Limerick man on Disability Allowance stashed crime cash in socks and jacket

A LIMERICK man who was claiming Disability Allowance and who had no history of paying tax, stashed tens of thousands in crime cash inside his socks and a jacket, a court had heard.

The Special Criminal Court has been told the money was found during a major garda operation in Limerick, more than two years ago.

The three-judge court also heard that Dermot McManus had paid off the mortgage on his house. He has 22 previous convictions, including for the burglary of a solicitor’s home.

Last July, the 53-year-old, of Keating Park, Killalee, Limerick pleaded guilty to three charges relating to money laundering offences. 

The defendant's arrest followed what gardaí described as a “significant development” in Operation Coronation, which targeted organised crime in County Limerick.  

Limerick man who had €28k hidden in socks pleads guilty to money laundering offences

In September 2021, gardaí carried out 65 raids in the county as part of the same operation, involving soldiers, detectives, customs officers and over 300 local gardaí, with 12 people arrested.

At this Monday's sentencing hearing, Detective Garda Chris McGrath, from Henry Street garda station, told Dominic McGinn SC, prosecuting, that the money laundering charges arose from a search that took place at the defendant's home address at Killalee on June 17, 2020. 

The detective said information received from the Revenue Commissioners and social welfare showed that McManus was unemployed at the time of the search and on a single rate of disability allowance of €230 per week. Prior to this, the court heard, McManus was on job seekers allowance and had been last employed in 2002. 

Det Garda McGrath said McManus' annual income, on the date of the offence, was short of €10,962. He said the defendant was not registered as a sole trader and he had no history of paying tax. 

The detective said a warrant was issued to search McManus' home address and that substantial amounts of cash had been found. Some of the amounts, he said, which totalled €28,550 and £11,795 were discovered in two separate socks as well as a jacket pocket in the wardrobe of the defendant's bedroom. 

During the search, the detective said, McManus accepted he had lived in the house with his partner and two children. He also accepted the mortgage on the house had been paid off. 

The detective said the defendant claimed he had worked for himself trading cars and had been out sick. "He accepted all the cash was his and claimed €9,550 was from working in markets and that €10,000 was from the sale of a van," said the witness. 

Mr McGinn said the prosecution's position was that the monies derived from criminal conduct and not from market trading or trading in cars, which the witness agreed with. 

The detective said it transpired from the search that the defendant had a credit union account which was set up in 1998.

Enquiries were made by gardai and a freezing order was placed on the account, which had a balance of €10,173 at the time. 

Detective Garda McGrath said the defendant had made frequent lodgements into the account and the total amount of the lodgements was €59,032. The total amount of withdrawals amounted to €53,591. "The coincidence with the lodgements is that withdrawals took place quickly afterwards which is a sign of money laundering," said counsel. 

Mr McGinn said McManus was also in possession of a Mercedes Sprinter van in June 2020, which had a market value of €10,500. Gardai found the previous registered owner of the van was a man that the defendant had known for just over a month, the court heard.

The detective said that gardai had observed the van parked outside the defendant's home since early 2020. The defendant claimed he had bought the van from someone in northern Ireland for €4,500. 

At the end of the search, McManus was arrested and interviewed by gardai. When questioned, he accepted that he owned the house and had paid off the mortgage.

He repeated to detectives that he was unemployed, had worked in a market selling quilts and pillows and had received a sick benefit of €190 a week. He also accepted that he didn't pay taxes. 

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Under cross-examination, Detective Garda McGrath agreed with Roderick F O'Hanlon SC, for McManus, that his client's garda interviews could be characterised as "self-serving".

The detective accepted that the defendant had been on disability allowance for the last ten years and had a number of medical issues including blindness in one eye. The court heard McManus also suffers from Gout and Crohn's disease. 

Mr O'Hanlon put it to the witness that whilst his client wasn't paying tax at the time he is now registered for tax and has returned his accounts. "He is registered but has made no returns," said the detective. 

Counsel submitted to the three-judge court that his client had pleaded guilty to the offences, had accepted sole responsibility for what was found in his house and had been on disability allowance for over ten years.

"He is blind in one eye and has Crohn's disease which gives rise to dietary requirements in prison," said the barrister. 

In mitigation, Mr O'Hanlon said McManus has since registered to the Revenue, filed returns and discharged the amount which the Revenue felt was in order.

The barrister said these offences fell in the lower range of money laundering offences and did not represent the "most high end of money laundering" where "monies involved can be 10 to 20 times this" amount. 

Mr Justice Paul Burns, sitting with Judge Sarah Berkeley and Judge Marie Keane, remanded McManus on continuing bail until January 22, 2024, when he will be sentenced. 

McManus pleaded guilty to handling sums of cash worth €28,550 and £11,795, knowing or believing or being reckless as to whether this was the proceeds of criminal conduct on June 17, 2020.

Between January 1, 2018, and June 17, 2020, the defendant admitted he handled or used money credited to an account in his own name at the Limerick and District Credit Union, knowing or believing or being reckless as to whether it was the proceeds of criminal conduct.

On June 17, 2020, McManus handled sums of cash worth €28,550 and £11,795, knowing or believing or being reckless as to whether this was the proceeds of criminal conduct. 

McManus also pleaded guilty to handling a white Mercedes Sprinter van between June 2, 2020, and May 23, 2021.

McManus’ partner, Terese Halpin, aged 50, of the same address, had been charged with possession of the same cash sums and allowing a Permanent TSB account to be used for handling the proceeds of crime. 

However, Dominic McGinn SC, on behalf of the State, previously said that a nolle prosequi could be entered on these matters, and the charges against Ms Halpin were dropped.