The jury in the trial of a financial consultant who denied defrauding a former Galway bookie of £124,000 failed to reach a verdict yesterday on four charges before it at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.
Judge Raymond Groarke discharged the jury and remanded the accused man on continuing bail for the fixing of a new date for his trial. The jury spent over three hours in deliberations after a six-day trial.
Mr James Alan Conlan (51), of Ardnataggle, O'Brien's Bridge, Killaloe, Co Clare, originally faced five charges involving £124,000, which was the property of Mrs Fiona Connelly, Caritas House, Ballybane Road, Galway.
He pleaded not guilty to three charges of fraudulent conversion of sums of £66,212, £24,000 and £33,789 on dates from September 20th, 1991, to December 9th, 1992, and to one charge of obtaining £24,000 from Mrs Connelly by false pretences.
He was found not guilty by direction of Judge Groarke of a fifth charge of larceny of the £24,000 on December 4th, 1992, on the application of Mr Erwan Mill Arden SC, defending, at the end of the prosecution case.
Mr Michael McMahon SC, prosecuting, told the jury at the opening of the trial that Mr Conlan was managing director of Ryehill Assurance and Investments and Ryehill Consultancy Ireland Ltd, of Ryehill House, Fitzwilliam Square, Dublin, when the offences were alleged to have been committed.