Traffic warden stole €300,000 in coins

A traffic warden who stole €300,000 in coins from Ennis Town Council over three years evaded detection by saying that parking meters were broken when asked about discrepancies.

At Ennis Circuit Court yesterday, Chris Harford (32) of 14 Cluain Ard, Kilmaley, Co Clare, pleaded guilty to stealing €301,625 from parking meters between August 1999 and September 2002.

Harford was caught in September 2002 after a complaint from Ennis Town Council to Gardaí. An early morning surveillance operation on September 30th spotted him driving his 2001 Mercedes into Dunnes Stores car-park in Ennis and empty the meters.

Later that day Harford was seen making a coin lodgement to the National Irish Bank in Ennis. When questioned by Gardaí, he broke down and confessed.

Det Sgt Michael Moloney said a subsequent investigation had found that Harford had lodged €292,204 in coins to two AIB accounts and one NIB account over three years.

Counsel for Harford, Mr Michael Fitzgibbon, said: "It was not a very sophisticated crime. It was pretty simply and straightforward."

In court yesterday, Harford said that he was glad he was caught. "The pressure was getting too much for me. I was in the process of handing in my notice when I was detected."

Harford said he didn't know why he took the money. "It just got out of control. I started off with a couple of hundred, then thousands and then boxes."

Mr Fitzgibbon said Harford had frittered away the money, that all his accounts are now overdrawn and Clare Co Council has served notice to repossess his home. He was sacked as supervisor traffic warden in October 2002.

Asked to account for the money spent, Harford said: "I lived beyond my means. I went on a lot of holidays abroad or I would get a mad fit on a Friday and myself and my family would go to Cork or Kerry for the weekend and stay in hotels. This would happen 10 or 15 times a year."

Asked where the rest of the money was spent, Harford said: "I bought three or four elaborate mobile phones. I had my own hackney-taxi business and I was leasing three or four vehicles. I fitted a minibus with a DVD system, got a ride-on lawnmower and I put flowerbeds around my house."

However, Harford can account only for €100,000 of the €300,000. Asked by Mr Fitzgibbon if he had any money hidden, he said: "No, none whatsoever. I have nothing."

The court was told that Harford's wife and three children are living in Spain. He was allowed to visit them twice while on bail.

"The pressure became too much for my wife so she moved to Spain where her parents are living," Harford said, adding she was unaware of his stealing before he was caught.

Breaking down in the witness box while talking about his family, Harford said: "My wife is struggling in Spain. She is renting an apartment and working part-time to support herself and our children.

"We have nothing to hide. The Gardaí can look at my wife's accounts if they like."

The court was told that Harford, from Howth, Co Dublin, has a previous conviction for larceny and forgery in 1994 when he was fined €380.

Mr Fitzgibbon said: "My client has already paid a heavy price. He lost his job and finds it impossible to get work, while he has been the subject of negative publicity. He co-operated with Gardaí. If he has any money, why has he come back from Spain twice."

Adjourning sentencing to February 27th to allow Mr Harford account for the missing money, Judge Moran said: "There is still €200,000 unaccounted for and the efforts he makes in accounting for the money between now and Friday week will influence the sentence I will impose."