A Dublin man who took part in a money laundering operation involving the theft of €52,000 has been given a suspended sentence to allow him to care for his terminally-ill partner.
Sentencing Mark Carty on Friday, Judge Martin Nolan said that but for the fact that Carty’s partner and the mother of his child has not been given long to live, he would have handed down a jail sentence of two years.
But the judge noted the court can take into account the effect a prison sentence will have on third parties, such as Carty’s partner and child. “His partner is in dire need of his help, as is his child,” Judge Nolan said. “On that basis, I’m not going to imprison him.”
He handed down a sentence of two years and suspended it on a number of conditions.
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Carty (55) of The Mill Race, Chapelizod Village, pleaded guilty to a number of counts relating to the theft of approximately €13,000 from the bank account of injured party Edward Glennon during the month of January 2017.
Carty further admitted fraudulently obtaining a Visa debit card in the name of Edward Glennon on April 6th, 2019 and using it to access Mr Glennon’s bank account to check his balance.
At a sentence hearing this week, Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard there are two other co-accused in the case, one of whom has already received a three-year suspended sentence.
Garda James Duffy told Karl Finnegan BL, prosecuting, that Mr Glennon contacted gardaí in May 2017 to say he had noticed a number of unauthorised withdrawals from his Bank of Ireland account, totalling just over €52,000.
Mr Glennon said someone had obtained a Visa debit card in his name and had also set up a Banking 365 online account in his name.
The court heard that the co-accused persons in the case were responsible for the bulk of the thefts, while Carty had stolen a total of €13,662 in transactions from various post offices and one Bank of Ireland ATM in Dublin.
CCTV footage from post offices at Rathmines, Bawnogue in Clondalkin, Castleknock and Blanchardstown during January 2017 was used to identify the accused.
The court heard that some of the CCTV footage was played on an episode of Crimecall on RTÉ in October 2018, after which an anonymous caller phoned gardaí and identified Carty as one of the suspects.
Gardaí got a warrant to search Carty’s home in April 2019, after the Department of Social Affairs confirmed his identity and photo.
Carty and his partner were present at the time and gardaí found a black Helly Hanson jacket which had been worn by Carty in the CCTV footage.
Gardaí also seized several mobile phones, one of which contained screenshots of the CrimeCall programme which had been either sent or received by Carty.
Carty was arrested in August 2019 and denied all knowledge of the thefts, telling gardaí he was a recovering drug addict with a gambling problem and that his sole income was from social welfare.
He has 25 previous convictions.
The court heard that the injured party Mr Glennon has been fully reimbursed for the monies stolen from him, but that Bank of Ireland remains at a loss.
Seoirse Ó Dúnlaing BL, defending, said Carty was acting under the control of other people and was not the “principal mover” in the money-laundering operation.
“He was used and seen as dispensable by those persons because he has a gambling problem,” said Mr Ó Dúnlaing.
He added that Carty was on disability and had not been able to work for a number of years due to his diabetes.
The court heard that Carty was introduced to drugs at the age of 16 but is now engaging with drug treatment facilities and is on 45ml of methadone.
Mr Ó Dúnlaing said Carty’s partner, the mother of their eight-year-old child, was diagnosed with Stage 4 metastatic cancer in 2020 and is currently under palliative care.
Carty is her full-time carer at home, the court heard.
Mr Ó Dúnlaing asked the court on Carty’s behalf whether a six-month stay could be placed on any sentence imposed on him, to allow him to spend time with his daughter and family.
Judge Nolan said he had considered deferring Carty’s sentence until after the “inevitable” has occurred, referring to his partner’s prognosis. But he noted that the couple’s child will be in need of support at that time.
Carty has pleaded not guilty to a further count of possessing a stolen mobile phone at his home address on April 6th, 2019. This matter was adjourned to February 2nd to see if the Director of Public Prosecutions wishes to seek a trial date in this matter.
Judge Nolan noted that he did not believe a trial was necessary for this count, noting it was “inextricably linked” to the crimes for which he had already sentenced Carty.