were injured in the attack on the pub,which is owned by John Stokes,father of Celtic and Ireland striker Autony Stokes.
The Players Lounge was attacked as it was used frequently by members of the Alan Ryan mob.

This attack was carried out by Keith Wilson's brother John,who was shot dead in his home six months ago. He is believed to have been assassinated in connection with drug debts. Keith O'Neill is awaiting trial charged with Wilson's murder.

Collected

As well as 'taking out' one of Ryan's most trusted accomplices,CAF also accused him of extorting almost half-a-million euro from drug gangs in just one year and of not sending the correct share to his bosses in the North.

Ryan had again to be reminded that the reason for the existence for the Dublin Real IRA was to send money to the Northern leadership and that money collected was not for his own personal gain.
However, this reminder was already too late, CAF's accusation was the final nail in Ruan's coffin and Mr Black had already been given approval for the "removal of Ryan".

Mr Black the smuggler had become the hunter - instrumental in the death of a Dublin crime-lord. And in true gangster style,those directly involved in the murder played major parts in the Ryan funeral.

Terror boss Colin Duffy read the graveside oration, describing him as a true soldier of Ireland.

Each word was uttered while knowing he was one of the men who gave the nod that sealed Ryan's blood-soaked ending.

It was the final and ulti-mate betrayal Alan Ryan would receive. Belfast-based New RIRA Chief Alex McCrory was the 'organiser', and pictures show him leading the funeral cortege.

Ryan ~ supporters have 'named and shamed' Mr Black as well as another close smuggling associate and former republican prisoner.

In the immediate aftermath of Ryan's killing last September, Mr Black went to Spain where he met with Gerard 'Dickie' O'Neill, the Belfast born, alleged former boss of the Provisional IRA in Dublin.

On their return home, both Mr Black and O'Neill were informed by gardai that their lives were under threat from Real IRA members in Ballyfermot.
On news of this, a senior member of the Real IRA was summonsed up North and asked to explain the threats.

The man finally admitted, after questioning, that it was in connection to the murder of Ryan and the belief that Mr Black was using information on other Real IRA members,gleaned in the past, for the benefit of the Criminal Action Force.

Reprisals

It was made clear that any attempt made on Mr Black would be met with serious disapproval and immediate reprisals.

Mr Black also reported to the NRI-RA leadership of a second threat to his life by another Real IRA man from south inner city Dublin.

Once informed of this threat Mr Black was told by the collective leadership to deal with the man in question "as he sees fit".
Mr Black is indispensable, the lifeblood of the New Real IRA, the man they want to protect at all costs.

NOTORIOUS gun criminal Kurt Ryan is a key member of the so-called 'new teen gang' which have seized control of the drugs trade on Limerick's northside, a source has revealed.

On Wednesday, a home in Moyross was riddled with bullets for the second time in a week, as a violent mob continues to target associates of Robert Sheehan's suspected killers.
Last week a meeting of Limerick's Joint Policing Committee heard that a violent new teenage gang had seized control of the drug trade on the city's northside.

The meeting was told by Sinn Fein councillor Maurice Quinlivan that the mob were made up of, "17,18 and 19-year-olds who have access to weapons".
A senior source has told the Sunday World that teen criminal Kurt Ryan is a key member of the new gang.

Tear-away

Despite his tender years, Ryan is one of the most feared operators in Limerick's criminal under-world and was previously quizzed in connection with the brutal murder of addict Lee Slattery (24), over a minor drugs debt.

On Wednesday night, a number of shots were fired at a house in Delmege Park, Moyross,for the second time by Ryan's associates.
Gardai believe a group of young tearaway criminals targeted the home because one of the occupants has links to the chief suspect for the murder of Robert Sheehan.

Just last September, Sheehan (21) - who was previously jailed for a horror firebomb attack on two children - was gunned down outside his brother's wedding in Bunratty, Co. Clare.

Sheehan's murder caused a split among a group of dangerous criminals - and child-hood pals - who had been selling drugs for mobster 'Fat' John McCarthy.
More than five of the gang members were eventually forced to flee Limerick after being told their lives were under threat from Sheehan's pals.

They included convicted drug dealer Erol Ibrahim and gun criminal Paul Reddan.
Kurt Ryan has been acting as muscle for the so-called "new gang" who have "filled the void" since his release from the Midlands Prison in December.
However, a senior source said he would not agree that this grouping should be described as a "new gang".



Release

"It is more a case that they have moved up in the same gang. All of these so-called new gang members would be well known to gardai and would have connections to 'Fat' John McCarthy."

Kurt Ryan has been staying in a house in Moyross since his release from prison. He has been regularly seen in the company of his former cellmate, gun criminal David McCarthy, who was also released from prison in recent weeks.

In 2010, thug David (19) - who is the son of heroin trafficker 'Fat'John McCarthy - was jailed for three years after he was caught with a shotgun.
Gardai believe the teenage criminals are operating under the direction of a veteran criminal who is supplying them with drugs and weapons.

http://www.independent.ie/opinion/analys...e-29120461.html

Provos on the rise while gardai struggle to hold Thin Blue Line
Senior officers fear that cutbacks will reduce the force's ability to counter a fresh wave of terror, says Jim Cusack


10 MARCH 2013

Speaking at a Fianna Fail-organised meeting on crime in Dundrum in south Dublin last Wednesday night, the State's former most senior operational Special Branch officer, Peter Maguire, warned that the closure of garda stations across the country and the withdrawal of community gardai are opening the way to the re-emergence of republican terrorism.


Former chief superintendent Maguire spent almost his entire career fighting the IRA, arresting most of its senior members and putting them in jail. After the Provisional IRA ceasefire he and his officers clamped down on the "dissidents" who were resuming the violence and carried out the Omagh bombing killing 31 people including near-term twins in August 1998. Before that bomb slipped through the net, Maguire's officers thwarted a series of major bomb attacks including an attempt to bomb the Grand National at Aintree some months earlier. The Special Branch mopped up the dissidents and imprisoned more than 60 of them during his service. As detective superintendent in charge of these operations, Maguire was held in esteem by his colleagues for his leadership. After promotion to chief superintendent and transfer to Santry garda station he completed his law studies and was called to the bar. He now works as a barrister since his retirement seven years ago.

Speaking at the public meeting at the Goat pub last Wednesday evening, Mr Maguire said the growth of the Provisional IRA had begun in rural Ireland where there was generational support for violent republicanism.

He said today as gardai were in retreat from rural areas with the closures of stations and with most gardai living outside the areas they serve in, the close relations with communities and intelligence-gathering that was used to counter the IRA was disappearing. He pointed to recent events in Northern Ireland in which bombs and missile launchers had been seized and said the "withdrawal of police services from around the country at the moment is very, very misguided".

Other serving and retired gardai, including those who were in the thick of the fight against the IRA, privately say the same. They too are warning that the withdrawal of policing is allowing the rebirth of serious republican terrorism, and just not the amateurish so-called "dissident" activity seen in recent years.

From the time the IRA campaign officially ended with the 1997 ceasefire, a great deal was written about the "decommissioning" of its arsenal. The Canadian army general John de Chastelain was put in charge of a committee that reportedly oversaw decommissioning. As it was claimed to have completed its work there were enthusiastic statements from both the Irish and British governments that a historic decommissioning of IRA weapons had taken place. There were said to have been major acts of weapons decommissioning monitored by Gen de Chastelain's observers.

That was taken as fact: the IRA had given up and carried out the destruction of its massive arsenal.

Gardai who had been closely involved in the war against the IRA, and their counterparts in the old Royal Ulster Constabulary Special Branch, took a different view. In their work against the IRA, these officers had infiltrated the terrorist group up to senior levels. Various and sometimes dubious methods were used to "turn" IRA members into informants. Some of these gardai and ex-RUC officers privately held the view that the IRA had sold Gen de Chastelain's committee a pup. They believed, based on intelligence sources they had nurtured over the years, that the material that the monitors had seen being destroyed consisted of weapons and equipment that were no longer of use to the IRA, in other words, rubbish. In the rush to welcome Sinn Fein into constitutional politics these warnings west unheaded. The RUC Special Branch was disbanded and gardai withdrawn from the Border.

The government press releases about the "decommissioning" process never contained any inventory of the weapons supposedly destroyed. It was said to be "substantial" and journalists were briefed off the record that it was decided to keep the details secret as part of the deal with the IRA.

Last Wednesday week, a Russian-manufactured rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) launcher and missile was recovered during a police raid in west Belfast. This was one of the IRA weapons that was supposedly destroyed in the decommissioning process. The rocket was seized in a house close to Beechmount Avenue which was dubbed by locals "RPG Avenue" because it was the site of the first fatal attack using one of the missiles, in May 1991. RUC Sergeant Stephen Gillespie, aged 31, and married with two children, was killed instantly and two other policemen seriously injured when the missile hit their armoured vehicle.

Not far from Beechmount is the family home of the man who is believed to be the head of the re-formed Provisional IRA. He has a considerable republican pedigree.

In recent years this man and former Provisional IRA associates has been planning the relaunch of a new campaign. His re-entry into terrorism has stimulated other former Provisionals to rejoin and become active again. The group announced their formation last summer in statements to newspapers in Belfast. Little attention was paid to the statements at the time as there had been several such announcements before as the dissident elements formed and re-formed themselves into factions. There were two groups claiming the title "Continuity" IRA, at least another two claiming the "Real" IRA title and another calling itself Oglaigh na hEireann. The newly emerging group simply calls itself the IRA. It is taking over the disparate "dissident" elements.

Over the months since the IRA announcement gardai have observed, with considerable surprise, former Provisionals who had disappeared off their radar become active again. The reactivation of these figures stepped up significantly last September with the assassination of the Dublin "Real" IRA figure Alan Ryan.

Shortly before his murder, Ryan had been summoned to a meeting of the new IRA in Co Down. It was made clear to him that his "fund-raising" activities left much to be desired. The new IRA figures knew Ryan and his associates were pocketing far more money than they were sending north to fund the "war".

Ryan is believed to have responded positively. However, it was clear that members of his group were still intent on enriching themselves and not passing on the money they were extorting from drug dealers, believed to run into many hundreds of thousands of euros a year.

