A 60-year-old financial adviser was today sentenced to 10 years in jail after he was convicted of 10 counts of money laundering over £3 million stolen in the Northern Bank robbery in Belfast in December 2004.
Ted Cunningham of Woodbine Lodge, Farran, Co Cork had denied all 10 charges but was convicted last month on all counts by a jury on majority verdicts, following a 45-day trial before Judge Con Murphy at Cork Circuit Criminal Court.
Imposing sentence today, Judge Murphy observed that it was a very serious offence involving a very large sum of money and a variety of methods of disposal or laundering including many which involved innocent people.
"There is no doubt but that there was premeditation and planning involved and during the trial itself, he persisted right to the end with a concocted alibi that the Bulgarians were buying a pit in Shinrone (Co Offaly)," said Judge Murphy.
"It was a reasonably well constructed alibi and its genesis may have been before the Northern Bank raid took place," said Judge Murphy, adding that Cunningham had also persisted with a claim that he was coerced by gardaí into making certain admissions.
Cunningham had claimed that an off-camera interview memo in which he admitted knowing the money was from the Northern Bank raid and that former Bank of Scotland (Ireland) Chairman, Phil Flynn was behind the money laundering had been made under duress.
"He persisted right to the end of his trial that these various admissions were as a result of illness, lack of sleep, threats or inducements - it was found by the jury, as it was by me during the voir dire, that these admissions were made freely and voluntarily," he said.
There were some mitigating factors in Cunningham's favour including his age, poor health in that he suffers from a blood disorder, heriditary haemorrhagic telangiectasia and the fact that he had no previous convictions and had previously been of blameless good character.
But, Judge Murphy said, taking all the circumstances into account, he was sentencing him to 10 years on each of the 10 counts with the sentences to run concurrently and he backdated the sentence to March 27th last when Cunningham was first taken into custody.
Earlier, Judge Murphy had imposed a three-year suspended sentence on Cunningham's son, Timothy John Cunningham (33) from Church View, Farran who had pleaded guilty three weeks into the trial to a single count of money laundering over £3 million at Farran.
Judge Murphy said that he accepted the evidence of case officers, Supt Sean Healy that Cunningham Jnr's role in the money laundering operation was "minor" involving simply handling, sorting and storing the huge haul of cash for his father.
"He was merely a pawn, facilitating his father by counting, sorting and making some deliveries - he was under the influence of his father at the time and that was why he had any involvement and he was in no way the originator of the crime," said Judge Murphy.
Judge Murphy said that for Cunningham Jnr, it took "courage to plead guilty, which he did, in defiance of his father" and he noted that he had also facilitated the state in bringing the prosecution by returning voluntarily to Ireland from the US when he did not have to do so.
He also noted that Cunningham Jnr had no previous convictions and he believed that his guilty plea was an indication of his remorse and he accepted the evidence of Supt Healy that Cunningham Jnr was unlikely to re-offend.
He also noted that he had a serious medical condition involving epileptic fits which he was able to control with medication and he said that, taking all these mitigating factors into account, he believed the appropriate penalty was a three-year suspended jail term.