US chef awaits Castlereagh break-in decision

A decision on whether or not to prosecute an American citizen accused of being involved in a break-in at a Belfast police station…

A decision on whether or not to prosecute an American citizen accused of being involved in a break-in at a Belfast police station four years ago may be taken at the end of the month.

New Yorker Larry Zaitschek worked in the canteen at Castlereagh when Special Branch offices were broken into and files stolen on St Patrick's Day 2002.

Security chiefs blamed the Provisional IRA for the break-in. Mr Zaitschek (38), who worked in Castlereagh for seven years, was questioned by police in Belfast and later in New York when he returned to the United States five days after the raid.

Mr Zaitschek's legal representatives have lodged papers in the High Court in Belfast seeking a judicial review to establish whether or not he is to be charges in connection with the raid.

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He is claiming the Public Prosecution Service's indecision is preventing him from returning to Northern Ireland to contest family proceedings with his estranged wife over access to their son.

The case was heard before Mr Justice Girvan earlier today, when Mr Zaitschek's lawyer spoke of a "volume of material" relating to the case.

The lawyer said the decision was likely be to reached "between the middle and the end of April". Mr Justice Girvan adjourned the judicial review until April 28th.