The return of the former Provisionals is said to have come as a surprise to gardai who first learned of their resurgence late last year. They identified three former Provisionals on the north side of Dublin who were taking over Ryan's operations, all of them previously thought to have been supporters of Sinn Fein and the peace process.

Another two men in the Tallaght and Ballyfermot areas of Dublin who are now active in re-organising and extending Ryan's extortion racket were also thought to have retired fully from terrorism.

One of the men had benefitted from the early release deal for IRA prisoners at the time of the ceasefire though he had served a large part of his sentence.

The re-emergence of these figures has brought back into play the serious intent and professionalism of the Provisional IRA. One of Ryan's associates who was suspected of pocketing money from the extortion rackets was abducted in January and put through a quasi-judicial hearing at which a witness was produced and gave evidence of giving money to the man which was not passed on to the organisation. Ryan's associate, who is from Belfast, was "convicted", taken to the western outskirts of Dublin and had his kneecap shot off. The sentence was carried out in accordance with the rules of the IRA, known as the Green Book, in which the sentence for stealing money from the organisation is severe punishment but not execution. He may lose his leg below the knee.

Ryan and his associates usually shot people without warning.

The new organisation is spreading outside Dublin. Concerns were raised in the past two months in Co Wicklow when the republican elements there also stepped up their activities, "buying" debt from drug dealers and engaging in violent threats. It is now

suspected this group was responsible for the murder of Philip O'Toole, 33, who disappeared after leaving his home in Arklow on January 7. His body was discovered on January 22 at Trooperstown Wood near Laragh.

It is believed the republican/criminal group, now under orders from the northern command, murdered O'Toole when he refused to pay over money from an armed robbery and threatened one of their members.

The Wicklow dissident element had close ties with Alan Ryan and is believed to be responsible for the robbery of an arms dealer in Ashford last September when 29 guns including high-powered hunting rifles with telescopic sights were stolen. Two of these guns were recovered in Dublin by gardai who believed they were being delivered to Ryan who was to transport them across the Border. The rest of the weapons are unaccounted for.

Gardai in Wicklow have stepped up surveillance of the

group whose leaders are based in the Rathnew area and who now include a Dubliner who had close links to Alan Ryan and played a prominent role in his paramilitary-style funeral. This man is suspected of extorting a large sum of money from a businessman in the south county area after seriously assaulting him and threatening his life.

Speaking at the public forum, chaired by Fianna Fail's justice spokesman Niall Collins, Mr Maguire told the 100 or so people present of the dangers of a breakdown in effective policing at a time when military republicanism was again on the rise.

He said policing was "fundamentally and essentially a community effort, a joint effort between the community and the guards. It is predicated on the presence of the guards in the community and working with the community to achieve community ends".

He went on: "The withdrawal of the police from many many rural areas, and urban areas as well, means that ultimately the police will become a visitor to the community if something happens. They will no longer represent a presence in the community. They will no longer be in a position in the community to consolidate the kind of community support that is necessary for effective policing.

"Many in our time worked in all sorts of specialist units but we have learned over the years that the fundamental and most basic element of policing is police presence in the delivery of a frontline policing service.

"We have problems with economics but I have never known a situation where there are so many police stations closed. I have never known a situation where there are so many communities living in fear and apprehension. The very first duty of An Garda Siochana is to prevent crime. The detection of crime only comes into play when that first responsibility fails, and you prevent crime by a presence. The guards, by a presence in society, deter criminals from coming in and if the criminals come into it the guards collects sufficient intelligence and have the professional acumen to confront the criminal while he is in the area and be able to finger him very quickly. That is what community policing has been based on in every country.

"I read in a book there quite recently by James Bowyer Bell in relation to the IRA campaign from 1956 to 1962. The chief-of-staff of the IRA called off the campaign on the grounds that there was no community support for it.

"In 1969 the nation was on fire and we had 25 years of the worst terrorist campaign the country ever witnessed at any stage of British occupation. It took a long, long time to bring people to the stage where they were prepared to accept that violence could no longer achieve political aims and would alienate the community. Last night there was a car stopped in Derry and there were four bombs found. Those four bombs were, it said on the news, made in rural Ireland. I hope they weren't made in a community where the guards have been withdrawn in the last six months.

"We all know that the constitutional position on the island is not fully agreed. We all know that campaigns of violence have developed in the country in the past 30, 40 years and have their basic roots in rural Ireland. In 1969 when the Troubles started in Northern Ireland and spread throughout the island we had 6,000 guards in the force. In the next three years they had to increase that by 3,000 with the result that they had to ask people to join An Garda Siochana in order to deliver a police service. Last week there was an RPG rocket launcher, a highly volatile military weapon, found in the community in Belfast. There were three bombs found at the same time. There were four bombs found yesterday. This all took place in one week. There has not been one word in Dail Eireann about that.

"Things have not settled and the withdrawal of a policing service from operating in the community is very, very misguided. I understand the difficulties with finance and understand my former colleagues – the difficult financial situation they have to deal with. But I can tell them that the community are full-square behind you and will give you every support in every way.

"If it was left to the guards unhindered and unfettered to get on with the business, the guards have always delivered to this society and the guards will continue to deliver to this society as effectively as they have. None of us should forget that it was the Garda Siochana that substantially set up this State. It was the Garda Siochana that carried the rule of law and the authority of the Government into every rural station and every rural community in this country and particularly in Ballinamore in 1922.

"The Garda Siochana at all hours of the day have been in every rural community in this country. The Garda Siochana have been the only representative of State authority. Sadly today that is lost."

http://www.herald.ie/news/suspect-in-murder-of-exgarda-linked-to-pals-disappearance-29125212.html

Suspect in murder of ex-garda linked to pal's disappearance.

KEN FOY, CRIME CORRESPONDENT – 12 MARCH 2013 10:40 AM

A DRUG dealer arrested in relation to the murder of a man who vanished without trace 21 months ago is also the chief suspect for organising the gun murder of a criminal ex-garda.


The 53-year-old Traveller criminal was today being grilled by detectives at Carrickmacross Garda Station about the murder of his former close pal Gerard Daly (43), who went missing from his Co Cavan home in June, 2011.

The suspect – who is involved in drug dealing and armed robberies – is also believed to have played a central role in last November's murder of former garda John Kerins (49).

All three men were previously very friendly and worked together on a number of serious criminal enterprises but a cash dispute between Daly and the Traveller split up their gang and has now led to two murders, senior sources believe.



Interpol

Associates of the Traveller criminal believe the body of Tallaght man Gerard Daly has been dumped in waste ground in west Dublin.

Gardai have not excavated this "massive dumping ground" in Dublin for Daly, but searched an underground cannabis growhouse in Co Cavan controlled by the suspect in a major search for Daly's body last April. It is not yet known whether officers will search the Dublin site.

No sign of Daly's remains were found and a massive investigation involving gardai, PSNI, Interpol, Europol and police forces in England had continued before yesterday's arrest.

The Herald can reveal that the 53-year-old suspect has been under surveillance since John Kerins was murdered last November.

He is also suspected of organising a post office robbery.

A source explained: "This really is a very bad business. You are talking about three middle-aged individuals who all re-located from their homes and moved to a very rural area near Bailieboro, Co Cavan, and set up a massive criminal enterprise.

"Everything went well for them for a while but a financial disagreement would have major implications.

"After Gerard Daly was murdered because of this, pressure started to come on the former garda when other gang members thought he would inform on the situation to gardai.

"They then decided to take John Kerins out in the most savage way."

Kerins was found with gunshot wounds to his head in the rural property he had lived in.

Kerins, who was facing charges in relation to the theft of plant machinery in Co Cork, became involved with the dangerous local gang who were involved in drug dealing and armed robbery, a number of years earlier.



And sources say that he "most definitely" had knowledge of what happened to Gerard Daly.

Gardai have always suspected that Daly was the victim of foul play and sources say that detectives have always been confident that he was murdered by someone he knew.

kfoy@herald.ie

A NOTORIOUS criminal linked to gangland murders was arrested over a cash-in-transit robbery this week.

The Sunday World can reveal that vicious hood

Robbie Lawlor was one of two men arrested following the robbery of a cash-in-transit van at Clare Hall shopping centre on Dublin's northside.

The convicted drug dealer from Coolock is well known to gardai and has been a suspect in a number of gangland murders.

Dangerous

"He is a complete loose cannon. He's a very dangerous individual," said one source.

Lawlor was arrested by gardai investigating the murder of David 'Fred'Lynch, who was shot dead as part of a feud in Coolock in 2009.

He was also the prime suspect in the shooting of Anthony Ayodeji, who was shot five times in a car in Buttercup Park in 2008 while holding a baby in his arms. Ayodeji somehow survived the shooting.
Lawlor was also nominated as a potential suspect in other shootings including that of Noel Deans who was shot dead in 2010 and an attack on John Paul Joyce.

Sources say Lawlor was also feuding with gangboss Eamon Dunne at the time of Dunne's death in 2010.

"There was a couple of hundred grand belonging to Dunne in a car at Bewley's on the N32 and Lawlor is thought to have took it," a Sunday World source said.

"They had a major falling out over this and Dunne threatened to kill him.

"Lawlor armed himself to the teeth after this and he was going around telling people he was ready to kill Dunne.

If Dunne hadn't have been shot dead Lawlor probably would have tried to take him out or Dunne would have taken out Lawlor."Lawlor also had links to 'Micka' Kelly who was shot dead by the Real IRA in 2011.

Our source added: "He [Lawlor] had links to Micka and his crew,like Paul 'Burger' Walsh but he would have worked with a fair few different gangs. He was a bit of a gun for hire."

He also has convictions for drugs after being caught with more than €40,000 worth of cocaine back in 2004. He received a seven-year sentence for that offence.

Arrested

He has several other convictions including previous drugs convictions and convictions relating to stolen cars. He has also been linked to previous cash-in-transit robberies.

When gardai confronted Lawlor and his pal about the cash-in-transit robbery, they resisted arrested and had to be pepper sprayed.Gardai recovered the cash taken in the robbery as well as a firearm close to the scene where the men were arrested.

