A BABYSITTER who was paid £55 a week had bought a £10,000 car, contracted to buy a £30,009 house, and put deposits on furniture, appliances and a Portuguese holiday, it was alleged in the High Court yesterday.
Ms Kathleen (Kay) Murray, with an address at Ashe Street, Cavan, was restrained by order of Mr Justice Kelly from disposing dealing in any way with her assets so as to reduce them below £73,000.
The application for the injunction was made by Mr Thomas Donohoe, a businessman, of Antiduff, Ballyhaise, Co Cavan, who, in an affidavit, said he believed the monies had been taken from his house over a two year period.
Mr Brendan Mulhall, barrister, made the application on behalf of Mr Donohoe and Mr Thomas Smith, joint shareholders in Steedcroft Ltd, a cigarette vending machine business, and Whitby Enterprises, owned by Mr Donohoe.
Mr Donohoe, in his affidavit, said Steedcroft was set up in 1989 and had a sales turnover for 1995 of £1.2 million, with an expected profit margin of 9.9 per cent. He and Mr Smith ran Steedcroft from their homes. All monies were lodged in the company account in AIB Bank, Cavan. When it ceased trading Steedcroft had a deficit of £60,000, monies were due to another company and there were unpaid taxes of £10,000.
Mr Donohoe said the business was coin operated and coins, which were not converted into notes, were stored uncounted in a locked room in his house. He alone retained the key but he kept a second key hidden in another part of his house.
A coin float of about £5 was retained because change packaged with cigarettes at home. He was satisfied he was the person with access to the where the cash was kept.
Understandably, said Mr Donohoe, suspicion arose tween Mr Smith and about the insolvency of the company. They decided the company would cease trading and they would go their separate ways. He set up Whitby Enterprises Ltd.
He employed Ms Murray in November 1993 as a part-time babysitter and to package change into packets of cigarettes. She was paid £55 a week. On May 28th last Mrs Rosemary Smith, wife of Mr Smith, informed Mr Donohoe she saw Ms Murray deposit between £500 and £1,000 in £1 coins in a Cavan bank.
On May 28th, before Ms Murray came to his house, he counted £7,720 in coins in the locked room, a practice not carried out before. When he rechecked later there was a shortfall of £1,000 and the following day a further £600 shortfall was discovered when Ms Murray left the house. Ms Murray worked each weekday when he and his wife were working and the children were at school.
He contacted Cavan gardai on June 5th who concealed a video camera in the room. After Ms Murray left, the shortfall of coins was £1,140 and gardai informed him the video recorded Ms Murray taking the money.
Mr Donohoe believed she was responsible for a £63,000 shortfall in Steedcroft and a £10,000 shortfall in Whitby Enterprises.
Mr Justice Kelly adjourned the hearing until Monday.