Gambling addict stole €135k from restaurant

A former teacher who led a “remarkably ordinary life” until he became addicted to online poker in his 60s is to be sentenced for defrauding an Eddie Rockets restaurant of €135,000.

John Carlos, aged 74, who was also a part-time accountant, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to forging signatures on cheques, altering amounts, and stealing money from his former employer, Eddie Rockets franchise owner Peter Fortune, on dates between 2005 and 2008.

The court heard Carlos, of Bolands Court, Gort, Co Galway, had been a respected teacher and accountant until he became a “hopeless and deeply addicted gambler”.