Sale of houses a bonanza for State

THE State pocketed €94,000 more than expected yesterday when it sold six properties belonging to convicted criminal Patrick Mitchell.

The Criminal Assets Bureau raised €1.059 million for his six houses at an auction in Dublin. The properties, all in the capital, had been given an overall guide price of €965,000 by Lowe & Associates, the auctioneer company for CAB.

Mitchell, the brother of top gang boss George Mitchell, known as “The Penguin”, owed more than €1m in taxes and interest to the State. He agreed to sell the houses to pay his debt.