Sorry, no pictures, this is the real deal.
13 September 2007
Dinner and just desserts for gang’s ‘working holiday’
By Jimmy Woulfe, Mid-West Correspondent
Irish Examiner
IN A more Simpsons than Sopranos moment, members of Limerick’s most feared gang were robbed while on a “working holiday” recently.
If that was not enough to turn the stoniest face of the hardest criminal a deep crimson, it all happened when the Limerick troupe were on a gun-practice holiday with some of the most horrifying hoods from Britain’s “Yardies” gang.
Six key criminal figures in the McCarthy-Dundon gang, having tired of firing lead at barn doors in Limerick, decided to head off to Bulgaria to bang some bullets there.
After days of filling the air with cordite, the gun slingers decided to have a night out boozing and banqueting in Varna.
But the leader of the gang and five sidekicks found themselves surrounded by armed Bulgarian mafia members and robbed of all their money, credit cards and passports.
A source in Limerick said last night: “The lads were over to get in some machinegun practice. There are great facilities over there with no questions asked.”
The six members of the McCarthy-Dundon gang returned to Limerick soon after.
The gang leader narrowly escaped death four years ago when a gunman opened fired with an AK47 assault rifle as he sat outside his home in the Moyross area.
Several members of the McCarthy-Dundon gang were sent to Florida some years ago to improve their shooting skills after they failed to kill a well-known criminal rival, despite hitting him with 14 bullets in the upper body.
At that time the gang members travelled to the US on the pretext of visiting Disney World.
However, they moved on to a shooting range, spending thousands of dollars on target practice using a wide range of weaponry.
Behind The Bulgarian Mafia is The Global Irish Republican Billion Dollar Property Empire, Eminating From South Armagh.
http://richarddelevan.blogspot.com/2005/02/what-did-phil-flynn-know-and-when-did.html
The Irish Independent publishes this blockbuster story by Sam Smyth -- linking one of Bertie Ahern's most trusted advisors to the finance firm at the centre of the Cork arrests and, by implication, to the Northern Bank robbery.
ONE of Taoiseach Bertie Ahern's most trusted troubleshooters is linked to a Cork-based finance company at the centre of the investigation into the money seized yesterday by gardai.
Banker Phil Flynn is a director in Chesterton Finance, the money-lending company whose other two directors are being questioned by detectives about yesterday's seizure of cash in Co Cork.
Last night, Mr Flynn was trying to contact Irene Johnstone (53) and Ted Cunningham (56), both directors of Chesterton, who were helping gardai with their
inquiries.
Mr Flynn, the current chairman of the Bank of Scotland (Ireland), said last night he has been a director of Chesterton Finance for six months and he had checked the company out before he became a director.
He said: "I know Chesterton is clean. I had it checked out before I became a director six months ago."
Mr Flynn... said he had been trying to get in touch with Ms Johnstone and Mr Cunningham but could not get a reply from their telephones. He added: "Chesterton is not a big operation, it does short-term lending to people who can't get a loan elsewhere."
He continued: "The company lends against an asset and loans up to half of the asset's value."
Mr Flynn added: "It (Chesterton) is a small company. At any time it has just one to two million out on loan."
Who's Flynn? An ex-vice president of Sinn Fein, a former trade unionist, chairman of the Bank of Scotland in Ireland. Here's another profile, drawn up when he was parachuted in to try and fix decentralisation.
The Taoiseach is known to trust Mr Flynn's advice and he has been asked to deal with a number of very sensitive issues for Bertie Ahern.
Ted Cunningham and Irene Johnstone, who sit on the board of Chesterton Finance with Mr Flynn, are also directors of another company, Finance & Legal Clients Ltd (normal).
Unimaginable buzz at moment - sources close to government say the next 48 hours are going to be a whirlwind. So fasten your seatbelts, kids. We're in for a bumpy weekend.
Charlie Bird - wanker that he is - on Morning Ireland just now refused to credit Sam Smyth or the Indo, and talked about his conversations this morning with Flynn, who confirmed the substance of the Indo story.
Also, it was Flynn's brother whose Dundalk house was raided by the Criminal Assets Bureau on a document hunt, reports Bird.
In fairness, Flynn has never made a secret of his political leanings or contacts. But where does it all lead?
Tags: ireland, Northern Ireland, irish, irishblogs, Sinn Fein, IRA, corruption, Phil Flynn,
UPDATE: Charlie Bird added credit to Indo and Sam Smyth in later bulletin. Apparently even three Charlie Birds weren't enough for Charlie Bird to ignore common courtesy.
UPDATE 2: Irish Examiner profiles fellow Chesterton director Ted Cunningham. With picture.
Ted Cunningham was placed under surveillance by Special Branch detectives after he was witnessed attending a meeting with a pair of Bulgarian arms dealers who travelled to Ireland six months ago.
It is believed he had secured contracts to launder as much as €10m in republican money over a period of time, not just from IRA sources but also possibly the INLA.
Mr Cunningham is listed in the Companies Office as being a director of nine companies: * Chesterton Mortgage Co Ltd. * Insurance Concepts Ltd. * Tullybeg Retirement Village Ltd. Beechlawn Golf Course and Driving Range Ltd. * Highbury Holdings Ltd. * Firmount Developments Ltd. * Midlands Projects Ltd. * Wolfe Tone Holdings Ltd. * Cave Hill Holdings. There is no suggestion of illegality on the part of any of these companies.
General Thomas Slab Murphy to build village in Burgas vicinities, Bulgaria.
24 July 2007 05:10 FOCUS News Agency
Sofia. Two companies run by Aden and Stephen Murphy – alleged relatives of Thomas Murphy (considered head of IRA fighters) have been registered in Burgas,with plans to build up a village area near the seaside town, the Bulgarian 24 Chasa daily writes.