The two men were held at Coolock garda station where they were questioned. They were released yesterday while a file is being prepared for the DPP.

alan.sherry@sundayworld.com

Whack

The brazen drunk tried to excuse the fact he was swigging from a bottle of Jack Daniels while sitting in his car by saying he was going to use it as a weapon against an assassin who was trying to shoot him.
The Sunday World' can reveal that Mahon has been telling pals that Eric 'Lucky' Wilson is plotting to whack him after Mahon implicated him in the disappearance and suspected murder of Amy, who went missing in Spain five years ago aged 15.

Wilson, a senior member of a notorious Dublin-based crime family, operated as a prolific hit-man for hire on behalf of several criminal gangs. However, he was jailed for 23 years in Spain in July 2011 after being found guilty of shooting a man dead in Malaga.

Dave Mahon has claimed that an "underworld source" approached him and his partner Audrey Fitzpatrick and that
"we were told Eric 'Lucky' Wilson murdered Amy, that he was overheard boasting he had murdered her". However, it is understood that Eric Wilson was lying low in Northern Ireland at the time Amy vanished,and there is no evidence he was involved in the disappearance or issued any threat against Mahon.

In court this week, evidence was heard that an off-duty garda spotted Mahon driving erratically near his home in Santry, north Dublin last January.
Garda Paul Mullen saw Mahon's car "veer from left to right very erratically in front of oncoming vehicles". Its driver broke several red lights and caused a number of oncoming cars to swerve to avoid crashing into Mahon.Mahon claimed he thought garda Mullen was following him with a view to shooting him and that he had informed senior gardai that his life was under threat.

Appeal

He said when he was outside his house in his car he picked up the Jack Daniels to use as a weapon if he was attacked. However, he started to drink from it.
Judge Ann Watkin described his evidence as "blatant lies". She sentenced him to four months in prison after finding him guilty of drink driving and three counts of careless driving. He was also banned from driving for five years, but was released on bail pending an appeal.

MEET 'the Miner', the ruthless thug who has vowed to become the country's gangster

Despite being born with a silver spoon in his mouth,this Co. Wicklow-based criminal has become one of Ireland's most feared mobsters in less than six months.

Gardai have been alarmed at the growth of the former sports star and believe he has a net-work of 50 drug dealers working for him and that he has started to expand into Dublin.

Detectives have linked 'the Miner' to the murder of a rival drug dealer and believe he drove one of his key enforcers to commit suicide last week.

To his neighbours, the criminal,who is in his 40s, leads a respectable existence with his idyllic family and fancy car.
However, his name is enough to provoke terror in the most hardened of criminals in Co. Wicklow, where he has grown his drug dealing-empire.

Punishment

This is because he has organised punishment beatings against several dozen drug addicts who have fallen behind with payments.He specialises in dishing out beatings which have shocked gardai in their brutality.

The thug, who had links to slain IRA boss Alan Ryan, has become a big player since Ryan was whacked last September and is bragging to friends that he will be the most notorious gangland figure the country has ever seen.

'The Miner' has made sure that he has the firepower to support his growth and masterminded the robbery of a gun store on the eve of Ryan's funeral. His minions,including Philip 'Philly' O'Toole,broke into the shop in Ashford,Co. Wicklow and made off with 29 lethal rifles and shotguns.
There have been a series of shooting incidents in Wicklow since September with addicts who owe drug debts.

The latest drive-by occurred on the evening of March 3 when a round from a shotgun was fired into a house in Wicklow town.

'The Miner's' key enforcer Jonathan 'Birdbrain' Martin fired the shots, while Terence Keogh, who had only recently been released from prison after serving a sentence for manslaughter, was in the jeep.
After carrying out the shooting 24-year-old Martin drove on the Nll but encountered a garda speed checkpoint opposite RTE.

The officers searched the vehicle and found a sawn-off shotgun underneath the front passenger's seat and the pair were arrested.
When they were taken to Donnybrook garda station in Dublin Martin started shouting that 'the Miner' would be furious that the pair were arrested.

When he was released from custody Martin went off the rails and the following day he took an over-dose of prescription medication.
Gardai initially feared the dead man might have been forcibly fed the drugs to stop him from talking,but now believe that he overdosed as he was so scared of what 'the Miner' would do to him.

The Miner is the prime suspect in the murder of his former pal 'Philly' O'Toole. The pair operated as partners in the drugs trade, but 'the Miner' and O'Toole, a 33 year-old father-of-two, fell out late last year after several of the 29 stolen guns went missing.

In January 'the Miner' lured O'Toole to an isolated forested area in the Wicklow Mountains on the pretext that they were going to put their past difficulties behind them. His body was recovered two weeks later following extensive searches by gardai.

Invested

The Miner has links to several dissident groups including the Real IRA and the INLA. He was very close to Alan Ryan, but since the Real IRA's Northern leader-ship have started to clean up the organisation he has distanced himself from the group.

He has had several criminal convictions overturned on appeal and has several convictions for minor offences.
The Miner has invested in several large cash businesses over the last two months, but he has attracted the attention of the Criminal Assets Bureau, which is set to launch an investigation into his activities.

PAISLEY JNR WILL TARGET SlAB PLAN

DUP sharpshooter lan Paisley Jnr is gunning for ex-Provo war-lord Thomas 'Slab' Murphy.Veteran republican Murphy is in the Westminster MP's sights after the 60-year-old's Bandit Country house was raided during this week's joint Garda, PSNI and Customs mega-raid on suspected fake fuel scam smugglers.

Murphy was stopped and questioned near his Ballybinaby mansion, which sits just six feet on the Republic's side of the Border in County Louth. He was not arrested.

Murphy has already appeared in court in Dublin to face nine allegations of failing to file income tax returns from 1994 to 1996.

In 2011, he was named as Chief-of-Staff of the Provos' Army Council. He has publicly denied that role.

The home of a petrol retailer and the offices of an international transport company were also raided. In one raid, Gardai claimed to have shut down "the biggest fuel laundering operation on these islands'.

Estimates put its annual production capacity at 10 million litres - which equates to a loss to the Dublin EXchequer of €5.5m a year.

However, Paisley Jnr called for an inquiry into why not one person was lifted and held for questioning. He stated: "For there to have been not one single arrest is a complete embarrassment."

MEET THE gun-toting criminal who was barred from two housing estates for some of the worst antisocial behaviour in the history of the state.

Dan McCarthy (24), from Newcastle West in Co. Limerick, leers as he points what appears to be a handgun at the camera in this exclusive picture.

The vicious criminal was recently described in court as being involved in "extreme acts of violence" in the Castleview Estate in Co. Limerick.Gardai claim McCarthy was heavily involved in a long-running feud with a traveller gang from Rathkeale.

In acourt hearing where Limerick County Council applied for an exclusion order, it was claimed that residents were terrified of McCarthy and were too afraid to testify against the thug.

However, McCarthy's crimes do not just involve fighting with rival criminals. He also has a conviction for harassing a terrified young woman with a series of disturbing text messages.McCarthy - who has more than 40 criminal convictions - is one of a small group of thugs who have been successfully barred from a number of estates for terrorising the local community.

Complaint

Last month, Housing Minister Jan O'Sullivan announced new laws which make it easier to evict tenants involved in antisocial behaviour.
Residents' groups will be able to make a complaint on behalf of an individual- so the identity of the victim can be protected.

In 2011, local authorities battling antisocial behaviour sought 56 eviction warrants and 32 exclusion orders. Out of those, 15 families were actually ejected from their homes and 22 exclusion orders were granted.

A source said the new laws,which will come into force later this year, would have made it easier to get an exclusion order against McCarthy.

"The main problem in Castleview was that people were absolutely terrified of making a complaint against Dan and his brother Thomas. If they complained, they would have been named in court and they would have been left very exposed.

"Dan McCarthy was a one-man crimewave", he was no criminal mastermind, but he had the whole area living in terror."
In October 2011, he was one of five people who walked free from courtiter witnesses refused to give evidence about feud violence. McCarthy and his brother Thomas had been facing numerous charges of causing criminal damage.

The case centred on alleged violent incidents at addresses in the Castleview and Shanoood estates in Newcastle West and Fairgreen.

There were dramatic scenes in court as the five people who had made the original complaints to gardai all withdrew their evidence.

Two months later, Dan and Thomas McCarthy were back in court - along with Dermot and John Ryan, from Sharwood - where Limerick County Council sought exclusion orders. The four men became the first people in Limerick to be barred from housing estates in the county.

In October, Dan unsuccessfully appealed the decision in the District Court.

Seamus Hayes, housing officer with Limerick County Council told the court that the local authority had sought the barring order due to the "concerns and fears" of residents over a long period of time.He said the residents were "too afraid" to make complaints and that the proceedings, which were initiated with the support of gardai, were "in the interests of good estate management".Mr Hayes told Judge Carroll Moran that there has been no trouble in the Castleview Estate since McCarthy was barred.

Damnaged

"Life has been "very peaceful," he said, adding that "the quality of life for residents "has improved immeasurably".
Sgt Frank Downes, Newcastle West, told the court the background to the antisocial behaviour and violence was linked to an ongoing feud between the McCarthy and Ryan families.

Sgt Downes added that personal property, including windows and cars had all been damaged by those involved in the feud.
The sergeant said McCarthy had accrued a number of criminal convictions since the initial application for a barring order was made last December.

A quantity of drugs was seized at his home in February and he was convicted at Cork District Court in April of sending a large number of harassing text message to a woman.

McCarthy received a suspended sentence in relation to the harassment offence and was fined €300 in relation to the drugs charge. Sgt Downes said McCarthy was also convicted of a number of public order offences following incidents in Newcastle West during recent months.

In his evidence, McCarthy denied causing any trouble and said he had "never broken a window in my life".McCarthy's father, Ned, pleaded with the court to remove the barring order on his son.

"I guarantee if he is left back with me today, there will be no more trouble," he said.Dismissing the appeal, Judge Carroll Moran said it was "clear that a feud has been going on"between the McCarthy and Ryan families.
He noted that McCarthy had "been in trouble" within five weeks of the initial application last December and had accrued several convictions during 2012.

CONTRACT killers have been offered thousands of euro by members of a traveller clan locked in a lethal feud in the west of Ireland.

Notorious gangsters linked to Fat John McCarthy's gang based in Moyross, Limerick, have been drafted in by members of the Mayo-based Collins clan, according to sources.

