The chairman wanted the money for a political contribution, the financial controller phoned the solicitor at least twice to arrange the transfer of the money, the accountant collected it and the managing director went with him to the bank.
The money in question is the payment to Mr Ray Burke and the executives were all working for JMSE at the time of the payment in June 1989. Yet JMSE spent 18 months, from the time of the first newspaper allegation in March 1996, denying it had given any money to Mr Burke. Finally, it was Mr Burke - and not the company - who revealed details of the payment to the Dail in September 1997.
This is a central conundrum facing JMSE at this tribunal - how to explain why the company was unable to discover for so long it had made a £30,000 payment when so many of its employees had a hand in the movement of the money. And why it so categorically denied to journalists and a leading politician, Mr Dermot Ahern, that it had made any payment.
For the first time in six days, Mr Joseph Murphy jnr took some serious "hits" yesterday as Mr Hugh Mohan, barrister for Mr Ahern, launched a serious attack on his credibility.
Mr Mohan accused the witness of giving Mr Ahern a "false impression" by telling him at their two meetings in June/July 1997 that JMSE had made no payment. Mr Ahern had been sent by the Taoiseach to interview Mr Murphy about the allegations then circulating about JMSE and Mr Burke.
Mr Murphy at first denied counsel's charge, saying he had informed the politician of his "knowledge at the time".
But Mr Mohan insisted that the witness had only carried out the most cursory check within the company and was in no position to provide the "categoric" assurance he had given to Mr Ahern. He suggested Mr Murphy thought that the matter would "die down again" in a few weeks once Mr Burke had been appointed to the Cabinet.
Mr Murphy denied this, but eventually admitted that the information he gave Mr Ahern was wrong. It was given in good faith, however, he insisted.
The foundation-stone of the JMSE defence since the tribunal started has been to assert that Mr James Gogarty, the then chairman, was on a "frolic" of his own in making the payment to Mr Burke without the knowledge of the company. But with each passing day, new details emerge that clearly show other employees must have known something about the payment.
Yesterday, for example, we learned that Mr Roger Copsey, the former financial controller, says Mr Gogarty asked him to supply the money as a political contribution. Mr Copsey rang the company solicitor, Mr Denis McArdle, to arrange the transfer of funds. He says Mr Gogarty wanted part of the money in cash so it would be spent on posters in the impending election.
In addition, it emerged that the managing director, Mr Frank Reynolds, now accepts he may have accompanied the accountant to collect the money, though Mr Reynolds insists he did not know anything about the withdrawal or what it was for.
Mr Mohan asked why Mr Murphy went straight from his second meeting with Mr Ahern to Mr Copsey's office. Mr Murphy explained: "There was a slight concern there and I wanted to check it with Mr Copsey."
Just hours after his denial to Mr Ahern, Mr Murphy learned that there may indeed have been some sort of political payment. So why didn't he go back to Mr Ahern and tell him he had given him misleading information?
Mr Murphy yesterday gave three reasons for his non-action. First, he wanted to get all the information and complete the "jigsaw puzzle" before telling Mr Ahern. Second, he had personal problems with family illnesses at the time and "my priorities had changed". Third, he had taken legal advice.
Under pressure from Mr Mohan, Mr Murphy repeatedly insisted that "I would have rung Mr Ahern, definitely" except for the politician's call on that morning.
Mr Murphy made a memo of these phone-calls with Mr Ahern.
Disputes between the lawyers over the phone records of these calls turned into protracted legal wrangling, and eventually the witness asked to be allowed go to the toilet. In the circumstances, the chairman opted to adjourn proceedings for the day.
pcullen@irish-times.ie