Jonathan Gill, who is wanted in Northern Ireland for the murder of gangland figure Robbie Lawlor, has been hit with a liability of more than €860,000 by the Criminal Assets Bureau (Cab) for unpaid taxes, a court heard today.
The liability formed part of an objection by the State to Gill (44) being granted bail while he awaits a hearing to decide whether he will be extradited to Northern Ireland to face the murder charge.
A garda cited a number of reasons, including access to large sums of cash and alleged links to organised crime, as contributing to a belief Gill poses a flight risk if he is granted bail ahead of that hearing on June 3rd.
Gemma McLoughlin-Burke, for Gill, argued that the €860,000 liability is largely made up of interest payments for income tax going back to 2005. She said her client is still in negotiations regarding the income tax he owes and the liability with Cab.
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Judge Patrick McGrath did not rule on the bail application but adjourned the hearing to June 3rd to allow McLoughlin-Burke to clarify what taxes Gill has paid in that period.
Det Gda Robert Comerford told Leanora Frawley, for the State, that Gill was arrested following the issue of a Trade and Cooperation Agreement warrant by the Northern Irish authorities.
The warrant alleges Gill, of Malahide Road, Clontarf, was part of a joint enterprise to murder Robert Lawlor on April 4th, 2020. The murder of Lawlor, the detective said, arose out of an ongoing feud involving criminal gangs from Dublin, Drogheda and Sligo in which a number of key personalities had been killed.
Gardaí believe Lawlor murdered Drogheda teenager Keane Mulready-Woods, whose remains were dismembered before being discovered in various locations.
Gill faces a further charge that between April 2nd and 5th, 2020, he possessed a 9mm self-loading pistol with intent to endanger life or cause serious damage to property or to allow another person to do so.
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Comerford cited in his objection to bail the seriousness of the charges, both of which carry a potential life sentence, and the weight of the evidence as detailed by the PSNI in the warrant.
The detective further cited a liability Gill has with the Cab for more than €860,000. Comerford said the liability indicates that Gill has access to large sums of cash which could be used to leave the country.
The detective said there was also a concern that Gill could have access to what gardaí call a “false genuine passport”. In 2009, he said, a man applied for a passport using his own name and genuine birth certificate but with Gill’s photograph attached.
When gardaí investigated, the man to whom the passport was issued denied having made the application or receiving the passport. The passport was never found and Gill also denied any knowledge of it. The Director of Public Prosecutions opted not to prosecute, Comerford said.
The court heard that Gill’s father, John Gill, had offered an independent surety of €100,000 for his son’s bail.
John and Catherine Gill said Jonathan would live with them and they would call gardaí if he breached any of the conditions of his bail.
They said the €100,000 was available to them as they had recently sold an apartment, and Catherine received a substantial settlement following an “accident”. The State accepted that the surety was suitable and legitimate.
Catherine Gill asked the judge to grant bail, saying her son “definitely will be here every time you want him”. She said: “There is no way he is going to abscond. He has children, he has a young child, he is going nowhere.”
