Former FF councillor jailed for theft

Financial adviser Gary O’Flynn was jailed for three years — with the last two years suspended on his undertaking never to apply for a certificate to act as a solicitor.

The former Fianna Fáil councillor was jailed after a jury convicted him of stealing more than €6,000 from Eric Higgins — the man who turned to him for help dealing with serious debts.

Judge Seán Ó Donnabháin said: “[Mr Higgins] was up to his oxters in debt and he was in despair. He went to you [O’Flynn] and he relied on you. It is not the money, it is the breach. The shock [of Mr Higgins] was visible in the witness box. It is visible today.”

Referring to the challenges to the injured party in the trial and the manner in which O’Flynn presented his case, the judge referred to one particular point in the defendant’s own testimony: “O’Flynn stated that in fact it was Higgins should be in the dock because he expected [O’Flynn) to work for him for nothing. It was bizarre but that was the attitude Higgins had to deal with [from O’Flynn] up to the conviction. Since he went to prison, there has been a change. He admitted he wronged Higgins and he paid back the money he took from him. In my opinion, it has to be a custodial sentence.”

Mr Higgins said yesterday that everything about him was brought into question by the defence in the trial, extensively covered by the media.

“I was sniggered at [by O’Flynn] from the box at one point. On a guilty verdict, all of a sudden, the apologies flood in. Had he come with an apology two years ago, I would not be here at all. I could not accept it. As far as I am concerned, the gate is closed,” Mr Higgins said.

Tom Power, defence barrister, suggested it might be cathartic if O’Flynn apologised publicly to Mr Higgins in court yesterday. The injured party said he would rather if that did not happen.

O’Flynn had asked at the adjourned sentencing hearing last week for leniency to be shown to him. His father, Noel O’Flynn, former Fianna Fáil TD, was present to support his son, join in the apology to the victim, and to ask for leniency for his son.

Gary O’Flynn has been in jail since a jury returned 13 guilty verdicts against him in his deception trial in May and yesterday’s sentence was backdated to then.

O’Flynn said that week that he suffered from anxiety and had been on suicide watch in prison. The defendant’s father said his son needed help and the family were prepared to support him in returning to full health.

Judge Ó Donnabháin said last week of the treatment of Mr Higgins: “I have never seen such efforts [by a defence] to publicly humiliate a person as was made against Mr Higgins in the witness box.”

The jury of eight men and four women deliberated for more than two hours before returning unanimous verdicts of guilty on 13 counts related to complaints made by Eric Higgins last month after a five-day trial.

O’Flynn’s defence to all complaints were that the payments made by both complainants were for fees due to him for his work as a solicitor.

Mr Higgins said his understanding was that he was making weekly payments to an account nominated by O’Flynn to pay his creditors and he was shocked to find out from his creditors much later that the monies were not being sent on to them.

Gary O’Flynn, 39, with an address at Hayfield Drive, Castle Court, Whitechurch, Co Cork, had denied the charges.

Former builder Mr Higgins testified that he had debts to Bank of Scotland and Friends First and court judgments against him in relation to those debts when he got a letter from a firm called Debt Assist, rang them and met O’Flynn there.

“He told me he was also a solicitor and would engage with the institutions. He told me, ‘don’t worry, all will be fine’,” Mr Higgins said.