A bar manager was yesterday given a three- month suspended jail sentence for having fake vodka in his Dublin pub.
Mr Thomas Mulligan (50), Ashtown Grove, Dublin, admitted having 24 1.1 litre bottles of a spirit illegally bearing the brand name Smirnoff at the Cobblestone Bar, North King Street, on November 16, 2001.
Dublin District Court heard the liquid in the bottles was tested and found to be only 33.4 per cent proof, not 37.5 as is legally required. It did not contain any of the unique ingredients of Smirnoff. Mr Mulligan told Customs and Excise investigators that he bought two cartons from a customer in a pub, paying €170 in cash with no receipts. The customer could not be traced.
Mr Mulligan's lawyer, Ms Dorothy Collins, said he had bought them believing they were genuine because the man told them they had come from a bar which was closing down. He also bought a glass washer along with the drink. As an employee of the company which owns the pub, he had not personally benefited. Judge James McDonnell said figures just published in relation to drink consumption in this country showed the licensing business was very profitable. This type of "carry-on" was driven by greed at the expense of the consumer.
As the maximum fine was only €1,265, the only way he could deal with the case was by a suspended prison sentence. He ordered that the three months' jail be suspended on condition that Mr Mulligan be of good behaviour for five years.
A separate prosecution against the licensee of the pub, Edenrose Ltd, was withdrawn when Mr Mulligan admitted responsibility.