A former garage owner has told the corruption trial of former Dublin Assistant City and County Manager, Mr George Redmond, that a Sunday Business Post journalist reneged on a promise to pay him £6,000 for his story about allegedly paying £10,000 to the accused.
Mr Brendan Fassnidge denied at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court that he gave an interview to journalist Mr Frank Connolly and claimed they just had "a cup of coffee in Harcourt Street".
He told defence counsel, Mr Brendan Grehan SC, in continued cross-examination, that he didn't read the published article but saw a reference to it on the paper's front page.
It was the second day of the trial during which Mr Fassnidge claimed he was in the accused's house four times and that it was Mr Redmond who "brought the Criminal Assets Bureau on my back".
The jury heard him say he couldn't recall drink driving and related road traffic convictions and disqualifications recorded against him nor of paying £10,000 by cheque to the then Dublin County Council for a right-of-way onto the Lucan bypass in October 1988.
Counsel for Mr Redmond, Mr Grehan, told the court that Mr Fassnidge's memory about giving £10,000 to the accused as a bribe was "at best defective", or that at worst he was telling lies.
Mr Redmond (79) has pleaded not guilty to two charges of corruption alleging he got £10,000 from Mr Fassnidge on a date unknown in 1987-88 relating to the sale of a right-of-way.
Mr Fassnidge told Mr Grehan (with Mr Angus Buttanshaw BL) his wife saw him hand a brown envelope which he had in his pocket to Mr Redmond. The envelope contained £10,000 cash.
He said he didn't tell gardai he took the envelope from a drinks cabinet but when Mr Grehan noted that in his second statement to gardai in May 2002, he said he took the envelope from the drinks cabinet, Mr Fassnidge said he accepted that if it was in his statement.
Mr Grehan moved then to the Lucan bypass Esso service station right-of-way issue and referred to a letter from Dublin County Council dated April 7th, 1988 with notification of granting planning permission to Grand Prix Motors Ltd, a company owned by Mr Fassnidge for this project.
Witness agreed that was the right-of-way he referred to in his direct evidence and said he collected the document in the Council office three days after paying £10,000 to Mr Redmond.
Mr Fassnidge recalled being accompanied by former TD, Mr Liam Lawlor, to the Valuer's Office in December 1987 to negotiate the price of the right-of-way but didn't recall being back there in January 1988 nor being written to by the Council telling him it would be sold to him for £10,000.
He agreed he could "see the difficulty" this might have for the story he gave the jury and was told by Mr Grehan that records would show he agreed the £10,000 price with the valuer's office and paid it by cheque in October 1988.
He admitted spending 10 weeks in hospital after suffering a nervous breakdown in 1984.