Idea that criminal 'mastermind' would take souvenir of crime is 'daft', defence lawyers tell trial

By Declan Brennan

Lawyers for a man accused of being the “mastermind” of a tiger kidnap gang have described as “daft” the idea that a highly organised criminal would take a souvenir of the crime into his home.

Mark Farrelly (47) of Moatview Court, Priorswood, Coolock and three other men deny the false imprisonment of cash-in-transit driver Paul Richardson and his family at their home in Raheny, Dublin on March 13 and 14, 2005. They also deny robbery of €2.28m.

The jury have heard that armed raiders burst into the Richardson family home and drove Marie Richardson and her two sons to the Dublin mountains while forcing her husband to go to work and drop off the cash in a prearranged spot.

This trial, the fifth one to deal with the crime, began last January and closing speeches began on Wednesday. Dominic McGinn SC, prosecuting, told the jury that the gang had an organised command structure and that Mr Farrelly kept control of events on the night.

Today the jury at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard the closing speech from Ciaran O'Loughlin SC, defending Mr Farrelly.

The jury previously heard evidence that a fluorescent jacket found in Mr Farrelly's wardrobe was later identified as belonging to Tony Coffey, whose car was stolen days before it was later used in the kidnap. Mr Coffey last identified the jacket as his and his DNA was also found on it.

Mr McGinn told the jury that the jacket was in Mr Coffey's car before it was stolen and that it was perhaps a “foolish thing” for Mr Farrelly to keep it but said “mistakes happen, that's how criminals get caught”.

Mr O'Loughlin said this was “as daft as any proposition I have ever heard”.

“The idea that a highly organised criminal would take a souvenir is off the wall daft,” he said. He said it was an insult to the intelligence of the jurors to suggest the jacket found in Mr Farrelly's home was the same jacket taken from the stolen car.

He criticised alleged links between Mr Farrelly and a phone number, referred to as 'the grey phone', which was part of a network of phones allegedly used by the criminal gang.

He said that the investigation began around the fact that the gang allowed Mr Richardson, who was held overnight in the family home, to call his wife while she was being held in the mountains.

The call was made between two phones used by the raiders and investigators used phone analysis to identify these numbers and other numbers linked to these, the trial has heard.

Mr O'Loughlin described this trawl as a “fishing exercise” and said investigators decided at an early stage the grey phone was used by Mr Farrelly.

From that day forward every effort was made to shoehorn every piece of evidence into that prejudice.

He said it was inevitable that people in the network of phones generated by gardaí were going to know one another because that's how investigators assembled the numbers.

“It was unlikely any one of them would know everybody,” he said. He said there is no evidence that his client knew all of the people of whom he is the alleged mastermind.

He said that what happened on the night was a “monstrous crime” but that the investigation, while extensive, wasn't thorough.

Mr Farrelly, Christopher Corcoran (70) of Rosedale, Raheny, Dublin, Niall Byrne (36) of Crumlin Road Flats, Dublin and David Byrne (45) Old Brazil Way, Knocksedan, Swords have all pleaded not guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to the false imprisonment of Securicor driver Paul Richardson and his family at their home at Ashcroft, Raheny, Dublin, on March 13 and 14, 2005.

The four have also pleaded not guilty to robbing Mr Richardson and Securicor of €2.28 million on March 14, 2005. The trial will resume on Tuesday with continuing speeches.