Cash was put on the table in a bid to force members of the 'Diesel' Maughan family to back down from their bitter feud with the Collins side.

The row escalated this week after a member of the Maughan family was shot and wounded in Castlebar,Co Mayo on Thursday night.
In January, another relation, Jack Maughan, was shot and wounded in a drive-by shooting at a filling station in the town.

Attack

Sources say, however,that the Limerick thugs had nothing to do with the latest gun attack on the man in his 30s, who suffered a stomach wound. "It looks like some-one got fed up waiting and decided to take it on themselves," said a Sunday World source.

Gardai made an appeal for witnesses to the gun attack at 8.30pm last Thursday at a house in Castlebar's Castlegrove Estate.

The victim was hit after a number of shots were fired at the house before the attackers made their getaway in a bronze-coloured Audi.
Last January, 21-year-old Jack Maughan was shot twice in a drive-by attack at a service station in the town as he got back into his Ford Transit van.

A gunman opened fire with what is thought to have been a pellet gun from a black car that pulled up alongside him.
The young man suffered wounds to his back and was later treated at Mayo General Hospital.
There is no suggestion that either of the wounded men are involved in the dangerous feud which flared up last summer.

Last year, a senior member of the Collins clan was hit with a tax demand for £1 million after an investigation by the Criminal Assets Bureau.

It came after a series of raids carried out by CAB officers in November 2010, when £100,000 in cash and luxury goods were seized at properties in Ballina.

eamon.dillon@Sundaywo~d.com

AN ALLEGED dissident gunman who was arrested following the murder of AlRA chief Peter Butterly is the current manager of Shamrock Rovers U-18s team.

Eddie McGrath (31), was one of five men arrested in the car park of the Huntsman Inn, Oormanstown, Co. Meath, minutes after Butterly was gunned down.

Yesterday, dad-of-three Butterly - a former RIRA leader in Louth - was buried in a low-key ceremony without any paramilitary trappings.Butterly had recently been expelled from the dissident organisation by the Northern-based leadership for allegedly pocketing RIRA funds. ~

Charged

Last Saturday, Tallaght man McGrath was charged with the unlawful possession of a 9mm calibre Beretta handgun and ammunition. The suspected dissident was also charged with membership of an illegal organisation styling itself on the IRA.
McGrath's arrest has sent shock waves through Shamrock Rovers,where he is on the coaching staff.

In 2005, he was a member of the fans' '400 club', who rescued Rovers from financial ruin by buying the soccer club.

Our photograph shows McGrath,from Land Dale Lawns in Tallaght,coaching a Shamrock Rovers team.McGrath remains a member of the club, is currently employed as the manager of club's U-1S squad and has previously been involved in coaching schoolboy teams.

A source said McGrath's arrest has "stunned" Shamrock Rovers, who did not know the coach was involved with dissidents.
"He was a big supporter of Celtic and liked singing rebels songs but that's it," said a source. "Eddie has been a dedicated member of the club for a long number of years."

On Thursday, McGrath was one of three Dublin men remanded in custody for an extra week in connection with the Butterly shooting.

Bought

David Cullen, from Brackenwood Ave in Balbriggan, and Dean Evans (22), from Grange Park Rise,Raheny, were also brought before the Special Criminal Court.The three men had been charged in connection with the shooting at a special sitting of the non-jury court last Saturday night.

Evans and McGrath were each charged with the unlawful posses- sion of a 9mm-calibre Beretta semi-automatic pistol and seven rounds of ammunition with intent to endanger life.They were also each charged with membership of an illegal organisation styling itself the IRA on March 6. Cullen was charged with the unlawful possession of a 9mm-calibre Beretta semi-automatic pistol.

Last night, a spokesperson for Shamrock Rovers said anyone working with the club has to undergo rigorous garda vetting.
"Shamrock Rovers has over 400 members. However, most have no involvement in the running of the football club apart from attending AGMs and contributing their monthly membership fee. Along with that, we have 3,000 season ticket holders.

"Shamrock Rovers also has over 100 volunteers who help the club in a number of different ways, from our schoolboy section, to match-day activities, to selling tickets. Those volunteering in our schoolboy section are Garda-vetted for the protection of the young people they work with."

Butterly (35) - a former commander for the RIRA in Co. Louth - was blasted in the chest and head in the pub's car park last Wednesday.The Gardai's elite Emergency Response Unit (ERU) arrived at the scene within minutes and arrested five men in a number of cars at the scene.

It is believed that Gardai had the suspected dissidents under surveillance and had been monitoring the meeting between the group and Butterly. However, they had no advance knowledge of a shooting. Butterly's murder is just the latest shooting in a bitter internal battle for control of the so-called new IRA.

Dignified

Yesterday, he was laid to rest following a dignified funeral mass in his home parish in Co Louth.

Hundreds of mourners turned out to pay tribute to the dad-of-three at his funeral mass Saint Colmcille's Church, Togher. His body was carried into the church in a coffin which had not been draped in the Tricolour - in stark contrast to the practice at most dissident republican funerals.

During the service, one of his daughters fought back tears and was comforted by Butrerly's wife Eithne. Butterly is survived by his wife,his parents, Vera and Matt, and children Aoife, Ciara and Matthew.Unlike Alan Ryan's funeral last year, there was no visible sign yesterday of any paramilitary display at the funeral.

However, it is understood that Eric Wilson was lying low in Northern Ireland at the time Amy vanished,and there is no evidence he was involved in the disappearance or issued any threat against Mahon.

I think this story has along way to go, Lucky Wilson was said to know about david lindsay alan napper July 2008 Rostrevor in County Down.

The disappearance of Amy Fitzpatrick occurred on New Year's Day 2008 in Spain.

i was there tat week in spain was all over newspaper when i was coming home, doubt that guy lucky had anything to do with it probably someone who doesnt like him trying to label him as a pedo,i mean they were trying to kill him & his brothers,at the time of her dad being told he was responiable,

also i always thought it was something to do with the step-dad....

In August 2008, the home of Mahon and Fitzpatrick's lawyer in Riviera del Sol was broken into and a laptop that was used in the search for Fitzpatrick was stolen. In addition, Amy Fitzpatrick's Nokia mobile phone was stolen. The 32-year-old lawyer, Juan José de la Fuente Teixidó, said the burglars got in to his property by forcing a locked garden gate. He said: "The stolen documents included confidential police reports about Fitzpatrick's disappearance. I believe the burglary was related to Fitzpatrick's disappearance. It makes no sense that they took documents which financially are worthless, and left behind all my expensive valuables like TVs, computers and music equipment.

seems they knew a bit too much about them for all the evedinece to dissapear?

Lucky Wilson was in the North at the time Fitzpatrick's disappearance the Garda new he was up there MICKTHEHACK did a book on Fitzpatrick's disappearance.

http://www.herald.ie/news/millionaire-cr...e-29143427.html

Millionaire crimelord running cigarette scam from Spanish bolthole.

Ken Foy Crime correspondent – 20 March 2013 10:40 AM

A VETERAN crimelord who controls illegal smuggling of cigarettes into Ireland is making a fortune from his well organised enterprise despite being based on Spain's Costa-Del-Crime.

we revealed that customs officers have been forced to wear stab vests while on the lookout for smuggled cigarettes in Dublin city centre, such is the level of threats of violence from runners connected to the expat Ballyfermot crimelord.

Senior sources have revealed that, while he controls operations from his villa close to the resort of Fuengirola, his son has taken over the 'day-to-day business' in Ireland. Their operation is thought to be worth as much as €10m.

Detectives have been actively monitoring the son's movements and have established that he has been linked to a number of threats to kill rival criminals, particularly in west Dublin.

Gardai received intelligence in January that his millionaire dad, who is in his 50s, invested a five-figure sum in a west Dublin pub, which has been the scene of a number of violent incidents over the years.

The gangster – a long-term target of the Criminal Assets Bureau – has made millions from smuggling illegal cigarettes over the past two decades.

He was arrested in relation to a gangland murder in Ballyfermot in the 1990s, but was released without charge.

Legitimate

A senior source explained: "He is one of the most feared and respected men involved in organised crime in Ireland.

"The likes of Eric 'Lucky' Wilson, who is linked to loads of murders, would ask how high if this man told him to jump.

"Apart from his criminal business, he runs a number of profitable legitimate businesses and has a large property portfolio in Dublin and Spain."

Evidence of the scale of the illegal cigarette market was shown last October when a chilled container carrying €3.1m worth of cigarettes was seized at Dublin Port.

Customs said about eight million cigarettes were seized.

With a criminal pedigree going back years, the gangster built up a reputation as a money launderer for the Provisional IRA in the 1980s and 1990s.

He came to prominence in 2010, when he became involved in a feud with the Real IRA faction then led by slain terror boss Alan Ryan.



botched

This feud led to two murders and a notorious incident at the Player's Lounge pub in Fairview, north Dublin, in July, 2010, in which three innocent men were shot.

It is suspected that the Ballyfermot gangster ordered the botched hit in an attempt to kill Ryan.

Ryan's murder last September has nothing to do with the veteran Ballyfermot hood.

But back in July 2010, gardai had major concerns after the Ballyfermot gangster's pal, Colm 'Collie' Owens (34), was shot dead at the Corn Store, an animal feed warehouse, on the Grove industrial estate in Finglas as part of the dispute.

In a revenge attack, Keith Wilson (25) murdered Daniel Gaynor (25) in Finglas the following month.

Gaynor's murder led to a huge increase in garda activity surrounding the players in the feud and it is believed that at some stage in the autumn of 2010 a truce was called.

It is thought that one faction, most likely the Ballyfermot mob, paid the other a sum of cash to end to hostilities.

Last year, the crimelord's crew got involved in a separate feud with the Continuity IRA, which led to one murder and a number of shootings.

ie/irish-news/courts/killer-brian-rattigan-gets-17year-sentence-for-organising-drugs-network-29143925.html

Caroline Crawford – 20 March 2013

CONVICTED killer Brian Rattigan has been sentenced to a further 17 year in jail for running a drugs supply network by mobile phone from his cell in Portlaoise prison.


Ads by GoogleRattigan 32, from Cooley Road, Walkinstown in Dublin, had the sentence backdated to 2008 when he was caught with a mobile phone and notebooks in his prison cell which were linked to an ongoing drug supply business. He is already serving a life sentence for murder.

