Gang boss jailed for assault and extortion
A jury at Cork Circuit Criminal Court returned unanimous guilty verdicts against Edward Buckley, (aged 33) of Manor Hill, Ballincollig, Co Cork, and now of Park Road, Muskerry Estate, Ballincollig, County Cork, on two charges on the indictment, namely assault John O’Connor at a house in Macroom in February 2000 and demanding money with menaces from him at his home in Hazel Road, Togher, Cork, in April 1999.
Judge Sean O’Donnabhain said, “You were the leader of what was an act of significant criminality, organised and continuous, akin to organised crime. “I can not give you any discount on your sentence for remorse, you did not have any, you did not show any, you do not have any now. You tried every trick in the book.”
The judge imposed five years for demanding money with menaces and three years for assault.
Judge O’Donnabhain said that he was not adding anything to the sentence for the way Buckley carried out what was effectively a character assassination on John O’Connor in the course of the week long trial. Detective Sergeant Jerry McCarthy said, “It is believed by the State there was no IRA involvement.” In his evidence, Mr O'Connor said that at around midnight on a night in April 1999 at his home on Hazel Road, Togher, Cork. “I heard voices from downstairs. I saw two balaclava characters coming upstairs shouting 'get him, get the bastard'.”
He said he was holding back the door as they tried to force it in for about five minutes and the handle broke and he was locked into the room He thought they might have had a gun so he shouted out that he had a gun in the room and the men ran off.
Minutes later he got the first of many phone calls saying he was dealing with the IRA and to bring 10,000 punts to the car park of the Viaduct Inn.
He was told he was going to be shot and his partner and his children (from a previous marriage) were going to be 'got'. He said that he had known Edward Buckley for five or six weeks as he was going to buy a second hand car for him. He rang him for help and he said Buckley arrived at the house. “He acted as if he was as frightened as I was,” Mr O'Connor said.
He was in fear and he went to Dublin with his partner. He said Buckley told him that the demands were then being made for a sum of 4,000 punts and that he (Buckley) would pay if Mr O'Connor would pay him back.
“4,000 pounds seemed more reasonable. I just wanted that problem solved. I agreed to pay it and I did pay him (Buckley) when I got back to Cork,” Mr O'Connor said.
In October 1999 the threatening phone calls resumed. He contacted Buckley and said he was getting on to the gardaí. He said Buckley asked to meet him at the car park of Supervalu in Togher. He sat into Buckley's car. He said a blue Fiesta pulled up and someone pointed a pistol in their direction from the passenger window. He and Buckley left separately.
“I got a call from Edward Buckley, he told me to check behind my diver's seat of my car. I found a packet of white powder. He said it was drugs. If I did not bring the powder and 10,000 pounds, the gardaí would be phoned and they would be told where to get another box of it (cocaine),” Mr O'Connor said. Around the start of 2000 in his house outside Macroom, men broke in. Mr O'Connor said he was dragged out of the room by the ankles and beaten severely with the butt of a shotgun by a man who said “I'd spoiled Eddie's Christmas by not returning the package... The men went out of the house and got into a car. Eddie Buckley was driving and drove off.”
Buckley denied all charges. He was convicted of demanding 4,000 punts with menaces from John O'Connor in the name of the IRA between April and June 1999 and assault causing harm to Mr O'Connor on February 5 2000.
The jury found him not guilty of demanding £10,000 while threatening to harm Mr O'Connor's children, possession of cocaine at Togher Road on October 31 1999, robbing Catherine Deasy of 10,000 punts at Grenville, Lissarda, Macroom, County Cork, on February 5 and possession of shotgun with intent to demand money with menaces at Grenville, on February 5.
