A London-based fraudster was criticised by a judge yesterday for exploiting his son's terminal illness to flee from jail in Northern Ireland.
Luigi Marotta (55) failed to return to Magilligan Prison after an unescorted trip to Birmingham to see his son, Enrico, aged three. He had lodged £150,000 in cash to ensure his return.
In the High Court in Belfast Mr Justice Kerr said Marotta was guilty of "the most singular exploitation of his son's condition".
Last May Marotta was jailed for five years for conspiring to defraud a drinks company, St Brendan's Cream Liquor, of £1.4 million.