Judge Paul Butler said an aggravating factor in the case had been the fact that Rattigan had carried out the crime while in prison, something he described as "a very serious matter".

In mitigation the judge accepted that while the defendant had pleaded not guilty he had fought the case on legal matters.

"The honesty of the witnesses was not in any serious matter impaired during the course of the trial," he added. He also accepted that Rattigan's actions had had a huge effect on himself, his friends and family and had led to a fatality, adding that this was being taken into consideration.

It earlier emerged that Rattigan has taken up acting in prison, producing and appearing in two pantomimes.

During summing of in the case, Rattigan's defense barrister Brendan Grehan told the court that the convicted criminal had turned his life around while in prison taking up acting, catering courses and a number of courses on alternatives to violence to name but a few.

The Dubliner had produced and appeared in two Christmas pantomimes - The Wizard of Oz and Cinderella.

Mr Gehan told the court that the convicted killer and drug dealer had made the changes to his life because of his 10-year-old daughter Abbie.

Describing her as the "single most important factor in his life", Mr Grehan added that he now spends much of him time in the prison gym and had also undertaken a course in yoga and physio courses linked to his gym regime.

Mr Grehan presented a number of certificates to the court highlight how Rattigan had completed a Fetac level four certificate in catering. He had also received A grades in a number of course in addiction studies.

Rattigan had pleaded not guilty to the possession of heroin and two counts of possession of the drug for sale or supply on Hughes Road South, Walkinstown, Dublin 12 on May 21st, 2008.

Judge Butler said that while it could be interpreted that the convicted killer was trying to change his life it remained only a possibility. On that basis the court did not opt to suspend any of the 17 year term.

Mr Rattigan showed no emotion as the verdict was read out. Afterwards he thanked his legal team and spoke briefly with family members before being led away.

The court heard that gardai who raided the house on Hughes Road South discovered five kilos of heroin valued at just under €1m and a red and white Nokia phone in a shed at the back of the property, while a search of a bedroom inside the house yielded just over €36,000 in cash.

The court heard from Det Sgt Brian Roberts from the Garda National Drugs unit who spelt out in detail the devastating impact that heroin has in society. He explained that in the year the drugs were discovered there were 641 drug related deaths.

Judge Butler thanked Det Sgt Roberts for his evidence saying it was the first time such detailed evidence on the impact of drugs had come before his court.

"We are very grateful for this and it shall be useful even outside this case," he added.

It is thought that one faction, most likely the Ballyfermot mob, paid the other a sum of cash to end to hostilities.

I do not think so, @Ken Foy The Criminal Action Force never had a truce with Real IRA ? CAF never put out a statement to MICKTHEHACK on a truce you do not have a story cop your self on last year herald said there was no CAF philip o'toole CAF shooting yous are a JOKE.

http://www.herald.ie/news/gunman-blasts-gangster-philly-in-the-stomach-27987245.html

http://www.herald.ie/news/philly-betrayed-by-gang-after-gun-raid-29043659.html


REAL ira wil not save you on walls in bray how did you missed that ken lol. you are a joke.

WHACKER BACK FOR WAR
Gardai on alert as former INLA terror boss back on streets



SICK: Duffy is known to be extremely violent

ONE OF the country's most notorious and dangerous criminals is back on the streets of the capital, despite being jailed for life just two and a half years ago. The Sunday World can reveal that former INLA boss Declan 'Whacker' Duffy has been released from prison despite being caged for life in July 2010 for the murder of a British soldier.

Gardai are on high alert after the 39- year-old psychopath was set free last weekend and immediately made his way to Dublin, where he is staying with the mother of his two children. The return of Duffy is a hugely significant and worrying development, with senior gardai expecting him to make a move to fill the power vacuum that exists in Dublin's gangland following the Real IRA civil war and the departure of several major drug dealers.

Officers are shocked that Duffy has reemerged and thought they had seen the end of him when a judge ordered that he serve a minimum of 24 years in jail after admitting the murder of Sergeant Michael Newman in Derby, England, in 1992. However, the callous killer managed to use the fact that the slaying was an act of terror to successfully argue that he should be freed under the Good Friday Agreement.

Scream

Despite renouncing the INLA when he was sentenced, gardai do not believe Duffy will lead an honest life and have already observed him drinking with several senior criminals. Sources say he is a ruthless and violent criminal who takes pleasure in inflicting pain on people. The Armagh-born thug has bragged about how he enjoys kneecapping victims and hearing them scream.

An undercover Sunday World team observed Duffy outside a flat in central Dublin on Friday. He was dressed in jeans and a woollen jacket and wore a cap to hide his face. He jumped in a waiting car and drove off in heavy traffic, where it is understood he met an associate in a pub in Tallaght.

One senior source said: "We couldn't believe it when the word came through that he was back. He was spotted drunk at least four times this week and is already associating with well-known criminals.



FEARS: Gardai keep close eye on Duffy

"Declan is not a man to rest on his laurels. He knows the Real IRA is imploding and that gangland is up in the air after Eamon Kelly was murdered last year and the lads who murdered Alan Ryan have fled the country.

"We think he has calculated that Dublin is rife for taking over. He is right too and we are keeping a very, very close eye on developments, as is the Special Branch.Where Duffy is, violence and death and destruction inevitably follow."

Whacker Duffy led the INLA in the infamous 'Ballymount Bloodbath' in 1999. During the notorious incident, an INLA active service unit took six men hostage when they went to a factory in the Ballymount industrial estate to demand money from the owner. The men were viciously tortured, but when 12 of their friends arrived a mass brawl ensued and INLA volunteer Patrick 'Bo' Campbell died after being struck with a machete.

Duffy was caught with a note detailing exactly what happened in Ballymount and was jailed for nine years. When he was released in February 2007 he reorganised the INLA and set about taking over from drug dealing gangs in Dublin 8. He lived in an apartment on Hanover Street with his longterm partner, which was not far from where gang boss Freddie Thompson lived.



BATTLE: Freddie Thompson went to war with Duffy over territory

He decided to target Thompson and took over the doors of pubs and clubs around the city centre and started dealing drugs. He stepped on the toes of three senior drug dealers that were supplied by Thompson and successfully demanded protection money to allow them to operate. It was common knowledge that Duffy once acted as muscle for 'the Border Fox' Dessie O'Hare and criminals were scared stiff of him because of this and what happened at Ballymount.

When Thompson heard of the protection racket he was furious and the pair had a massive row in a pub on Francis Street. Duffy said that he was in the area to stay and that if Freddie did not give up his territory then he would be murdered.

Harmed

Freddie took out a €10,000 contract against Duffy, which led the terror chief to say: "If any member of the INLA or our political wing is harmed, the INLA will wipe them out.

"If they think they can run off to Spain and live happy ever after, they should think again. They will be hunted down."

Despite his talk, Duffy took to wearing a bullet-proof vest and had two permanent bodyguards. In September 2007 he placed a pipe bomb under Thompson's car but it didn't explode. Duffy took his plan to another level on November 22 when INLA volunteer Denis Dwyer was arrested on Camden Street with an AK- 47 in his carrier bag. He was on his way to shoot Fat Freddie. When Thompson heard of the incident he knew that Declan Duffy would not give up until he was dead and fled to Spain.

As well as taking on Thompson's mob, Duffy also beat up the head of the IRA in Dublin and took over the Provos' protection rackets. Gardaí were alarmed by how quickly Duffy's control was growing, and members of the Special Detective Unit started to take a keen interest in him.

"I CHAT TO NICOLA AT HER GRAVE"
Heartbroken mum reveals loss as she returns from killer's trial



ANGER: Nicola’s parents and sister at RTE on Friday

THE heartbroken mum of tragic Nicola Furlong has revealed she visited her daughter's graveside for some "chit chat" after returning from Japan on Friday.

Smirking monster Richard Hinds was jailed for between five and 10 years this week for her murder in a Tokyo court. The 'Christian' musician brutally strangled Nicola last May shortly after meeting her and a pal in the Japanese capital. He then tried to destroy the 21- year-old student's reputation by claiming he was forced to restrain her because she demanded rough sex.

Nicola's mum Angela has said the first thing she did after arriving back to her Co Wexford home on Friday was to visit her daughter's grave. "I went out to Nicola today (Fri). I do talk to her, I was telling her how I got on in Japan and that I'd seen 'the man'," she said.

Friends

"Generally chit chat. She's had a load of babysitters since we've been gone all my friends and work colleagues and Nicola's friends have been going out and leaving flowers for her.

"The grave actually looked amazing. I put my flowers out and everything for her - it was perfect."

Killer Hinds (19) - originally from Memphis, Tennessee - was classified as a minor under Japanese law and because of this the maximum term he will serve is ten years in prison. However, he could still be freed in half that time if he is granted parole.



CARE: Friends tended to Nicola’s grave while her parents were away

On RTE's Late Late Show, Nicola's sister, Angela, said she believes Hinds should have been given the death penalty. "We knew that was the most he was going to get was 10 years because he was tried as a minor.

"I would like the death penalty but that's not going to happen.

"He took Nicola's life but I feel like my life is over.

"I get up everyday, I've no purpose or meaning and he did that. I've so much hatred for him. Why should he get to live? Five years - he'll be 24 he can still live his life."

Last May, Nicola and a female friend were unconscious when they were brought to the hotel by two Americans - but staff helped put both girls into wheelchairs. CCTV footage also showed hotel workers accompanying the unconscious girls and the two men - Richard Hinds and James Blackston - to separate rooms.

Drugs

Nicola's dad, Andrew, said he believes his daughter and her pal were drugged by the two Americans.

"The two collapsed at the same time, so we're convinced," he said.

Andrew also confirmed that he is planning to sue the luxury Tokyo hotel. He believes his daughter's life could have been saved if hotel workers had acted differently.

"They should have been brought to a hospital, not up to a bedroom.

"They just wanted them out of the way."

LIAR ‘LAWYER’ PANTS ON FIRE
Di Stefano's life of fraud stuns court



FRAUD: Giovanni Di Stefano runs from the truth when confronted by our man Donal MacIntyre

BOGUS mob lawyer Giovanni Di Stefano ran scared from the Sunday World after being humiliated this week when a court heard details of his career as a serial fraudster.