According to lawyers, the two Irishmen are clients of Bulbank, as they have for some time been receiving their mail at the address of the bank’s branch in town. There are reports of letters arriving there, demanding that the two men disclose the origin of money, coming in as transfers from abroad.
‘Bulbank strictly abides by the legal provisions for check-ups in such cases. And if there are any hints of possible breaches, the bank immediately informs the authorities in charge’, the press office of the bank commented.
Relatives of IRA Chief Slab Murphy Register Firms in Bulgaria
23 July 2007, Monday
Relatives of Thomas “Slab” Murphy, the Chief of Staff of the Provisional IRA, have registered two firms in Bulgaria in January, a journalistic enquiry of the 24 hours daily revealed.
The two men, sharing the Muprhy family name are Steven and Eiden, who are believed to be Slab’s brother’s sons.
Steven and Eiden have registered the firms “A M” and “B D” on January 24 in Bulgaria at the same address, 8 Mara Gidik Street. In addition to the same family name and the same address registration, the two provided the same address in Ireland - a farm in the village of Ballybinaby, Hackballs Cross in the County Louth.
This is the same place where Slab Murphy lives.
Many Irish citizens have come to Bulgaria and registered their own firms in order to purchase real estate, since the country joined the European Union in January.
Murphy was involved with the South Armagh Brigade of the IRA before becoming Chief of Staff of the IRA Army Council. An ex-correspondent for the Daily Telegraph has named him as planning the Warrenpoint Ambush of 1979, in which 18 British soldiers were killed, and was also allegedly implicated in the Mullaghmore bombing the same day.
Accused by the Sunday Times of directing an IRA bombing campaign in Britain, in 1987 Murphy unsuccessfully sued the paper for libel in Dublin.
In October 2005, officers of the British Assets Recovery Agency and the Irish Criminal Assets Bureau carried out raids on a number of businesses in Manchester and Dundalk.
It has been extensively reported in the media that the investigation is aimed at damaging the suspected multi-million pound empire of Murphy, who according to the BBC’s Underworld Rich List, has accumulated up to GBP £40 Million through smuggling oil, cigarettes, grain and pigs; as well as through silent or partial ownership in legitimate businesses, and in property.
Ahern speaks of 'red herring' at Mahon Tribunal
Taoiseach Bertie Ahern told the Mahon Tribunal today that he has waited more than seven years to clear his name over bribe allegations designed to damage him personally and politically.
Reading an opening statement to the anti-corruption inquiry at Dublin Castle, a combative Mr Ahern insisted he never took money for political favours in his 30-year political career.
He also rebutted specific Tribunal claims that almost £30,000 cash lodged in a bank by his former partner in 1994 was actually a sum of 45,000 US dollars.
A packed 200-seat public gallery joined more than 100 journalists in the Tribunal building for today`s public sitting, dubbed one of Mr Ahern`s biggest political tests.
"There is no dollars. There were never any dollars. It is a complete red herring," Mr Ahern told the Tribunal from the witness box.
"No dollars were received by me. No dollars were ever lodged."
Tribunal counsel Des O`Neill SC asked Mr Ahern why he had not made his lengthy statement before today.
Mr Ahern said: "I didn`t finish this statement until late last night."
He added: "I have been tormented about theses issues since May 8 2000. I have waited seven-and-a-half years for this day."
The Taoiseach claimed that media leaks from the Tribunal earlier this year were "calculated to do me enormous personal and political damage."
In the first day of two days of direct evidence, Mr Ahern said: "I did nothing improper. I did no wrong and I wronged nobody."
Mr Ahern`s former partner Celia Larkin insisted at the inquiry yesterday that she lodged almost £30,000 in sterling notes in December 1994 to pay for refurbishment work on a Dublin house the politician was expecting to rent.
The owner of the house, Manchester businessman Michael Wall told the Tribunal on Tuesday that he gave the money in a briefcase to Mr Ahern in his constituency office.
The Mahon Tribunal is investigation allegation of planning corruption surrounding the development of a shopping centre in West Dublin in the 1990s.
Art Hostage comments:
In order to put a stop to this developing situation and in the interests of peace, perhaps the McCarthy/Dundon Clans would be so kind as to use their considerable influence and control to allow the stolen Gardner art, Vermeer and co, to surface, via a confession box, as a an Olive branch to Irish Republicans who control the Billion dollar European property empire.
Once this is achieved, any sectarian tax demand of General Thomas Slab Murphy, indeed all the Murphy family, should be withdrawn forthwith.
The net result will be the stolen Gardner art is re-united with its Maternal, Spiritual home, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston, any feud between Limerick clans and Irish Republicans is stopped before it can turn deadly, no reward money is paid to those who currently control the Gardner Art, and even a ceasefire called by dissident Republicans.
Any monetary reward for the McCarthy/Dundon clans can come from a grateful General Thomas Slab Murphy, who, I am sure, will show his appreciation for facilitating the Sectarian Tax demand withdrawal.
O'h and why we are at the peace-making, how about Declan Duffy and Dessie O'Hare being afforded the respect they deserve, enough already with the attempted hiring of a hitman.
When I request Peace, I also mean Piece, spread it around, there is enough for everyone, greed only gets everyone Fucked, Nicked/Arrested, or both.
Not one to miss a window of opportunity, Art Hostage firmly believes if this course of action is taken then all concerned will benefit, rather than an all out war.
Don't forget to join the dots from the streets of Limerick to the Irish Political Godfathers, via South Armagh, Billion dollar property Empire and Bulgaria.
Bertie Ahern is looking forward to a well deserved holiday, where, you guessed it, Bulgaria !!
To be continued......................................
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