A former employee of Cork County Council who made almost £5,000 from issuing bogus driving licences was given a three-year suspended jail sentence when he pleaded guilty to 21 offences at Cork Circuit Criminal Court yesterday.
Edmond Fitzgerald (30), Turners Cross, Cork, admitted issuing the licences for between £100 and £300 while working at the Cork motor taxation department in 1997 and 1998.
Some of the licences went to people who hadn't passed a test, while other licences had categories added without the recipient having passed the requisite tests, the court heard.
Fitzgerald pleaded guilty to 21 charges, including eight of corruptly receiving cash for issuing licences while an officer of Cork County Council.
He admitted a further seven counts of conspiring with Jeremiah Falvey and John Cody to issue licences to people not entitled to them, and to six counts of stealing licences. Falvey (39), of Mallow, Cork and Cody (32), of Killeagh, admitted conspiring to get licences - all for people not entitled to them.
The fraud came to light when council officials found licences had been issued without certificates of competence. They found they all bore Fitzgerald's signature.
Gardai were called in and a major investigation was started as they checked council motor taxation records to find out how many bogus licences were issued, Mr Sean O Donnabhain, prosecuting, told yesterday's hearing.
Det Garda Aidan Murphy said he was satisfied all the bogus licences had been uncovered and nearly all had been recovered. Some had been destroyed by recipients who heard radio reports of the Garda investigation.
Fitzgerald came to the gardai voluntarily and co-operated fully, Det Garda Murphy said, and this had saved gardai a lot of time as there was a significant amount of paperwork to be checked.
Fitzgerald began issuing the fake licences after a chance meeting with Falvey and Cody, when he casually mentioned where he worked and arranged licences for them and their friends, he added.
Falvey, a father of two, and Cody, a father of one, both got licences solely for family and friends. They did not benefit financially, Det Garda Murphy said.
Fitzgerald - a UCC honours commerce graduate - told the court he deeply regretted what he had done and offered to pay back all he had gained.
Judge Patrick Moran said he took a very serious view of the matter, particularly the breach of trust by Fitzgerald in his job. He said he was surprised that somebody with the benefit of Fitzgerald's education should get involved in such fraud.
"It surprises me but I suppose the temptation is always there and I note that there was an element of bravado involved," he said, noting that Det Garda Murphy had said he didn't believe Fitzgerald would reoffend and that he had co-operated fully.
He took both factors into account as he ordered Fitzgerald to pay £2,500 to the Cork branch of St Vincent De Paul, and while he had originally considered imposing a jail sentence, he now believed a three-year suspended sentence was appropriate.
Turning to Falvey and Cody, he noted they didn't gain financially and Garda evidence was they were unlikely to reoffend. He fined each of them £2,500 on the conspiracy charges.