The self-dubbed Devil's Advocate was left red-faced when we confronted him outside a UK courtroom, which had just heard how he duped clients out of hundreds of thousands of pounds by pretending to have legal qualifications.

Jurors also stifled laughter as they heard him describe Saddam Hussein as "a lovely man who noone can say a word against".

And there was shock as the trial was told how spoofing Stefano - who has duped some of the Irish media into treating him seriously as a lawyer - claimed he could have got Adolf Hitler off a war crimes rap as he had nothing to do with the holocaust.

Fraudster

But the loudmouth fraudster, who loves spoofing to gullible reporters, had nothing to say when approached by the Sunday World. Ironically, the 57-year-old conman, who loves to mingle with underworld killers and crime lords, pleaded with us to leave him alone or he would "call the police".

We can also reveal how the so-called Devil's lawyer and previously convicted fraudster - who once boasted he was worth €700m - is now living in a dilapidated, converted farm building which he laughingly describes as the centre of a global media empire.

Di Stefano denies 25 counts of deception, fraud and money laundering. The court hear how he tricked people into thinking he was a legal professional when he was "not a qualified lawyer at all". He faces a long stretch in jail if convicted. Sitting behind his qualified legal team, the once dapper businessman and advisor to the underworld bit his nails and cut a shambolic figure. And the jury at Southwark Crown Court in central London laughed while being told of his bombastic boasts about his friendship with Saddam Hussein, his defence of Adolf Hitler, and his support of fascist Italian dictator Benito Mussolini.

He also claimed to represent timeshare fraudster John 'Goldfinger' Palmer and the notorious drugs smuggler John Gilligan, as well as Harold Shipman, the UK's most prolific serial killer, and cop killer and crime godfather Kenny Noye.

His most infamous 'client' was Saddam Hussein, who in 1998 gave him a set of gold chairs and of which Di Stefano is very proud of.

Blushed

"I've always said that he's a nice guy - there isn't a person that can say a bad word about him," the court heard him say of Hussein, to the unrestrained laughter of the jury.

Shamless Di Stefano even blushed when the court heard his claims that there was no evidence that Hitler was responsible for the gassing of millions during World War II.

"Not a single document would connect Hitler with a signature or memo with those heinous crimes, and on that basis he would have been acquitted of war crimes," he said, before calling for a mock trial to establish the innocence of the German Nazi dictator.

His lies caught up with him in February of last year when he was arrested in Palma, Spain, and extradited to the UK to face a succession of criminal charges.

The legal qualifications of Di Stefano have been challenged for nearly a decade, but this is the first time that he has been charged with duping people into believing he is a lawyer.

The 57-year-old is accused of stealing €800,000 from clients while claiming to be a legitimate legal advisor.

The Court was told that Di Stefano would tell clients that he was "well connected" and extremely wealthy and would encourage the perception with offers of meetings in Rome and Portugal.

However, he is currently renting a rundown converted barn in North Stream, Marshside in the Kent Countryside.

Steps to the wooden building were in a dangerous state and weeds were abundant around the property, which now purports to be the headquarters of his new media empire.

The business, known as The Online Publishing Company, is currently being investigated in Ireland for incitement to hatred and defamation arising from the conman's outrageous and libellous attacks on anyone who has exposed his lies.

IS THIS MARY BOYLE'S SHALLOW GRAVE?
Cops to dig for shallow grave in Ireland's longest missing child case



DISAPPEARED: Mary Boyle

THE LITTLE girl at the centre of Ireland's longest missing child hunt could be lying in a shallow grave yards from where she went missing. The grave was identified by three searchers looking for sixyear- old Mary Boyle just days after she disappeared in 1977.

However, despite the fact it was marked and reported to gardai working on the case, it was never checked out, a Sunday World investigation reveals today. We can also disclose how the site is set to be dug up in a new review that could lead to the first major breakthrough in the hunt for the little girl.

Just weeks ago, officers reviewing the 36-year-old mystery visited a bowlshaped area of land at Cashelard, in Donegal, near where Mary was last seen by her uncle Gerry Gallagher, as she followed him from his family farm to a neighbour's property.

Forensic

They have also interviewed and taken lengthy statements from the surviving searchers who found the freshlydug earth - one of whom describes today how the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end when he saw it. Gardai under Assistant Commissioner Kieran Kenny have also taken evidence that is known to have been on the land at the time Mary vanished and sent it for forensic analysis.

A Sunday World Cold Case team this week investigates the mystery of Mary's disappearance on the lonely hillside where the secrets behind her death still lie.

We can reveal how:

a shallow grave was reported to Gardai THREE times across three decades but has yet to be excavated;
senior New York Police Department (NYPD) officers have offered their services to the hunt for Mary and believe they have identified a suspect in her disappearance;
a review team hope that forensics may still help them solve the case despite the passage of time;
a cross erected in memory of the little girl has been mysteriously removed, and;
how former chief suspect, child killer Robert Black, couldn't have been involved, according to experts.
Today, Mary's twin sister Ann also issues a desperate plea to the Gardai to excavate the grave discovered by witnesses on the hillside where her sister disappeared 36 years ago. The site, a little over a hundred metres from the last place Mary was last seen alive, was identified by three witnesses just two days after she went missing, but has never been searched or undergone any forensic analysis.



SEARCH: Ann Boyle

"They need to search it to see if she is there or was there. I hope they will because if someone has come forward and said that they thought that this was a grave, then it's the only clue we would have in all this time," an emotional Ann said.

Mary and Ann were visiting their grandparents' home in Cashelard on St Patrick's weekend in 1977 when the unthinkable happened. After dinner, Mary set out to follow her uncle Gerry across the boggy hillside, but never came back. Her disappearance is the longest missing child investigation in the history of the State, but today, in the first of our two-part Cold Case review, we untangle the veil of secrecy that has hung over the files for decades.

The Sunday World understands that in the aftermath of Mary's disappearance, hundreds of local farmers came to offer their help searching for her. During day two, a line of volunteers stretched from the Gallagher cottage to the top of the mountain and began to walk across it. Three searchers, including farmer John Gallagher (no relation), say they came across what looked like a freshlydug grave measuring about four feet by two feet.

One of the trio, who has since died, later told an officer involved in the original investigation that he pulled at some of the sod and saw what looked like brown hair.

John Gallagher told our team last week: "The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. There is no doubt but it was a grave."

He said he marked the site with a stick and made his way to a mobile unit which was being used as the Garda's headquarters during the searches. He informed an officer of his find. The Sunday World understands that the grave was never mentioned again and weeks later, when Gallagher enquired, he was informed that it had been ruled out.

Weeks after her disappearance, two graves were dug in lands near the family farm. They were routinely excavated to make sure they held animal remains and not the child, but incredibly, the one nearest the place where she was last seen was left untouched.

In 1995, when Gardai began to reinvestigate the unsolved case, the man who claims to have seen the hair went with an officer to point out where he had stumbled upon the shallow grave. Again, nothing was done.

In the past few weeks, a team under Assistant Commissioner Kieran Kenny have again had the area identified to them and taken fresh statements in relation to it. It is unthinkable that it will not be searched at this point by officers reviewing the case. We can also reveal that two senior NYPD homicide detectives are carrying out enquiries in the area on behalf of the family and believe they have identified a new suspect.

Testing



FINAL SIGHTING: Gerry Gallagher was the last to see her

Forensics could still be the key to the case. An item has recently been removed by Gardai and has been sent for forensic testing. A scientist working with the Sunday World on the case, the man who recently identified the remains of King Richard III under a car park in England after 500 years, has said he believes the truth about what happened to Mary is likely to be preserved if her remains can be found.

Leading forensic pathologist Stuart Hamilton says the boggy and acidic soil of Cashelard would provide the perfect preservation for organic tissue and could have kept safe detailed clues as to how she met her end. Country singer Margo O'Donnell, a cousin of Mary, who demanded that officers re-open the case two years ago, says she is stunned that a cross she erected to the little girl at the top of the mountain, near an area known as the Blind Lough, has been removed.

"Why anyone would have removed it is just baffling. It must have been an uncomfortable reminder to someone that their past may be about to catch up with them," she said.

THE DEVASTATED dad of murder victim lee Slattery has broken his silence to reveal how his family have been subjected to a sick campaign of intimidation by his son's killers.

Tragic Lee (24), was found buried in a shallow grave in Moyross, where he had been dumped in June 2010 after being shot in the head.

Dad-of-one Lee - who was not involved in organised crime - was lured to his death and executed bv members of a mob involved in the drugs trade in Moyross.

Gardai have arrested a total of eight people in connection with the savage murder, including feared gun criminal Kurt Ryan, The thugs include a number of hardened young criminals who form the core of new mob causing chaos on Limerick's northside.

Earlier this month, Limerick's Joint Policing Committee heard how a "new violent gang" had emerged in Moyross and was responsible for an outbreak of violence.

Speaking to the Sunday World this week, Lee's dad Ray, who refused to show his face because of fears for his safety,

revealed how:

* his family have been harassed and intimidated by his son's killers;

• he was approached by crime boss 'Fat' John McCarthy, who denied all knowledge of the murder and;

• Lee had been under threat after refusing to set up mobster Shane Mason to be killed.

Lee's lifeless body was found in wasteland near the Delmege Estate on June 1, 2010, after three days of searching by his family.

Ray said he knew his son had been killed the minute he was told he was missing.

"I knew he had been murdered. I filed a missing person's report with the gardai, but it was my family who actually found his body," Ray said. "I got word that he was last seen cycling down to Delmege on his bike.

"We went down there ourselves and spend three days going through that place. A couple of people told me to keep searching in the wasteland there, so we knew he was lying in a shallow grave.

"My brothers and my nephews and my family went through it. It was actually Lee's own brother and his two uncles who found him. It was devastating. Some people from my family wanted to do some- thing about it, but I didn't want that.

Debt

"You can imagine yourself with families how they feel when someone murders your son. But my family didn't live like that so we weren't going to go down that road. It just leads to more and more trouble and then someone else ends up killed."

Initial reports claimed that Lee had been murdered because he owed money for drugs to an associate of 'Fat' John McCarthy's.
However, Ray claims that this bedroom. I can't go into it all, but that was one of the things that was said in it."

