CONVICTED RAPIST Christy Griffin has agreed a High Court settlement with the Criminal Assets Bureau (Cab) under which a house owned by him is to be sold under proceeds of crime legislation.
Griffin (39), Ridgewood Green, Swords, Dublin, who is serving a life sentence for the rape of a teenager, was in court yesterday when he agreed to the Cab taking possession of the house at Emmet Street, North Circular Road, Dublin.
He also agreed to the forfeiture to the State of more than €20,000 cash found in the hot press of his Swords home on April 21st, 2006. He consented to a further order giving €15,000 to the mother of the previous owner of the Emmet Street house, who died shortly before Griffin was about to buy it in 1996. The €15,000 had been lodged by Griffin into a joint account held by a solicitor for the deceased man’s mother and by Griffin’s own solicitor.
In an affidavit, the Cab’s chief officer Det Chief Supt John O’Mahoney said reliable intelligence indicated Griffin and his family had been identified as central to the importation and distribution of cocaine in Dublin’s north inner city.
Det Chief Supt O’Mahoney said he believed Griffin was in control of the Emmet Street property and had acquired it from the proceeds of crime.
Griffin operated a number of bank accounts involving a large number of transactions inconsistent with his being on social welfare from 1993 to 2001 and had no record of legitimate earnings, he said. There had been a number of lodgments to Griffin’s accounts, including one for €100,000 in 2002 which Griffin claimed was a loan from his sister’s boyfriend used for a deposit on his Swords house.
It was also established the proceeds of Griffin’s criminal activity were laundered through numerous bank accounts held in the names of various members of his family, Det Chief Supt O’Mahoney said.
In January 2003, €100,000 worth of cocaine was seized in a house at Crinan Strand, Sherriff Street, and Griffin’s nephew Gary O’Reilly was found with Griffin’s sister Jackie Griffin cutting up the drugs for distribution to street traders, he added.
Subsequent to this, Griffin was charged with failing to make income tax returns and the trial had yet to be held.
The Cab had also served Griffin with a tax assessment of €241,181 which he appealed and lost.
His counsel, Breffni Gordon, told the court Griffin disputed the contents of Det Chief Supt O’Mahoney’s affidavit alleging he was involved in drugs and insisted he had never been either arrested or charged under the misuse of drugs legislation.
Mr Justice Kevin Feeney made orders for the property and cash seized in Swords to be given to the Cab and appointed Frank Cassidy, Cab law officer, receiver over those. He also ordered that the mother of the previous owner of the house should not be identified.