A former garda who won the Scott Medal for bravery and who accepted bribes from two Veronica Guerin murder suspects, Mr Brian Meehan and Mr Paul Ward, and five others, has been jailed for 4 1/2 years.
John O'Neill (34), married and the father of three, of The Rise, Kingswood Heights, Tallaght, admitted at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court he corruptly received £16,100 in bribes on dates from November 1st, 1995, to October 17th, 1996.
O'Neill was awarded the Scott Medal for bravery in 1990 when he pursued, confronted and arrested an armed robber who pointed a shotgun at him.
The court heard he was in debt for more than £100,000 when his offending began. He was a non-smoker, non-drinker and non-gambler but got into severe debt due to bad financial management.
Judge Cyril Kelly imposed £45,000 fines on two other men who pleaded guilty to charges of corruptly giving O'Neill £5,000 cash as an inducement in relation to his work as a garda. He gave them three months to pay or they would have to serve 12 months' imprisonment in default.
Derek O'Driscoll (24), with addresses at Glenfield Grove, Clondalkin, and Croftwood Park, Ballyfermot, and Anthony Long (42) of Camac Park, Bluebell, were described by Det Insp Thomas O'Loughlin as unemployed men of affluence. Both had previous convictions.
Det Insp O'Loughlin earlier told Mr Fergal Foley, prosecuting, that Long had been given a seven-year sentence in England in 1993 for having a firearm with intent.
He said O'Driscoll had no difficulty raising and paying £5,000 to O'Neill who had approached Long looking for a loan. Both men also videotaped the handing over of the money to O'Neill in Long's garage.
Judge Kelly applied the Probation Act in the case of Patrick Ward (43), The Wood, Millbrook Lawns, Tallaght, who admitted giving O'Neill £100 to have a Road Traffic Act summons against one of his employees withdrawn. Ward had been described by Det Insp O'Loughlin as law-abiding and hard-working with no previous convictions, who owned two shops and employed four people. Judge Kelly directed that Ward pay £1,000 to the Garda Benevolent Fund.
He said O'Neill committed "acts of moral degradation". He had brought on himself the odium of all right-thinking people including members of An Garda Siochana and had done his colleagues a huge disfavour.
Judge Kelly said the court's mind was eased by the evidence that O'Neill had not brought any of his colleagues' lives into danger. His guilty plea had obviated the need for a long, tedious trial which might also have resulted in acquittals of other accused due to the nature of the evidence.
Judge Kelly imposed 13 sentences of 4 1/2 years on O'Neill on charges under the 1990 ethics legislation and three of 18 months in relation to charges made under 1906 legislation, to start immediately and run concurrently. He agreed to an application from Mr Brendan Grogan SC to review the sentence on October 18th, 1999.
Det Insp O'Loughlin agreed with Mr Hugh Hartnett, defending, that Ward heard O'Neill was open to receiving money and went to him to have a road traffic warrant in relation to one of his employees quashed.
He agreed with Mr Michael O'Kennedy SC, defending, that O'Neill himself approached Long for money. It was not Long who provided the £5,000, but the money was handed over in Long's garage. The money was not to be paid back.
The court heard Long approached O'Driscoll about O'Neill's request and O'Driscoll agreed £5,000 would be given to him. Long and O'Driscoll videotaped the transaction to ensure compliance with the request for unspecified favours in the future. O'Neill was interviewed before any advantage could be gained by them.
Det Insp O'Loughlin said Long had been unemployed since 1986 but appeared to have substantial finances and owned land in Co Meath. He had two sons. O'Dris coll lived at Glenfield Grove with his girlfriend and their child. He appeared to be affluent though unemployed but he was not in receipt of State benefits and did not seem to have any difficulty giving £5,000 to O'Neill.
O'Driscoll had six convictions from his first 12-month sentence for larceny in the Children's Court in 1988 to his recent three-month sentence from Kilmainham District Court for cruelty to animals. His convictions included assault, obstructing a garda and breach of bail bond.
Insp Aidan Kelliher told Mr Grogan he was O'Neill's sergeant in Tallaght from 1985 to 1990 and found him an excellent garda with an exceptionally high return of prosecutions. He could not fault him in any way then.
Mr John Doran PC told Mr O'Kennedy he always found Long to be honourable and decent. He bought and sold ponies and had four stables as well as his garage at Camac Park. He allowed young people to use his ponies and Mr Doran allowed Long to put his animals on his land.
Mr Gregory Murphy SC said O'Driscoll had pleaded guilty at an early stage and helped avoid a long, tortuous trial.
Last month the four men originally pleaded not guilty to 26 charges and a jury was sworn in for a trial which could have continued for up to two weeks. Judge Kelly discharged the jury two days later when the State accepted guilty pleas to a total of 19 charges.
O'Neill admitted eight charges of receiving cash totalling £7,600 from Paul Ward as inducements or gifts in relation to his work as a garda. The charges detail that he received sums of £2,000, £1,500, £1,000, £500 and £200 on various dates from November 1995 to September 1996 from Paul Ward.
He also admitted receiving sums of £100 and £2,500 from Patrick Ward on dates in June and July 1996 and to accepting corruptly £5,000 from O'Driscoll and Long in September 1996 at Camac Park, Bluebell.
O'Neill also admitted he corruptly accepted a cash inducement of £500 from Meehan at or about Beechfield Road, Walkinstown, on a date in August 1996 "for showing or forbearing to show favour or disfavour to a person in relation to his principal's affairs".
He also pleaded guilty to accepting four sums of £100 each from Mr Tom Sweeney and Mr David Sweeney in 1995 and 1996.
Ward pleaded guilty to giving £100 as a bribe to O'Neill on a date unknown between June 1st and July 31st, 1996. O'Driscoll and Long pleaded guilty to giving £5,000 cash to O'Neill on a date unknown in September 1996 at Camac Park, Bluebell, intending to corrupt him as a member of An Garda Siochana.
A nolle prosequi was entered by the State in relation to three charges of damaging warrants and four firearms offences charges to which O'Neill pleaded not guilty at the earlier arraignment.