Last year Mason (29), who is a senior member of the Keane-Collopy gang, was jailed for 17 years for shooting Danny Philips in the head.

Before he was jailed, Mason was involved in a violent feud with Moyross-based associates of 'Fat' John McCarthy.

McCarthy (41), controls the drugs trade in Moyross and Ballynanty and is currently serving a 14-year sentence for heroin trafficking.

Gardai believe he supplies heroin,cocaine and cannabis to a network of dealers - including the up-and-coming mob responsible for Lee's murder.However, Ray said he does not believe McCarthy sanctioned the hit on his son.

"Fat John came up to me and told me he did not have anything to do with Lee getting shot. To be honest, I believed him.

"The eight people that have been arrested know why and how Lee was killed. The Gardai have the right men. I believe they acted on their own."

Ray said that as soon as the Gardai started to investigate the crime, Lee's killers began to orchestrate a campaign of intimidation against the family.

Hanging

"They were hanging around our house.Five or six of them would be walking around the front of our house every day. I had to have words with a few of them.

"We all had to move out of the area, but they still kept up the intimidation if they met us in town. Recently, one of them followed a family member as they tried to something to eat.

"I knew them from when they were kids. I knew Kurt Ryan when he was growing up. He was alright as a young fella, but you could see he wanted to be a gangster. He wanted to be the big man.

"Two of my brothers died over Lee's death. One of them drank himself to death over it in England. He blamed himself.

"Lee left a little girl who talks about him every day and how he is in heaven."

A PARISH priest said he feared 'for his me during a terrifying aggravated burglary at a parochial house in Co. Galway.

A four-man gang burst into the home of Fr Patrick O'Brien beside the Church of Mary Immaculate and St Joseph in Caherlistrane at around 9.30pm on Friday.

The raiders tied up Fr O'Bricn, who was alone at the time. A garda spokesman said: "All four were wearing balaclavas and gloves and one was carrying a crowbar."

Alarm

The gang ransacked the house for more than an hour while F1' O'Brien was tied up.

Eventually they fled the scene with a small amount of cash. Fr O'Brien subsequently managed to escape before raising the alarm at a neighbour's house.

The priest, who is originally from Co. Mayo, was not injured,but was badly shook up by the frightening ordeal.
Headford priest Fr Ray Flaherty, a personal friend of Fr O'Brien, visited him after the attack.

He explained: "He was very shook up. He was saying the leader of the gang seemed to have a bit of compassion in him,but there was one particular guy he was afraid of.
"He feared for his life because he was very threatening. The house looked like a tornado had hit it."

Fr O'Brien's home was previously broken into around a month ago while he was saying Mass and the raiders on that occasion took £1,000, which were the proceeds of a Trocaire collection.

Baptisim

Fr Flaherty said that Fr O'Brien was still making sure parish work continued.
"There was a wedding happening today and there was a baptism and he was trying to organise other priests coming in to help. He was trying to get things sorted, that's just the kind of man he is."

Gardai say one of the attackers was wearing jeans and a blue tracksuit top with faded white writing on the front. Two of the thugs were wearing dark tops with jeans while a fourth was described as tall and thin wearing all black clothes.

Anyone in the vicinity of Caherlistrane between 9pm and midnight on Friday who saw any suspicious activity can contact Tuam garda station on 09370840 or the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111.

A NOTORIOUS killer who brutally murdered a pensioner was permanently released from jail last Friday after serving 11 years behind bars.

Francis Palmer (42), was at the centre of one of the most savage crimes of the 1990s after he shot dead a pensioner during a raid on a home in Rosegreen, Co. Tipperary.

The Dublin criminal was part of an armed gang that gunned down innocent cattle dealer Danny Fanning (71), in cold blood in front of his terrified wife at their home.

The court heard that a gang had targeted Mr Fanning after being told that on cattle market days the elderly farmer often returned home with more than £60,000, which he kept in a safe.
However, their information was out of date and they fled with a wallet containing just £155 after "punishing" Danny by shooting him in the knee.

Life

Bizarrely, Palmer's name hit the head-lines again in 2005,when it emerged his twin brother was dating pop queen Samantha Mumba.Former male stripper Gary Palmer went out with the singer for a few months.

However,killer Francis finally walked free from prison on Friday morning after signing forms agreeing to the terms of his release. Palmer is the second high-profile 'lifer' to be released from the Training Unit in recent weeks.
Two weeks ago, DATE: Samantha & Garv killer Sean Courtney also walked free from the same jail after spending 20 years behind bars for the murder of Patricia O'Toole.

Courtney (46), was sentenced to life in 1993 after admitting he battered the 31-year-old newlywed to death with a rock and dumped her body in the Dublin mountains.
A source said Palmer will be released under strict conditions and will be returned to prison if he gets up to his old tricks.
"He will be released on permanent licence and, if he is arrested in connection to a crime, can be taken back into prison without being convicted in a court."

Last month, the Sunday World revealed how Palmer was commuting from Mount joy Prison to his job as a mechanic in West Dublin.

In May 1997, Palmer, originally from Foxborough Road, Lucan,Co. Dublin, was jailed for life.
The court was told how two men wearing balaclavas and brandishing sawed-off shotguns had burst into Danny Fanning's home and ordered him and his 65 -year-old wife Biddy to lie on the floor.

The couple's youngest daughter Rose (26), was forced into the farmhouse by a third masked man wielding a baseball bat.Biddy and Rose were taken into a bedroom where they were tied up. After shooting the farmer in the leg and cutting the phone lines the gang made their get-away in Rose's car.

Bleeding

When the women wriggled free 15 minutes later they found Danny tied to a chair and bleeding heavily. By the time neighbours fetched a doctor he was dead.

niall.donald@sundayworld.com

IT IS the worst night-mare for any woman who decides to give internet dating a try.

This ad - placed on a well-known dating web site-shows a seemingly innocent looking student who claims to be looking for a woman who "sees the beauty in life".

Mark Curneen (24), currently has lonely hearts ads running on six web- sites - including sixdating.com, completelyfree-dating.ie and best dating-now.com.

In his ads, Curneen that his ideal match be a woman who wants to "friends first" and that should be sensitive,and loving.
But despite his fresh looks and romantic Curneen is in fact a pervert with a history of sex attacks on women.

Wrestled

Last week, he was jailed for three-and-a-half years after pleading guilty to a terrifying sex assault on a young woman near his home in Cabinteely, South Dublin.

The court heard how Curneen,from Marlfield Gardens, Johnstown Road, Dublin, had pulled out clumps of the woman's hair as he wrestled with her during the violent sex assault.

It is not the first time Curneen has come to the attention of the gardai for his perverted ways.

Last June, Curneen was dubbed the 'Dodder flasher' after he was convicted of exposing himself and performing a lewd act in front of a female bank worker.

The young woman claimed Curneen exposed and touched himself while his tongue was "lolling in his mouth" as he passed her on the banks of the Dodder in Ballsbridge.

It makes a sharp contrast to the mild-mannered persona put across by Cumeen on the dating websites.

Experts believe more than 400,000 Irish people have accounts with dating websites.

On the dating Curneen claims to be studying a range of different subjects including Medicine in UCD,Computer Science an Philosophy.

He writes: "I guess my ideal match should just be a girl looking for a boy looking for love and knows what she wants."

However, the truth behind Curneen's claims to be a kind-hearted romantic were exposed in Dublin Circuit Criminal Court last week.
The 6ft 3in pervert was convicted of sexual assault and sentenced to three and a half years in prison with the final two years suspended.
The court heard how the 22-year-old victim struggled with Curneen when he dragged her to the ground. She tried unsuccessfully to get away from him before he sexually assaulted her.

Lumps

She eventually ran off to a friend's house nearby, where the gardai were alerted. She was left with lumps on her head and clumps of her hair had been pulled out.
Judge Mary Ellen Ring said if it had not been for the woman's "fortitude" and "bravery" in fighting off Curneen, he would be in a different court facing different charges.

She said she was particularly worried about the fact that Curneen had sexually misbehaved the year after the attack.
Last year, Curneen was convicted of exposing himself to a woman who was walking home from work on August 25,2011.

http://www.herald.ie/news/gardai-on-red-alert-as-exinla-kingpin-returns-to-dublin-29152045.html

Gardai on red alert as ex-INLA kingpin returns to Dublin.

Duffy was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2010 after pleading guilty to killing a British soldier in 1992.

A judge jailed him for a minimum of 24 years – but Duffy served just two years after claiming the killing was an 'act of terror' under the Good Friday Agreement.

He is considered an especially dangerous individual and came to notoriety after leading the INLA in the notorious Ballymount Bloodbath in 1999.

During the incident, Duffy's INLA confronted a Dublin drugs gang in Ballymount, which led to the death of INLA man Patrick Campbell.

The row saw the INLA group strip, beat and interrogate the criminal gang, holding drills to the backs of their knees while threatening to shoot them.

Duffy and another man subsequently pleaded guilty to the unlawful possession of a shotgun and falsely imprisoning the four men at Ballymount Road Industrial Estate.

Duffy was later jailed for nine years by the Special Criminal Court.

Following his release in 2007, he set about reorganising his INLA gang, focusing on extortion and taking over from drug gangs in the Dublin 8 area.

In June 2008, he was arrested outside the home of a prominent Cork businessman after gardai foiled a suspected kidnap.

He was charged with INLA membership and remanded in custody.

In 2009, he publicly denounced the INLA and pleaded guilty before the Special Criminal Court to membership of an illegal organisation. It is understood he has been subject to death threats since distancing himself from the INLA.

He was jailed for four years before being arrested under a European Arrest Warrant for the murder of Sgt Michael Newman, who was shot dead in Derby in 1992.

After completing his sentence for INLA membership in April 2010, he was extradited to Britain, where he pleaded guilty to the murder of Sgt Newman.

Although sentenced to life, he was freed after two years.

release

Before Duffy was jailed in 2009, he was involved in a turf war with gang boss 'Fat' Freddie Thompson (32).

In the intervening years, Thompson has relocated to Spain, but sources feel his brother Richie could be under threat following Duffy's return.

Since his release last week, Duffy has gone back to the south inner city home of his partner and their two children, in close proximity to the Thompson family.

After his return to Dublin, he travelled to Tallaght to meet an associate in a pub.

