‘Roofing racket’ man spared jail for deceiving elderly person out of €4k

A Killarney man involved in “a roofing racket” and who has previous convictions for deceiving elderly people in Cork City, was yesterday spared jail for a further deception of an elderly person, this time near his home town, because of “the incapacity” of one of his children.

Patrick O’Brien, aged 34, of 122 Ballyspillane, Killarney, a married father of three, last week pleaded guilty to two counts of making a gain by deception of a now 90-year-old man near Killarney, leading him to believe his flat roof needed repairs involving €4,400. The incidents took place on July 23 and 25, 2013.

At the Circuit Criminal Court in Tralee,

Brian McInerney, for O’Brien, said his client had three children, one of whom was incapacitated and was particularly ill during 2012-13.

The cheques had been paid back to the elderly man and a further €2,000 garnered from O’Brien’s extended family was lodged with gardaí yesterday.

Judge John Hannan convicted O’Brien on two counts of deception. Referring to O’Brien’s “roofing racket”, he said targeting the elderly was a crime which affected society. He sentenced him to 18 months on each count to run concurrently, but suspended the sentence for four years.