A commentary
Why it took so long to get to court we will never know but at least in the end a proper verdict has been handed down by the jury – guilty on all 50 counts – Judge Patrick McCartan expressed his relief in unusual words
“we are going into a period when the courts will have to deal with many complex trials. You gave us great confidence that the jury and jurors of this city and county can deal with these types of cases.”
It is clear that the banking trials that lie ahead were foremost in his thoughts. The difficulty facing any juror in fraud cases is answering the challenge that the fraudster intended to permanently deprive the victim of their monies.
Clients
There was direct and incontrovertible evidence of this when it came to the mortgage and double mortgage of the properties with a variety of banks. Where the jury took time was over the assertion that Mr Byrne intended to permanently deprive the clients of their entitlement. It is difficult to comprehend that Mr Byrne intended to permanently deprive his first client victim of their monies. It is easier to believe that he intended to use the deeds as collateral against a loan and repay when the project was completed.
Developer
Mr Byrne had another client, John Kelly, whom he alleges put pressure on him to indulge in the fraud. Mr Kelly was a developer of property. Had the projects been successful (and in celtic Ireland it is hard to understand why they would not be successful) then the client could have been reimbursed and the theft remained undiscovered. Furthermore Mr Byrne alleged that he had agreed a price in certain cases for the purchase of some of his clients’ properties albeit not in a position to pay immediately. In other cases he simply retained that portion of the proceeds of sale and failed to pay off the mortgage. Again this is a ticking clock and it is difficult to see that he had a permanent intention to defraud.
Presented with this evidence the jury deliberated and eventually dismissed the defence and found him guilty. None the less you can see why Mr Justice McCartan might have expressed himself in the words quoted above.
For a full report from the Irish Times of the court proceedings click here