McBrearty witness ‘used by gardaí’

A SLIGO man was “used” by gardaí in Raphoe to secure a conviction against Frank McBrearty Snr’s nightclub by giving a witness statement saying he was found on the premises after hours, a retired garda said yesterday.

John Nicholson, a former officer in Sligo, told the Morris Tribunal into garda corruption in Donegal he now believed Bernard Conlon was sent to Frankie's Nightclub in order to obtain a statement that licensing laws had been broken.

Mr Nicholson said he had been phoned by Detective Sergeant John White and instructed to tell Mr Conlon to meet the senior officer in Raphoe.