The veteran criminal Gerry Hutch, known as ‘The Monk’, is wanted in Ireland to face criminal charges over a fatal gun attack at the Regency Hotel in Dublin.
An Garda Síochána has investigated the 2016 attack, which was linked to the Kinahan-Hutch feud and significantly escalated that feud, and a file has now been submitted to the DPP about Mr Hutch’s alleged involvement, with a direction issued to charge him.
On the basis of that direction, gardaí applied to the High Court for a European arrest warrant for Mr Hutch, which was granted. The warrant has now been circulated to law enforcement across Europe, with Mr Hutch facing arrest and extradition if located in Europe, though he can fight the process.
The 58-year-old Dubliner has been abroad in recent years and for much of that time his location has not been known to law enforcement in the Republic.
The last time he was seen in Dublin was for the funeral of his brother Eddie Hutch (59), who was shot dead outside his home in Dublin’s north inner city on February 8th, 2016, just days after the attack at the Regency Hotel.
That incident at the Regency Hotel occurred on February 5th, 2016 when a group of men dressed in mock Garda ERU uniforms and armed with AK47s burst into a weigh-in event for a boxing tournament.
Daniel Kinahan, the Dublin criminal named in court as a leading figure in the Kinahan cartel, was at the event and gardaí believe he was the gunmen’s main target. However, he managed to flee to safety as several other men were shot, including David Byrne (34) from Crumlin, who died from his injuries.
Gardaí have always believed the attack on the Regency Hotel was a revenge incident for the murder in Spain in September, 2015, of Gary Hutch (34).
Earlier in 2015, Gary Hutch, a nephew of Gerry Hutch and one-time member of the Kinahan cartel, had fallen out with the cartel and had tried to shoot at some of its members, though he wounded an innocent person not involved in crime.
Cartel blamed
In Dublin, the Hutch family tried to reach a deal with the Kinahan cartel that ensured a sum of money was paid to them in return for a guarantee Gary Hutch would not be harmed.
When the money was paid, Gary Hutch returned to Spain but was shot dead there. Gardaí believe his associates then carried out the attack on the Regency Hotel as they blamed the cartel for his murder.
While Gary Hutch’s murder effectively began the Kinahan-Hutch feud, the Regency Hotel attack escalated it and began a series of murderous attacks, mostly in Dublin, in the following years. While the dispute has dissipated in recent years, 18 murders have been linked to it to date.
In March, 2019, The Irish Times published the first official account from the Garda force alleging that Gerry Hutch was a leader in the feud. That detail arose during evidence presented in affidavits to the courts during actions against Dublin gang leader Liam Byrne and his associates by the Criminal Assets Bureau (Cab).
It stated the feud was between Daniel Kinahan (43) and two of his associates in Dublin - David Byrne (40) and Freddie Thompson (41) - on one side and a group led by Gerry Hutch on the other.
The evidence to the court named Daniel Kinahan as a lead figure in the Kinahan cartel and said Liam Byrne was the leader of the “Byrne organised crime group” in Dublin, which Cab said worked alongside the international Kinahan cartel. The evidence further stated Freddie Thompson was the previous leader of the group led by David Byrne.
Cab’s evidence stated “the Hutch organised crime group” was feuding with Daniel Kinahan, Liam Byrne, Freddie Thompson and their associates and that the Hutch group was led by Gerry Hutch. He has been linked to multimillion armed robberies in the 1980s and 1990s. He previously reached a settlement with Cab after a judgement of almost £2 million.
Gerry Hutch insisted in the past he had stepped away from crime.
