A retired garda said that in 1997 Det Sgt John White rang and asked him to tell a Sligo man to meet him in Raphoe, Co Donegal, the next evening, which turned out to be the night McBreartys' nightclub was raided.
John Nicholson, then based in Sligo, said when he delivered the message to Bernard Conlon his understanding was that Mr Conlon was helping gardaí in Raphoe and Sgt White.
He said Mr Conlon later came into Sligo Garda station to make a statement about being found on the premises drinking late at night in Raphoe on August 30th, 1997. That was the same night Mr Conlon was to meet Sgt White, Mr Nicholson said.
Mr Conlon, who lives in Sligo, has alleged that Sgt White told him to get caught drinking late at night at Frankie's Nightclub, owned by the McBreartys in Raphoe, in order to set them up and be a State witness.
He claimed he did this after he received a message from Sgt White delivered by the then garda Nicholson.
Mr Conlon went to court several times and claimed expenses. In July 2000, Mr Nicholson pleaded guilty to submitting three false certificates of loss of earnings for Mr Conlon.
Sgt White has denied all allegations made against him. He said he did not instruct Mr Nicholson to pass on any message to Mr Conlon at any time and did not have anything to do with it. He also said that he was off-duty and baby-sitting on the evening of August 30th, 1997.
Mr Nicholson said yesterday he received the call on August 29th, 1997, from Sgt White asking him to pass on a message to Mr Conlon.
"He asked me to pass the message on to Conlon to meet him in Raphoe on Saturday night as he was helping gardaí with a little matter," he said. Sgt White did not give a time or place.
Mr Nicholson said he went to Mr Conlon's house and gave him the message. Mr Conlon had said he was helping "some of your fellas in Raphoe". He did not ask about where to meet. When Bernard Conlon told me he was helping the gardaí in Raphoe, I believed he was helping Sgt White," he said.
Paul McDermott SC, for the tribunal, asked Mr Nicholson if he was not suspicious when Mr Conlon came to the station on September 8th to make a statement about the night of the raid.
"Yes, I was suspicious, I totally believe Mr Conlon was used to be in that pub that night." Asked by whom, he replied: "The only one who rang me was Sgt White."