Garda’s corrupt action ‘scandalous’

“Scandalous” was how the corrupt actions of a member of An Garda Síochána were described by a judge as a fully suspended two-year sentence was imposed.

“The amounts of money were not large but the criminality is total,” Judge Seán Ó Donnabháin said at Cork Circuit Criminal Court. “The amount of money pales into insignificance when I view what he did with his entitlement as a guard, the manner in which he went around misusing his position is scandalous.”

The judge imposed the two-year sentence on John O’Halloran, 47, from South Douglas Road, Cork, and supended it. He was required to abide by the directions of the probation service for the next two years and in particular to comply with all directions on him in relation to addressing his gambling addiction.

The judge said the most serious offences committed by the accused consisted of seeking payments for so-called extra policing for Connaught Avenue Residents Association and UCC students union.

“There was a criminal breach of trust and total denial of his duty as a guard to be trustworthy and for the public to be able to rely on him,” Judge Ó Donnabháin said.

“It is easy to understand how this plausible and active man could have duped students. He was generating invoices, getting the cash. There never appears to be any dealings by the university with any other person (in the gardaí). This man was operating as a police force within the university where they provided him with a room on campus.

“The fact that he was signing all the forms should have alerted persons to be suspicious but that did not happen until Inspector Fergal Foley investigated the matter competently, professionally and thoroughly.”

Judge Ó Donnabháin said mitigating factors included the plea of guilty which spared hundreds of witnesses giving evidence in what would have been a four-week trial. The judge said that would halve the sentence at least.

“I must go further and look at his personal circumstances,” he said. “He has lost his job. A gratuity of €80,000 will be denied him. Undoubtedly, he has drawn this on himself. He is now a person who will never again work as a guard.

“He was in the throes of a substantial gambling addiction. There is no more insidious and harmful addiction than gambling. It is silent and the damage it does is enormous. He gambled €150,000 between 2009 and 2014 and is reckoned to have lost €84,000 to €85,000.”

Defence senior counsel Ronan Munro said of O’Halloran: “His wife found out. The relationship has fallen apart. They were recently divorced. His relationship has gone. His profession has gone. His good name is gone.”

Notwithstanding the fact that people had been duped into paying various sums of money to the accused, Mr Munro said many people were still able to see the good that O’Halloran had done as well.

“They were able to see past his crimes to the good he had done,” said Mr Munro. “In a way, this adds to his shame showing how far he has fallen. He is obviously deeply ashamed for tarnishing the good name of An Garda Síochána.”

Insp Foley said the investigation began when the first complaint came from a woman who was asked by O’Halloran to loan him €5,500, which she agreed to do, but after a year she had not been repaid and complained to his authorities. He then repaid the money but she maintained her formal complaint.

Judge Ó Donnabháin said this offence was the most serious committed by John O’Halloran. The judge said that seeking payments for his police work from the community association and the students union were different in tone and substance and saw an active misuse of his position as a member of An Garda Síochána. He was suspended from duty pending the outcome of the investigation and he resigned last November.

He pleaded guilty to sample counts of corruption and theft. His offences included receiving his father’s CIÉ pension after his father’s death in November 2011 until September 2014.