Limerick man jailed for two years for conning pensioner

A Limerick man who tricked an 82 year-old Dubliner out of €600 by pretending to clean his gutters has been sentenced to two years in prison.

Patrick O'Brien (30) pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to dishonestly inducing money from Maurice O'Connell on March 20th last year.

Mr O’Brien, a father-of-one from Abbeyfeale in Co Limerick, was jailed for three years earlier this month for a similar offence.

Garda Shane Whelan told Melanie Greally BL, prosecuting, that another man was involved in the offence but was never identified by gardai­.

Mr O’Connell had been at his home in Rathfarnham when the doorbell rang and O’Brien and an older man offered to clean his gutters for €35.

They put up a ladder but after a few minutes they came down and told Mr O’Connell it would be a much bigger job than anticipated, as there was “water everywhere” and it was pouring into the neighbour’s house.

They didn’t agree a new price but the older man assured Mr O’Connell he “wouldn’t be hard on him”.

After 15 minutes, the men came down from the roof and said they were finished the work and it would cost €800.

Mr O’Connell said the price was a bit high and he didn’t have the cash on him, but the men offered to take him to an ATM.

They drove Mr O’Connell to a bank machine in Rathfarnham Shopping Centre where he withdrew the maximum daily allowance of €600.

They brought him home and were discussing the outstanding €200 when Mr O’Connell’s daughter phoned and told the men to leave the house or she would call gardai.

Mr O’Brien was later arrested on the basis of fingerprint evidence and admitted everything, saying he had taken half of the €600.

He has 17 previous convictions, all for minor offences except for the most recent which resulted in a three-year sentence.

Vincent Heneghan BL, defending, said it had been “very mean” to pick on an old man.

He said Mr O’Brien is one of 13 children and has never held down a proper job, and that alcohol and gambling were his “demons”.

Judge Sarah Berkeley sentenced Mr O'Brien to two years in prison with the final 12 months suspended. The sentence is to run consecutively to the three-year term Mr O'Brien received earlier this month.