Former garda pleads guilty to theft

A former garda faces up to 10 years in prison for stealing thousands of euro from his colleagues and an 82-year-old woman.

David Foran (aged 29) responded to a burglary at the elderly woman’s home and found she had hidden nearly €2,000 in her bedroom. He later returned to steal the cash. He also collected money from his garda colleagues to organise events which he then used to pay his own debts.

Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard Foran was nearly €500,000 in debt because of a house he had built with his new wife. He has now been dismissed from the gardaí and his marriage has ended.

After hearing the evidence, Judge Yvonne Murphy adjourned that matter until January but warned she is “making no promises.” She called it an unsophisticated crime but noted he has now repaid all the stolen money. She ordered a probation and psychiatric report be prepared on Foran and remanded him on continuing bail.

Foran of Kinsale in Cork and formerly stationed at Fitzgibbon Street Garda Station, Dublin pleaded guilty to the theft of property worth €1,950 from the woman in Phibsboro between October 10 and 17, 2009. He further pleaded to four counts of stealing money collected from his colleagues and one count of using a false instrument at Jury’s Hotel, Limerick, all between October and November 2009.

Detective Inspector Francis Sweeney told prosecuting counsel, Mr Michael Bowman BL, that Foran became a garda in 2007 and was stationed at Fitzgibbon Street Garda Station when he responded to a burglary at the home of the elderly woman.

Burglars had broken into the sheltered housing where she lived but left without taking anything.

When Gda Foran arrived with a colleague the woman showed them the pillow cases where she kept her money. She received a pension from An Post where she worked all her life and kept the money at home as she didn’t trust banks.

The woman left for Cork the next day for a week during which time Foran returned. He gained access to the property by telling the management he was continuing his investigation and while there he took the money.

He later claimed to gardaí that he returned a second time to replace the money but as he was doing so he got a call from his mother-in-law. She told him a letter had arrived looking for payment for his wedding rings. She said if he didn’t repay it he would lose his wife so he left without replacing the cash.

When she discovered the money was missing, the woman phoned gardaí who began an investigation. The investigating garda then passed the case to Gda Foran who said he would “take care of it”. However he never contacted the woman again.

The court also heard how Foran organised a number of collections for social events for his garda colleagues including a Christmas party in Jury’s Hotel in Limerick. He collected €13,030 for the event but used this to pay his debts instead.

When he had to make part-payment for the hotel after the event he used a credit card number belonging to a colleague along with a forged letter of authorisation on garda headed note paper.

Other incidents of theft from colleagues included a collection for a garda who was leaving, a collection for a trip to Anfield for a football match and money collected for a Christmas party. An investigation was begun after the Jury’s incident when his colleague noticed the money missing on his credit card.

As he started his shift on December 3, 2009 Foran was arrested. As he sat in the back of the garda car he confessed to stealing from the elderly woman. He was dismissed from the force soon afterwards.