‘Conlon was key’ in garda suspicions, tribunal told
Detective Sergeant John White was already suspected of unethical involvement with a witness before the arrest of the witness who implicated him, a top garda claimed today.
Chief Superintendent Austin McNally told the Morris Tribunal that he was part of an internal garda investigation team who examined witness Bernard Conlon’s allegation that he received a death threat.
Mr Conlon testified against the McBrearty family in a licensing prosecution in Donegal and then falsely alleged that two men had threatened him with a silver bullet after giving evidence. He later identified the men as Mark McConnell and Michael Peoples, members of the extended McBrearty family.
The McBreartys, who were wrongly implicated in the death of Raphoe cattle dealer Richie Barron, have alleged they were the victims of garda harassment, which included a disproportionately large number of licensing prosecutions against their bar and nightclub.
Today Chief Supt McNally said: “We had suspicions that he (White) was involved unethically with Bernard Conlon, and that would have been developed in late 1999, flowing from the pub issue and we would have had suspicions of other involvement in the threats.
“He would have been coming into the inquiry, he was involved in a lot of these prosecutions.
“We would be waiting for our investigators on the ground to come back with evidence.”
He said suspicions had hardened by December 1999 or January 2000 when information emerged that Mark McConnell had an alibi for the night he was supposed to have threatened Mr Conlon.
Suspicions regarding Detective Sergeant White’s involvement later crystallised following the arrest of Bernard Conlon in January 2000, Chief Supt McNally said.
“Bernard Conlon was after admitting in custody that the whole silver bullet affair was a sham, and we were in the process of corroborating what he’d said in custody.
“Sgt White was coming into it very much at that stage in the investigation.”
The chief superintendent said Mr Conlon’s statement, made during his detention, confirmed their suspicions but said the investigation team knew the witness was untrustworthy and that his story needed to be corroborated.
“We saw Bernard Conlon as a key person in this to unlock the mystery and further our investigations,” he said.
Mr Conlon has previously told the ‘silver bullet’ module of the tribunal that Det Sgt White told him to make the false death threat allegation and that White was also using him to set up a “found-on” licensing prosecution.
The claims are denied by the detective sergeant, who has been acquitted of perverting the course of justice at Letterkenny Circuit Court.
Chief Supt McNally today went on to dismiss claims Det Sgt White advised against the arrest of Michael Peoples in May 1999 as utter rubbish and lies.
He said the conversation described in a statement by the detective sergeant, in which he claimed he gave the Chief Superintendent three valid reasons why the arrest should not go ahead, never happened.
The chairman, Judge Frederick Morris, asked Chief Supt McNally why he thought Detective Sergeant White would say he had given reasons why Michael Peoples should not be arrested.
“Because I think he is trying to distance himself from Conlon. He’s attempting to distance himself from his interaction with Bernard Conlon,” said Chief Supt McNally.
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