A man has received two four month prison sentences after pleading guilty to deceptively using charity sponsor cards to gain money.
There are “other ways of making a living than conning people with sponsorship cards”, Judge Timothy Lucey told Arthur Boland, who gave an address at 3 Pearse Terrace, Westport, Co Mayo.
He had been collecting ostensibly on behalf of the National Council for the Blind of Ireland and the Friends of St Luke’s Hospital.
Mr Boland appeared before Mullingar District Court which heard that when he was arrested on March 6 he had three cards indicating totals of €170.50, €73, and €228.
Two of the cards were in the name of another person and Mr Boland also had a birth cert belonging to that third party and was collecting on behalf of the Friends of St Luke’s Hospital.
Mr Boland also pleaded guilty to a similar charge at the Haven Hotel, Dunmore East, Co Waterford where he had collected €94.90 ostensibly for a parachute jump for the NCBI.
He admitted to Gardaí that he didn’t have a permit but said he believed he was covered under a permit held by the NCBI. However investigations showed that no permit had been issued for that organisation for that day in Waterford.
Mr Boland has 62 previous convictions, including 24 for making gain by deception from Ennis District Court in February of last year for which he received an eight month sentence.
He also has convictions for similar offences in Castlereagh, Claremorris, and Tralee.
Judge Lucey said the defendant had a “fairly chequered history” and didn’t seem to be getting the message.
He didn’t accept the contention put forward by Mr Boland’s solicitor that he genuinely intended to give a portion of the money to the charities, adding that the suggestion “doesn’t sound believable in the least”.
He refused to suspend the two four month sentences imposed for making gain by deception despite a plea that Mr Boland’s wife is about to give birth to their second child.
He said that if Mr Boland didn’t “cop on and get the message” he had no alternative but to impose the sentence.
The judge added that the defendant has “previous form” and “any number of sentences”.
“But he’s going to have to serve this one,” he concluded, taking two charges under the House to House Collections Act into consideration.
