A man who accepted £50,000 from a criminal in part-payment for an apartment has received a five-year suspended sentence and been fined €20,000 for handling the proceeds of an armed robbery.
Brian Nolan, who ran his own mortgage brokerage, was approached by two men in July 2001 and asked if he knew anyone who wanted to off-load some property, Dublin Circuit Criminal Court was told.
Det Sgt Maureen McGrath said Nolan, the son of a former Kildare county councillor, told them he had an apartment in Naas he wanted to sell and was offered cash for it.
He knew one of the men, David McCreevy, but not the other.
His accountant advised him that such a transaction would draw the attention of the Revenue Commissioners and the Criminal Assets Bureau.
The men made a deal to have £50,000 paid in cash, and the £90,000 balance was to go through conveyance.
The apartment, at The Waterfront, would be in McCreevy's name but would be funded by the other man, a well-known armed robber and described in court as a "gangster".
The court heard that McCreevy was shot dead last February on his way to work after leaving his Tallaght home, not long after he had been charged with the possession for sale or supply of heroin with a value of £100,000.
Nolan (35), married with two children but separated, of Roebuck Park, Clonskeagh, but originally from Newbridge, admitted handling another person's proceeds of criminal activity between September 1st and October 20th, 2001. He had no previous convictions.
Mr Michael O'Higgins SC, defending, said the offence was "a one-off incident, a serious error of judgment at a time when he was very low and vulnerable".
Nolan had also overseen the transfer of €60,000 into a bank account owned by the Criminal Assets Bureau.