FORMER Clare Fianna Fail councillor Enda Mulkere has been jailed for two years on each of 16 fraud charges in relation to Shannon Development, where he was a senior executive.
He was found guilty on February 11th last by a jury of 10 women and two men which took some 4 1/2 hours to reach unanimous verdicts on the charges following a 12-day trial. The 16 terms of two years imprisonment are to run concurrently and to date from his conviction.
Judge Kevin Haugh at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court said this was the lightest sentence he could impose in keeping with his public duty.
He said Mulkere "still keeps his head in the sand" by not facing up to the facts and was maintaining that the £84,040 he defrauded from two building contractors were personal loans from close friends. He had repeated this to the probation service and a psychologist.
Judge Haugh said the evidence clearly showed one of the men only knew him vaguely and the other man not at all. The jury correctly rejected this evidence and convicted him of a "deliberate, very deceitful, well executed fraud".
Mulkere (48), a father of four, from Carrownacloughy, Crusheen, Co Clare, had denied obtaining money by fraud from contractors Mr Jack McCarthy and Mr Thomas Madden, and of causing or attempting to cause Shannon Development to pay sums to them by false pretences on dates from October, 1991, to June, 1992.
Judge Haugh said he accepted fully that Mulkere was a kind, caring man who was fully committed to working for the community through his involvement with the GAA, traditional music, and as a councillor. He also believed Mulkere's community work was unselfish and not just for self promotion.
Mulkere's problems came from overborrowing, which brought him near to bankruptcy. He took on the fraud because he could not face the disgrace if his financial situation became known, said Judge Haugh.
Mulkere had lost his good job, ruined himself and his family and brought shame on his children, which they would bear heavily. He had also destroyed his standing in the community.
Judge Haugh said it was obvious from her evidence that Mulkere's wife was a decent woman who did not know what was going on until the end.
Earlier, character evidence on Mulkere's behalf had been given by Father Tony Carr PP the traditional musician and RTE producer, Mr Tony MacMahon; the Clare GAA County Board chair man, Mr Roibard Frost; and Mr Gerry Kennedy of Aontas Inse Chronain.
His counsel, Mr Peter Charleton SC (with Mr John Major, instructed by Mr James Nash), also appealed for as much clemency as the court could give. He said while Mulkere had contested the issue, the trial had been "a straightforward legal battle".
The defence had not mounted any long contests of even copies of documents and thus had saved the prosecution a lot of time and the State a lot of money. Any shortfall in reimbursing the contractors was not due to unwillingness on Mulkere's part but due to his financial difficulties.
Insp Michael Barry told prosecuting counsel Mr Paul O'Higgins SC (with Mr Paul McDermott) that Mulkere got a total of almost £84,040 from McCarthys and Maddens. He got six cheques totalling £26,571.57 from McCarthys, and 30 cheques amounting to £57,288 from Maddens.
Shannon Development paid out almost £52,000 to the contractors on foot of certificates which Mulkere directed be prepared for work that was never done, nor was it to be carried out. The money was included as extra payments in cheques along with legitimate payments to the companies, said Insp Barry.
One of the charges was in relation to a cheque for a further £17,710 which was "intercepted" before it was sent out to McCarthy Bros.
Insp Barry said Mulkere was elected a Fianna Fail councillor in 1986, and re elected in 1991. He resigned from the council and Fianna Fail on February 11th last after his conviction.
Mulkere joined SFADCo as a grade 2 clerk on January 1st, 1971, and rose through the years to a senior executive position as a projects manager.
His functions included initiating tenders, assisting consultant engineers in assessing the tenders, preparing reports for SFADCo management and the board, and liaising with contractors to ensure the works were carried out within the correct time frame and budget.
Insp Barry said Mulkere had nine personal financial accounts. He had a £71,000 mortgage and was in financial difficulties when the fraud began. He used the money to pay funds into all of his accounts, as well as to buy cattle, two cars, a tractor and a horse.
He was dismissed by SFADCo before the Garda investigation began and his only source of income then would have been the 35 acre family farm he jointly owned with his wife, who was a secondary teacher.
Father Carr said he could honestly claim Mulkere was a highly committed person. He took a particular interest in the concerns of old people which went far beyond his duties as a councillor. He knew this from the many late hours Mulkere spent with him discussing matters of concern to the elderly.
Mr MacMahon said he knew the Mulkere family for some 40 years and "every single one of them was a leader". He said the Mulkere family went back to the time of the bardic schools. Their roots were in the community for centuries and the case had been devastation beyond measure. Lady Gregory and W.B. Yeats spent a lot of time with the defendant's grandfather gathering priceless folklore from him, said Mr MacMahon.
"Every time I met one of the Mulkeres my spirits rose. Like many more, I have an abiding love and respect for every single one of them," he added.
Mr Roibard Frost, chairman of the GAA's Clare County Board, said he knew the defendant for 25 years as a player, coach, administrator and former Clare representative on the ardchomhairle. He had made a major contribution to the organisation at all levels.
Mr Kennedy said he knew Mulkere for 36 years. He was a decent, generous person who played a leading, unselfish role in the community. He always made his car available to bring young people to hurling games.
The fraud came to light in June, 1992, when Mr Madden returned from a visit to Lourdes and contacted Shannon Development seeking payment of some £19,988 which was still "overdue" from the cheques he paid out.
SFADCo denied any knowledge of such an arrangement and executives immediately began reviewing all the contracts with which Mulkere was involved.
In July 7th he was dismissed by SFADCo. Mulkere's pension contributions of some £17,000 were forfeited to Shannon Development which also began proceedings against McCarthys and Maddens to recover monies wrongly paid out. Civil proceedings were also initiated by Mr McCarthy and Mr Madden against Mulkere.
Mr Madden agreed in evidence he got possession of cattle and horses as part of a settlement.