With Thompson out of the country, the RIRA still reeling from the murder of Alan Ryan in north Dublin and the murder of Eamon Kelly, there is now a power vacuum in Dublin – one of which Duffy could take advantage.

Officers in Tallaght are said to be particularly concerned about Duffy's meeting there with an associate.

Following the reorganisation of his INLA gang in 2007, he decided to target Freddie Thompson, taking over security at a number of licensed premises and supplying drugs.

He crossed swords with three drug dealers who were supplied by Thompson, demanding protection money from them.

Duffy and Thompson subsequently had a row on Francis Street, with Duffy telling the crime boss he was staying in the area.

Thompson was threatened he would be killed if he did not leave the country.

http://www.herald.ie/news/viper-planning-to-retire-as-debt-profits-plunge-29152038.html

NIALL O'CONNOR – 25 MARCH 2013 10:40 AM

EVEN one of Ireland's most notorious debt collectors appears to have been bitten by the recession.


The firm run by veteran criminal Martin 'The Viper' Foley has recorded a significant drop in profits.

Newly published accounts show that The Viper Debt Collection Agency suffered a loss of €6,324 for the year ending September 2010, a hefty fall from the €27,316 profits recorded in 2009.

Foley (62), who has 45 criminal convictions, is a director of the debt collection company with his partner, Sonia Doyle.

Accounts published last week by the Companies Office suggest that the recession has taken its toll on the business.

The firm recorded a gross profit in this period of €36,451 – a fall from €59,009 in the year previous. The news comes as sources close to Foley revealed that intends to "take a step back" from the running of the company later in the year.

The Viper has told associates in recent weeks that he intends to give up directly calling to people's doors.

The Viper has earmarked a date later this year when he will retire – as long as he can put in place a trusted individual.

Sources have revealed that he has become more concerned about his family's safety in recent months after an armed gang attacked his south Dublin home in the summer.



Opinion

The well-known debt collector has also become extremely irked with the level of media attention he continues to attract.

"Foley has made it clear he wants to take a back seat later in the year. I suppose you could say he will retire but he'll still hold on to the business," a well-placed source explained.

"He's been gauging opinion as to who he will ask to take over the running.

"But he doesn't trust many people so he won't take a step back until he finds someone suitable."

noconnor@herald.ie

The Viper has increased the security on his home on Cashel Avenue, Crumlin, after it was attacked by a three-man gang armed with golf clubs and baseball bats in July.

The Viper and Sonia Doyle were at home when the masked men attacked it and also smashed up two of the vans he uses for his agency.

Nobody was injured.

Sources say this incident caused great concern for The Viper, who has already been shot on four separate occasions.

But he has also complained to associates about the level of media coverage he continues to receive.

"He's been around for such a long time. He's into his sixties now and nearing retirement age anyway. But he still cares about the business and will be determined that any decision will not affect the collection agency."

The Viper did not respond to a request for comment.

noconnor@herald.ie

•A TRAVELLER has revealed how his family are in fear for their lives after their home was burned down on Friday morning by a gang as part of a vicious feud.

Simon McDonagh said he is lucky to be alive after a traveller gang set fire to his house in Aonach on Chlair, in Clarecastle, Co. Clare, shortly before 5am. The arson attack came after masked men attacked the house armed with slash hooks, baseball bats and metal rods on Tuesday night.

Gardai have repeatedly warned that a traveller feud in Ennis, Co. Clare, is in danger of spiralling out of control after a series of violent tit-for-tat incidents over the last year. IDad-of-five Simon told the Sunday World: "The house is destroyed, we have nowhere to go. We have been in fear of our lives since all this started in July but nobody wants to help us." Gardai believe the latest round of feuding started following the breakdown of a relationship involving members of both families. There have been a number of arrests over recent months following damage to homes in the Ennis area.

Simon said his family are only alive because they did not return to the house after Tuesday's attack. "They came and smashed up the house, it is all on CCTV and I have given it to the gardai," he said. "Last month, one fella almost drove a weapon through my 19-year-old's head as he ran up the stairs with my seven -year-old in his arms trying to protect him. "After that, I said to myself I'm not going to stay in that house. The Council are not doing enough for us. We have phoned them 20 times and I think they've replied to us twice."

SENIOR gardai , accused of colluding with a major drug trafficker have been cleared of all wrongdoing,

The Sunday World can reveal that the Director of Public i Prosecutions (DPP) has decided that no officers will face charges in the case of convicted drug deal-er Kieran Boylan. The decision is a blow to the Garda Ombudsman, which spent four years and a . massive amount of money investigating the alleged , collusion between senior detectives and Boylan.

Sources say that the — Ombudsman was confident that at least one garda would 4 face charges, but the DPP did not liti' feel there was any evidence to justify bringing a criminal prosecution, despite a file being sent 4 which ran to hundreds of pages.

The careers of several respected ‘senior officers have been damaged by the allegations that they allowed Boylan to operate in exchange for information about rival dealers, but sources say that 4 the officers have now been totally 'vindicated. The 42-year-old haulier from Ardee, Co. Louth, was first busted.

No evidenceto suggest collusion in drugs case in 2003 in connection with a €750,000 haul of cocaine. He was on bail awaiting trial when he was again arrested by detectives from the Garda National Drugs Unit (GNDU) in October 2005 in the yard of his haulage business.

He was in possession of €1.7m worth of cocaine and heroin. It had been claimed that while Boylan was in custody he said he was working for a senior detective and claimed he had been involved in several entrapment operations where smaller players were arrested.

He was charged with the possession of drugs with intent for sale or supply, but the charges were later dropped. They were then reinstated, but in 2008 the State dropped them again. In the meantime he was jailed in 2006 for three years for the 2003 bust. Gardai then conducted an internal inquiry into the Boylan case.However, the Garda Ombudsman's office was not happy and launched its own investigation soon afterwards.It spent the last four years trying to build a case.

The Ombudsman had investigated whether Boylan was given favourable treatment by the Gardai because he was involved in setting up other drug dealers for arrest. Officials also probed whether this was a factor in the charges being dropped by the DPP and whether gar-dai knew he was using his haulage business to import drugs. It was also alleged that senior gar-dai colluded with Boylan to get him an internationarhaulage licence and provided false and misleading infor-mation to the Department of Transport, saying that he had no drugs convictions.

His licence was subsequently revoked. Hindering A British Sunday newspaper has written extensively about the Boylan case, alleging all sorts of wrongdoing against officers, including that gardai were hindering the investigation by non-cooperation.

This led Garda Commissioner Martin Callinan to make an unprece-dented intervention last November, saying: "I was quite surprised when I saw the report, given the level of co-operation there has been between the two bodies. "I have cooperated fully and facili-tated fully all of the inquiries that the Garda Siochana Ombudsman Commission have requested. It would be unwise to go beyond that given that the report will be available in a number of weeks."

Although gardai were cleared of doing anything wrong in their deal-ings with Boylan, a new system for dealing with informants was introduced after the case. All informants must now be officially registered.

A MONEY-LAUNDERING pal of the late model Katy French has been admitted to hospital with "serious stress" after some of the country's most-dangerous villains came after him demanding €2m.

Dodgy car dealer Lee Cullen has been admitted to hospital for the sec-ond time in three months after being repeatedly visited by feared gang enforcer Paul Rice. The Tallaght-based hard man has been growing increasingly menacing because Cullen has no way of repaying the €500,000 he was given to launder on behalf of drug barons Christy Kinahan and Gerard 'Hatchet' Kavanagh.

Cullen was given the drugs money to invest in property six years ago and promised to return €1m, accord-ing tu sources. However, he has lost a fortune in the property downturn and six months ago he started receiving vis-its from Rice, who previously worked as muscle for Cullen himself.

Whacked

Rice said that Kavanagh and Kinahan were short of money and demanded that Cullen pay up in full. However, Cullen has no way to pay back what he owes and following Rice's latest visit three weeks ago, he now fears that Kavanagh will run out of patience and have him whacked. Cullen was regarded as an expert money launderer and also owes at least another Elm to other Dublin criminals.

Five months ago he received a serious beating because he could not pay a small-time dealer what he owes. Cullen is this weekend receiving medical attention and is said to be on the brink of a breakdown. He was only out of hospital a matter of weeks after a previous stress-related incident when he became ill again.Lee Cullen, who owned Exclusive Cars in Saggart, Co Dublin, lived the high life during the Celtic Tiger years. He mingled with the rich and famous and was a good friend of Katy French. He loaned the tragic model the €100,000 Range Rover she drove on the night she suffered a cocaine-, induced heart attack in Kieran.

RAID:

Cops search Cullen motors Ducie's house in Kilmessan, Co Meath. The Criminal Assets Bureau launched a major investigation into Cullen's dodgy car business in 2006, which led to him paying an incredi-ble €2.1m. Following a Sunday World expose on his activities after the CAB raids, Cullen ran to the High Court seek-ing to gag us for revealing he was at the centre of a €220,000 VRT fraud. Although Cullen claimed to be a legitimate businessman, the court heard how he had links to serious criminals, including Slzane Lyons, fraud-ster Brian Healy and drug dealers Kavanagh and Rice. Mr Justice Peter Charleton said that Cullen's evi-dence in relation to CAB was incredible.

He added that if Cullen tried to take a libel action against us, then a jury could agree that sto-ries about Isis links with money laundering and dubious characters were completely justified. Like many Celtic Tiger cubs, Cullen over-stretched himself and used investments given to him by major gangsters to borrow money to invest in a variety of apartment schemes. He specialised in the sale of huge-ly expensive motors and still owns dozens of valuable cars. Last year we revealed how the 'Dapper Don' Christy Kinahan and Gerard 'Hatchet' Kavanagh were desperately short of money and had ordered Freddie Thompson and Paul Rice to start collecting everything that was owed to them.

Gangsters Rice was told in no uncertain terms to make sure that Cullen set-tled his tab and has been putting increasing pressure on Lee Cullen. Ironically, Rice was one of Cullen's closest friends and was put to work by Cullen, intimi-dating people who owed him money. Shortly after the CAB raids in late 2007, Cullen was charged with 21 counts of fraud and denied for years that he was guilty. However, last November he filially pleaded guilty to defrauding the State of E220,000. He will be sentenced in July.