A CONSULTING engineer told a court yesterday that one of the defendants in the Shannon Development fraud ease, Mr Enda Mulkere, instructed him to have a contractor paid for work in which he was not involved.
Mr Richard Murphy, of Michael Punch and Partners told the Circuit Criminal Court in Dublin that he was the engineer on a £900,000 project called Eurotechnopole at Plassey, which was completed successfully by Michael Madden and Son Ltd for SFADCo. It was his function to prepare certificates on which the contractor was be paid.
Mr Mulkere, a Clare Fianna Fail councillor, was the SFADCo executive in charge of the project.
Mr Murphy said Mr Mulkere told him around November 1991 of what he called "smaller works" being processed by Maddens, and indicated he wanted payment for them included in the final Eurotechnopole certificate.
He had no knowledge of these and queried them. Mr Mulkere gave details of five jobs.
The final certificate for a total of £122,298 issued by him on December 16th, 1991, included £17,300 for these jobs as directed by Mr Mulkere.
He told Mr Paul O'Higgins, prosecuting, that on May 28th 1992, a sum of £20,000 was included in a certificate for a total of £23,544 on another project called Cabletron which was being done by Maddens for SFADCo.
The £3,544 portion was for the Cabletron project, and the £20,000 was included at Mr Mulkere's direction for "unspecified work" he said Maddens did for SFADCo.
Mr Patrick O'Brien said he was involved with Mr Joe Murphy on behalf of Michael Punch and Partners in the "day to day" running of the Eurotechnopole and Cabletron projects.
He was present when Mr Mulkere told them to include a £20,000 extra payment in the May certificate. It was never specified to him what the £20,000 was for and nothing in the Cabletron contract related to it.
Ms Mary McGuan, secretary of Kilfenora Mart, said Mr Mulkere lodged cheques for £1,942 and £1,700 for livestock he bought in October and December 1991. The £1,700 cheque was lodged in the Kilfenora account on January 11th, 1992.
Mr James Henchy, managing director of Henchy's Garage, Garryspillane, Kilmallock, said Mr Mulkere gave him a cheque on March 13th, 1992, for £4,453, drawn on the account of McCarthy Brothers and Company (Ennis) Ltd to pay for a new ear.
Mr Mulkere said the £4 453 cheque payable to cash was from a company he was "involved in".
Mr Liam Kitt, of ACCBank in Ennis, said Mr Mulkere was known to him personally and had an £8,000 "seasonal account". By November 1991 it was overdue and he owed the bank £11,000.
Mr Mulkere lodged £2,729 in November, £1,325 in December 1991 and £1,329 in January 1992, using cheques payable to cash. They were drawn on Madden Pipelines and Madden Planthire accounts.
Mr Thomas Eade, accountant with Clare Marts, said Mr Mulkere got two cows on credit on March 10th, 1992, and £1,200 was lodged through Allied Irish Banks on April 22nd, 1992.
Mr Enda Murphy, a garage owner in Whitegate, said his brother sold a tractor to Mr Mulkere for £3,500. It was paid for with a third party cheque payable to cash for £3,459 and the balance in cash.
Det Garda Michael Moore, of the Document Section, said he examined a certificate issued by a consulting engineer, Mr Patrick, Coleman, to McCarthy Brothers and Co (Ennis) Ltd for work for FSFADCo. The words "plus ancillary sitworks", "instructed by Enda Mulkere" and "see letter 10/12/91" had been whited out on parts of it.
Mr Mulkere is charged that, with intent to defraud, he obtained cheques from McCarthy Brothers (Ennis) Ltd, Madden Pipelines Ltd., and that he caused sums, or attempted to cause sums, to be paid to these contractors by SFADCo to both companies by falsely pretending the entirety of the monies was lawfully due to them.
The trial will enter its sixth day on Monday before Judge Haugh.