Cunningham trial jury set to retire

THE trial of Ted Cunningham on charges of money-laundering cash from the Northern Bank robbery is coming to an end and the jury will retire later today to consider their verdict.

The trial goes into its 44th day today at Cork Circuit Criminal Court where Cunningham, 60, of Woodbine Lodge, Farran, Co Cork, denies 10 charges of money-laundering arising out of the investigation of the robbery of £26.5million (€28.3m) from the Northern Bank in Belfast on December 20, 2004.

Judge Cornelius Murphy spent much of the last two days addressing the seven men and five women of the jury on legal issues they need to bear in mind.

He also give them a resumé of the evidence that they had heard from the 77 witnesses in the case.

The jury was sworn in on January 14 and warned then that the trial could last until Easter. The trial opened on January 20.

More than half the witnesses who gave evidence were members of An Garda Siochána, including officers of the Criminal Assets Bureau. Fifteen bank officials and 15 civilians also gave evidence.

Cunningham, who was not obliged to give any evidence, spent six days in the witness box.

Judge Murphy addressed the jury on what they could expect today. “There will be another hour or two in the resumé. After that you will retire to consider your verdict. Just in case, you might bring overnight bags with you. I know there is a difficulty with one of the members of the jury being sequestered but that may not arise.”

The judge then repeated a warning that he has given to the jury throughout this lengthy trial: “Do not under any circumstances discuss any aspect of this case with anyone.”

Defence senior counsel Ciarán O’Loughlin said they should acquit the accused because there was no evidence on which they could convict him. He said there was no proof that the money found in Cunningham’s house in Farran or money given by Cunningham to John Sheehan in Ballincollig, to Ballincollig car dealer Dan Joe Guerin or to the Douglas jewellers in Tullamore had come from the Northern Bank robbery.

Prosecution senior counsel, Marjorie Farrelly, told the jury: “If you follow the money backwards it won’t take you to England, it won’t take you to Bulgaria, it won’t take you to a letter coming from Kazakhstan.

“On any proof if you follow the money from under the bed of the Douglas’s, from a farm in Rathmore, from a safe in John Sheehan’s office, from the basement of Ted Cunningham’s house it will lead you all the way back through the organisation that robbed the Northern Bank cash centre on December 20, 2004.”

She added: “It is a matter for you to decide where the truth lies.”