A garda found guilty of forgery and corruption charges in connection with the issuing of taxi licences was jailed for 12 months by Judge Frank O'Donnell at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.
Oliver O'Connor (42), of Castleknock Way, Castleknock, Dublin, and his co-accused, Pius Knowles (68), a taxi-driver, with an address at Rathdown Square, North Circular Road, Dublin, pleaded guilty to four charges of forgery and corruption.
They were both jailed for one year after they pleaded guilty to four charges in connection with the taxi licences. O'Connor admitted two charges of forgery and a further two of accepting bribes of £400 and £260. Knowles pleaded guilty to two charges of forgery and two charges of offering bribes of £400 and £260 to O'Connor.
Judge O'Donnell said the charges against the two were very serious. "The root of trust that the public has in the institutions of State had been severely damaged. Public confidence has been seriously undermined," he said.
The judge said O'Connor had been in a position of trust and his reputation and the reputation of the Garda had been severely damaged. "The maximum sentence I can impose in a case like this is two years' imprisonment and I have concerns whether this is sufficient, but I will take into account the guilty pleas and the mitigating evidence I heard."
Judge O'Donnell said he hoped procedures had been tightened in light of these incidents. He refused leave to appeal both sentences.
Det Chief Supt Martin Donnellan told prosecuting counsel Mr Patrick Gageby SC the incidents began after O'Connor was appointed public service vehicle inspector in 1990.
Supt Donnellan said O'Connor was promoted in 1990 to the Garda Carriage Office where his duties included issuing taxi licences for public service vehicles.
O'Connor would forge the signature of the superintendent on licence applications, approximately 70 per cent of which were channelled through Knowles, who had his own hackney company.
Supt Donnellan said O'Connor and Knowles reportedly got £200 for each licence. O'Connor was reported to have accumulated £11,000 during the period. However, there was no evidence to suggest that either man was in it for financial gain.
The matter came to light in 1997 when Supt Donnellan received an anonymous phone call alerting him. Warrants were issued to search O'Connor's locker in Kevin Street Garda station and the homes of both defendants. A sum of £6,400 in cash was found in the locker, while gardai found two applications with cheques of £200 attached at O'Connor's home. They also located 14 licences at Knowles's home.
Dr Louis O'Carroll, a consultant psychiatrist, told defence counsel Mr Pat O'Connell he had been treating O'Connor since January 1998 and described him as a pathetic figure whose wife left him because of these charges and because of his chronic alcohol problem.
Mr O'Connell said his client did not deal with criminal law in the Garda and therefore did not realise the seriousness of these offences. Knowles said the incidents began during a State visit to Ireland when a colleague of his changed his car and was unsure whether he would have the proper documentation. Knowles sought O'Connor's help. He filled out the necessary forms. As this continued, Knowles questioned the legality of their actions. O'Connor insisted it was all above board.