Court hears detective was offered 'bribes' to write statement in case

A detective garda told the Court of Criminal Appeal yesterday he was offered "bribes" by Chief Supt Denis Fitzpatrick and Chief Supt Austin McNally to write a statement in relation to the McBrearty case.

Det Garda Noel McMahon said Chief Supt Fitzpatrick appeared to believe Supt Kevin Lennon, who had been involved in investigating the McBrearty case (relating to allegations by Co Donegal publican Frank McBrearty of sustained Garda harassment against his family), had confided in Det McMahon about McBrearty.

While in Letterkenny Garda station on July 16th 1999, Det McMahon said he told Supt Fitzpatrick the detective knew nothing about McBrearty but Supt Fitzpatrick had given the detective some paper and had said he'd tell him what to write.

The detective said Supt Fitzpatrick and Supt Lennon had been great friends but "fell out" over McBrearty. Supt Lennon had been involved in re-investigating the McBrearty affair. Det McMahon said he was asked to go to Supt Fitzpatrick's office on July 16th 1999. A woman garda whom he was friendly with was also brought up and at one point was pushed into a broom cupboard by Supt McNally. He said he and the woman garda were told that, if Det McMahon wrote a statement, he and the woman garda would be posted to another station together, given the same rosters and the detective could continue to work as a detective garda.

Det McMahon said he had said he would write a statement clarifying a statement he had previously written but Supt Fitzpatrick had said he didn't want the detective to clarify anything and he, Supt Fitzpatrick, woud tell the detective what to write. The detective said he had refused. He was then suspended and the woman garda was taken to Sligo and told not to set foot in Donegal again.

Det McMahon also said it appeared a statement he had made to the Carty inquiry into alleged Garda corruption in Co Donegal had been tampered with. It appeared that a line stating "the Point Inn is clean" had been inserted after he had put his signature to the statement. He always signed his name on the line below the last line of text but, in this case, his signature was immediately after the words "the Point Inn is clean" and on the same line as the text.

He had been asked by the Carty team about the 1992 Garda operation at the Point Inn, Inishowen, in several interviews. He would not have said "the Point Inn is clean" because that was ambiguous. He had told the Carty team the Garda operation at the Point was clean.

Det McMahon said he was "totally unhappy" with the Carty inquiry in relation to how they had handled "touts" and exposed them. He was also unhappy with other aspects of the inquiry, including the failure to outline allegations against him and to provide him with certain documents.

Det McMahon, formerly attached to Buncrana Garda station, was being cross-examined in the continuing hearing of an application by Mr Frank Shortt for a certificate declaring a miscarriage of justice arising from his conviction in 1995 for knowingly allowing the sale of drugs in August 1992 at his nightclub, the Point Inn. The conviction was quashed in November 2000 with no opposition from the DPP.

Yesterday, Det McMahon said Supt Lennon had expressed concern to the detective in 1996 that a Det Sgt Jim Leheny had told Supt Lennon that Det McMahon had said certain things about him. He said Supt Lennon was concerned the detective had allegedly said Supt Lennon was having extra-marital affairs.

Det McMahon said he had told Supt Lennon this was "pure bunkum" and had offered to put that in writing. He asked Supt Lennon for guidelines about what he should write and the superintendent gave him those. These stated, among other matters, that the detective had never known Supt Lennon to be engaged in any unlawful activity or operations during his career. He agreed that would have covered all the matters that have been covered in the court case.

Det McMahon said he wrote the letter because he wanted to prove to Supt Lennon he (the detective) was a friend.

Referring to his notebook, the detective said he had written notes about some of the matters Supt Lennon was concerned about. He said Supt Lennon had said Sgt Leheny had asked about who the superintendent "was riding". There was also a note stating "money?", "break-ins to offices . . ." and the names of two disco owners in Donegal town and Letterkenny whom the superintendent was friendly with. His notes also stated "Point Inn etc etc", "guns in Leheny's house" and "6,000". Det McMahon said he did not know what these words related to.

Mr Justice Hardiman asked did this not suggest, rightly or wrongly, that there was some matter in relation to the Point Inn which was the subject of some anxiety on Supt Lennon's part.

The hearing continues today.