A Carraroe man got caught up in a “Del Boy situation” when pub-talk in England led to him purchasing €600 worth of poor quality counterfeit notes at a location in Westside, the Galway District Court heard this week.
Patrick Sullivan (34 ) with an address at Bother Na Scrathog, Carraroe, pleaded guilty last Monday to being in possession or custody of the counterfeit notes with intent and attempting to pass on the notes as being real on January 9, 2010.
Garda Shaun Campbell gave evidence that at 1.30pm Sullivan entered Supermac’s at Merlin Park and attempted to tender a counterfeit €50 note. However, gardai were called and Sullivan addmitted the offence. Garda Campbell said that when Sullivan later left Galway Garda Station “a bunch of notes”, which amounted to €500, was found under the seat where he had been sitting.
Arrangements were made to meet with Sullivan on January 14 and he was arrested. Sullivan admitted that the notes were his and that he had bought €600 worth of the counterfeit money for €240 of legitimate money at Westside. Garda Campbell added that the Supermac’s incident was the first time Sullivan had attempted to use the forged notes and that the “quality of them was not of great standard”.
Under cross examination by defence counsel, Francis Comerford BL, Garda Campbell said that Sullivan fully co-operated with gardai and that the incident was “totally out of character for him”.
Mr Comerford then said that his client is a qualified engineer and has been employed in England for the past 10 years. He said that Sullivan has experienced a number of difficulties because of a sleeping condition and that this affected his mood and cognitive functions, and led to “strange behaviour”. The court further heard that there had been “pub talk” in England where someone boasted that arrangements could be made in Galway to provide the counterfeit notes and that Sullivan made the “foolhardy” decision to agree to buy them. Mr Comerford further explained that Sullivan, who has no previous convictions, did not commit this crime for a specific reason and that it may have been “just for the thrill of it”.
Sullivan told Judge Mary Fahy that he met someone outside Dunnes Stores in Westside and bought the notes. He added that he “wasn’t thinking straight” at the time.
Garda Campbell further explained that the €50 note was so poor that Supermac’s staff were suspicious and checked it with a special pen. He said that when Sullivan was brought to the station he had two books with him and that the money had been hidden inside one of them. “It must have fallen out of the book when he was sitting on the seat,” he said.
After examining one of the notes, Judge Fahy said that if Sullivan had gone into a busy premises the note may have been accepted.
“It’s not a very bad note. Somebody is going to be caught out by them,” she said.
“It’s a real Del Boy situation, isn’t it,” said Judge Fahy, who then asked Garda Campbell if he was suspicious of the defendant. Garda Campbell replied that he had “certain sympathies” for him.
After careful consideration Judge Fahy gave Sullivan a chance and fined him €750 with three months to pay.
