Jail for tax evasion and threats to kill

A Cavan resident who owes Revenue over €427,000 has been jailed for four and a half years for tax evasion, threats to kill a Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) officer and serious driving offences.

Sat, 21 Mar, 2015 - 00:00

Aoife Nic Ardghail

Paschal Kelly, aged 50, of Cormeen, Ballyjamesduff, was arrested last year after he failed to turn up for his trial in 2012. He pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to delivering an incorrect tax return for 2003 and failing to make tax returns for 2004 and 2008.

He also pleaded guilty to threatening to kill a CAB officer on April 7, 2011, reckless endangerment and dangerous driving in the Lucan area on October 9, 2012.

Kelly has 47 previous convictions. These include a four-year sentence for robbery in1989 and 10 years for a similar offence in 1997.

Detective Sergeant Brendan Flanagan said that Revenue and CAB had been investigating Kelly over a number of years.

He told Anne Rowland , prosecuting, that Kelly had been dealing amicably with one CAB officer in particular. That officer

called on the father-of-two at his partner’s home in Balbriggan on April 7, 2011. Kelly was not present but phoned the officer at work later that day and threatened to kill him.

Garda Kevin Walsh told Ms Rowland that he and a colleague had been on patrol on October 9, 2012 when they saw Kelly drive into a petrol station on the Naas Road.

Gda Walsh said he activated his blue flashing lights when Kelly started to drive off. Kelly failed to stop.

He drove at over 190km/h in 100km/h zones, undertook heavy vehicles, went against traffic and forced cars to take evasive action.

Sean Gillane, defending, cited his client’s serious drug addiction in the 1980s and 1990s. Judge Nolan accepted that Kelly had “suffered traumatic experiences” in industrial schools. He took into account Kelly’s guilty pleas and apologies and backdated the sentence to October 2014.