A MAN who deceived the jailed father of the Mayo child neglect victim, Kelly Fitzgerald, into believing they could set up a deer farm has been jailed for nines years by Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.
The sentence on Andrew Murphy (30) is composed of the reactiovation of a five year fraud sentence suspended last April after just five months, and a four year consecutive term for offences committed in, the days following his April release.
Det Sgt John Melody said Murphy normally posed as a garda but passed himself off as a farmer when he met Desmond Fitzgerald, from Charlestown, Co Mayo, in Portlaoise Prison. He convinced Fitzgerald he could arrange a loan for them to start deer farming.
From the minute he was released on April 19th last, Murphy "went straight back to his criminal activities", said Det Sgt Melody. Fitzgerald met him outside the court in a hired car and within a week Murphy committed further offences while posing as a member of the Garda in Co Wicklow.
He told one young woman he had a gun in the boot of the hired car and agreed with gardai he did this to convince her he was an armed detective.
Judge Kieran O'Connor told him he was a tragic case and an unusual case. "I released you on April 19th "last from the five year sentence just about the time the 31/2 year sentence you were serving was due to end, and that very day you return to the exact similar criminal activities."
Murphy, formerly from Benbulben Road, Dublin, and with an address at the Iveagh Hostel, Dublin, pleaded guilty to two charges of obtaining £360 by false pretences on dates from April 23rd to April 26th last.
He also admitted the unauthorised use on April 27th of a hired car owned by Mr James McIntyre, of Griffith Leasing and Rentals, Charlestown, Co Mayo.
Det Sgt Melody said Murphy's five year sentence was imposed in November 1995 and was to run concurrent with a 31/2 year sentence imposed in 1993.
The November 1995 case involved a series of offences committed after he failed to return to prison from a two day temporary release granted in October 1994, while he served the 1993 sentence.
The final year of the 1993 sentence had been suspended by Mr Justice Moriarty, but it was reactivated due to Murphy's October 1994 crime spree, Det Sgt Melody told Mr Shane Murphy, prosecuting.
The October 1994 crime spree had sparked a major security alert while Murphy holidayed around Ireland with his unwitting girlfriend and her mother. He was arrested in Ennistymon, Co Clare after failing to convince gardai he was a member of the force.
Murphy's previous offences included tricking a young Roscommon woman's family into cashing forged cheques for him while he posed as a garda. He also defrauded women out of £1,258 while posing as a member of the Garda Emergency Response Unit.
He also agreed to sell a car, valued at £11,500, to his then girlfriend's brother, but that car had been hijacked in Dublin days earlier.
Det Sgt Melody said Murphy presented himself as a very agreeable and believable person. He was also highly intelligent but seemed to suffer from some kind of personality split.
Mr Niall Durnin, defending, appealed for leniency in the consecutive sentences which the court had to impose. His client had a major psychiatric problem.
Det Sgt Meldoy said Murphy conned Fitzgerald into cashing a cheque at Mr Desmond Clancy's supermarket in Elphin and giving him the money. The cheque was genuine, but Fitzgerald did not know that the shop owner was one of Murphy's previous fraud victims.
Shortly after they arrived at Charlestown, he conned Fitzgerald into having him named as a driver of the hired car. He also persuaded Fitzgerald to fill it with petrol and lend it to him.
Det Sgt Melody said Murphy drove to Glendalough, Co Wicklow, and conned a young woman into handing him a total of £360. He told her he could sell her a car from the Garda compound and have it taxed and insured for her. He later proposed to sell her the hired car.
The hired car had been reported stolen on April 22nd and Murphy was arrested in the Rathfarnham area on April 27th. Damage worth £2,400 had been done to the car in accidents.