Gogarty threatened employers over pension, counsel claims

Mr James Gogarty was not content with his pension benefits which amounted to more than £700,000 and threatened the Murphy group that he would "destroy" it unless he received an additional £400,000, the Flood tribunal was told yesterday.

Continuing cross-examination, Mr Garrett Cooney SC, for the Murphy group, said Mr Gogarty had conducted the negotiations for the sale of Murphy lands in north County Dublin in 1989 and in a contemporaneous note wondered if he would be able to get £10,000 commission from auctioneers Duffy Mangan Butler.

Mr Cooney said Mr Gogarty never explained why he accepted a price of £2.3 million for the lands when a figure of £2.4 million had originally been agreed.

Mr Cooney said the demand for an additional £400,000 was made to Mr Joe Murphy jnr in the Berkeley Court Hotel in February 1992, when Mr Gogarty warned that the Murphy group would regret it if it did not pay.

Referring to the contemporaneous notes, which were acknowledged by Mr Gogarty to be his, Mr Cooney read: "Duffy, would he give me 10K commission".

Mr Cooney put it to Mr Gogarty that "You were about to tell the Duffys that you had concluded or were on the point of concluding a deal and were wondering whether or not you would get £10,000 from the Duffys as a back-hander, as it were".

"That is wrong", replied Mr Gogarty who added: "Murphys would begrudge if I got anything like that and I was dealing with Duffy Mangan and Butler for nearly 20 years on Mr Murphy's land - the leases and all that kind of thing - and I never sought, nor got, a penny from them."

When pressed, Mr Gogarty continued: "he begrudged me £400 or £500 expenses on my consultancy, begrudged a lousy £400 or £500 expenses on me." Mr Cooney again referred to the words "Duffy would he give me 10K commission".

"Now are you saying that should be interpreted as `Fred Duffy offered me £10,000 commission but I refused it', is that right?". Mr Gogarty responded: "That's right, yes".

Mr Cooney said the notes also showed a meeting had been arranged with Mr Michael Bailey in the Harp Inn in Swords on October 14th, 1989, at 11.30 a.m.

Mr Gogarty had previously given evidence he had no recollection of such a meeting, and he repeated that assertion yesterday. Mr Cooney suggested "one of the things you must inevitably have been discussing with Mr Bailey during this period leading up to the contract (of sale) was the price that he would pay" for the lands.

Mr Gogarty said he could not remember the detailed negotiations and had no explanation for the fact the sale price, originally set at £2.4 million, dropped to £2.3 million.

He agreed he was not satisfied with the pension benefit he got, saying "I didn't give a damn, but I believe they did me out of a lot more money."

Mr Cooney alleged that at a meeting in the Berkeley Court Hotel in February 1992 Mr Gogarty was aggressive towards Mr Joe Murphy jnr and said if he did not get his own way he "had plans for the Murphy group".

Mr Cooney further said that a second meeting was held at the Berkeley Court Hotel on February 17th in which Mr Gogarty had banged the table and said he wanted a further £400,000. "And if you did not get it you would hold him responsible and you would annoy him until the day he died", Mr Cooney suggested.

Mr Gogarty denied the allegations, saying he had met Mr Murphy jnr at the Berkley Court just once because he was concerned about the tax treatment of his pension.

Mr Frank Callanan SC, for Mr Gogarty, said that he had indicated that a draft statement of August 28th, 1997 referred to at the tribunal this week had never been in anyway signe or adopted by Mr James Gogarty. In fact the position was that there was a typed version of the draft in similar terms which Mr Gogarty did sign on September 25th, 1997.