Man tells court he 'found' €490,500 of counterfeit money

A man who claimed he found nearly half a million euro of "high quality" counterfeit money in a laneway has been sentenced to three years in prison at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.

John Gleeson (aged 42), of Phibsboro Road, Dublin 7, pleaded guilty to possession of counterfeit currency with a face value of €490,500 at his home on December 18, 2006.

Judge Katherine Delahunt said that the offence was at the more "serious end of the scale" because of the amount of money involved.

She accepted that Gleeson had started abusing alcohol again after the "tragic death" of his wife, but accepted that he has since "actively" sought assistance for his addiction.

Judge Delahunt suspended the last 12 months of the sentence having taken into account Gleeson’s cooperation with the Garda investigation.

Detective Garda John Fitzgerald told Mr Dominic McGinn BL, prosecuting, that they searched Gleeson’s home on foot of confidential information and found 981 counterfeit €500 notes in various locations around the house including a dresser drawer and under the mattress.

Det Gda Fitzgerald said the notes were of a "high quality" and the makers had attempted to copy security features such as the hologram and security thread.

Gleeson, who has two previous convictions, told gardaí that he had found the money in a nearby laneway about six weeks earlier.

Det Gda Fitzgerald agreed with Ms Anne Marie Lawlor BL, defending Gleeson, that there was no evidence to refute this explanation, but he said he did not find the account credible.

Ms Lawlor said her client had a nervous breakdown following the death of his wife a number of years ago and his three children had been taken into foster care with other family members.

She said he had begun abusing alcohol but had recently started addressing this problem and has been attending for treatment. He had never served prison time and had not come to the attention of the gardaí in almost 20 years.

Ms Lawlor said he was aware this was a serious offence and he had dealt with the investigation in a "mature and pragmatic way".