Former assistant Dublin city and county manager George Redmond could lose his pension as well as being imprisoned when his case comes up for sentencing tomorrow.
Judge Michael White yesterday adjourned for 48 hours the sentencing of Redmond on corruption charges so he can consider legal issues raised by both sides in the case.
Mr Brendan Grehan SC, for Redmond (79) had earlier pleaded for leniency for his client on various grounds, including his advanced age, medical condition and adverse media coverage.
Redmond was found guilty on November 19th of receiving £10,000 from garage owner Mr Brendan Fassnidge as a bribe relating to the sale of a right-of- way from Dublin County Council at the Lucan bypass.
After yesterday's hearing in Dublin Circuit Criminal Court, he was returned to Cloverhill Prison, where he has spent the past four weeks.
Mr Patrick J. McCarthy SC, prosecuting, said the legislation on corruption - which dates back to Victorian times - provided for a sentence of up to two years as well as the forfeiture of a claim to a pension. However, under the Prevention of Corruption Act 1916, a sentence of between three and seven years applied in relation to corruption involving a public contract. Judge White had ruled that a contract was involved in this case.
He said the only previous case under this legislation involved a garda who pleaded guilty to receiving a bribe of £500 to quash a drink-driving offence. In this case, the garda was sentenced to six months in jail. Mr Justice Hardiman noted that it was the "fact of the sentence rather than the duration" which had the greatest effect.
Mr Grehan said that the 1916, legislation had been brought in to deal with profiteering during the first World War and could not be considered appropriate to his client's situation.
Mr Fassnidge had been "the moving party" in terms of offering a bribe to Redmond. The maximum penalty should be reserved for the most serious form of offence but Redmond's offences did not rate at the more serious end of the spectrum.
Det Insp Patrick Byrne of the Criminal Assets Bureau gave evidence about Redmond's previous conviction and his financial circumstances.
He said Redmond had been arrested by detectives at Dublin Airport as he returned from the Isle of Man on February 19th, 1999. On foot of investigations by CAB, he made a tax settlement with the Revenue Commissioners for £782,000, he said. In April 2000, he was convicted on charges of failing to submit tax returns for 10 years. He pleaded guilty and was fined £7,500.
Det Insp Byrne said Redmond's wife was fully dependent on him. The couple lived in Castleknock and had two grown- up children who were not dependent on their parents. He received a pension worth €52,992 annually and this was believed to be his only income.
Mr Grehan put it to Det Insp Byrne that there was a "trapdoor" in Redmond's agreement with CAB: if the bureau discovered any new asset worth more than £5,000, CAB could pursue him for the full tax liability of £1.25 million. This was a "hard-nosed agreement" worked out by CAB and based on what the bureau could get.
Det Insp Byrne said he would not accept this.
Mr Grehan pointed out that his client's net pension was about €41,000. He had no previous convictions at the time of the offences now before the court. He recalled what Redmond told CAB officers at the time of his arrest in 1999: "The world has just ceased to exist for me tonight. It has shattered."
