A man who owes Revenue more than €427,000 has been jailed for 4½ years for tax evasion, threats to kill a Criminal Assets Bureau (Cab) officer and serious driving offences.
Paschal Kelly (50) of Cormeen, Ballyjamesduff, was arrested last year after he failed to turn up for his trial in 2012.
He pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to delivering an incorrect tax return for 2003 and failing to make tax returns for 2004 and 2008.
He also pleaded guilty to threatening to kill a Cab officer on April 7th, 2011, and to reckless endangerment and dangerous driving in the Lucan area on October 9th, 2012.
Kelly, who was registered as a sole trader for window cleaning and taxi services, has 47 previous convictions. These include a four year sentence for robbery in 1989 and 10 years for a similar offence in 1997.
Det Sgt Brendan Flanagan said Revenue and Cab had been investigating Kelly over a number of years.
He told Anne Rowland, prosecuting, that Kelly had been dealing with one Cab officer in particular and their relationship had been “amicable”. This officer had previously visited Kelly at his Cavan home and called on the father-of-two at his partner’s home in Balbriggan on April 7th, 2011. Kelly was not present but telephoned the officer at work later that day and threatened to kill him.
The officer didn’t record the phone call but subsequently told colleagues Kelly had been highly aggressive.
During the phone call Kelly claimed his partner had been giving him “loads” and then he warned the officer to tell his colleagues to stop watching the house.
Det Sgt Flanagan said this officer had to review his own security and that of his family.
The detective agreed with Sean Gillane SC, defending, that his client had received an inaccurate report of the Garda visit to his partner’s home. He agreed the officer had acknowledged Kelly’s apology and the conduct had never been repeated.
Mr Gillane submitted to Judge Martin Nolan that his client had a serious drug addiction in the 1980s and 1990s which led to criminal behaviour and illness.
Judge Nolan accepted Kelly had “suffered traumatic experiences” during his time in industrial schools. He took into account Kelly’s guilty pleas and apologies and backdated the sentence to October 2014 when Kelly entered custody.