Haughey

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Trusting Haughey; like trusting a pickpocket

March 11, 2009 in Haughey, Moriarty Tribunal by Anthony | No comments

Even those who supported and bankrolled the corrupt Haughey knew that he was a gangster who couldn’t be trusted as we see from this extract of the Moriarty Tribunal report.

Clearly, Michael Smurfit knew that handing over a very valuable painting to a man of Haughey’s flawed pedigree was akin to asking a pickpocket to mind his wallet.

Moriarty Tribunal report

7-178 Dr. Smurfit also informed the Tribunal that in 1990, the Smurfit Group made a personal gift to Mr. Haughey of a painting by Jack B Yeats entitled ‘‘The Forge’’, in recognition of Mr. Haughey’s assuming office at the Council of Ministers on Ireland’s assumption of the residency of the European Union. At that time, the Smurfit Group made a presentation to Mr. Haughey of a painting by Sir John Lavery of the raising of the flag at Aras an Uachtara´ n. This latter presentation was a gift to the Irish Nation by the Smurfit Group and the Tribunal understands that it is currently hanging in the State Collection.

7-179 Dr. Smurfit recalled that on the day that he had an appointment with Mr. Haughey at Government Buildings to present the Lavery painting to him, on behalf of the State, he decided on the spur of the moment to make a personal gift in the form of the Yeats painting. The presentation was made during business hours in Government Buildings, and only Dr. Smurfit and Mr. Haughey were present. Dr. Smurfit recalled that he had made the presentation to Mr. Haughey personally, subject to the caveat that he did not expect ‘‘the painting to be sold the following day’’.

As I recall, Smurfit, who had hoped that the painting would be retained as a family heirloom, was shocked to learn that soon after receiving it Haughey did in fact sell it on for a knockdown price.

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The Haughey’s: A renegade family

March 10, 2009 in Fianna Fail, Haughey by Anthony | No comments

Katherine Rodgers upset many Fianna Fail supporters when she wrote the following in the Star newspaper recently.

“Security was beefed up for the Fianna Fail Ard Fheis this weekend, only to be expected at a convention of the biggest criminals in the country.”

Seems like a pretty reasonable comment to me but Dick O’Leary, head of a Cumainn founded by the corrupt Haughey, was angry.

“It’s a scurrilous remark and is 100% wrong.” “Mr. Haughey did an awful lot of good for the country; he’s the greatest Irishman that ever walked.”

(Liveline, Tuesday 2nd March).

Later, the discussion moved on to the sale of the corrupt Haughey’s art collection. A caller wanted to know if Mrs. Haughey would be keeping the proceeds of the sale or making a donation to charity.

Joe Duffy, who obviously has a soft spot for Mrs. Haughey, said:

“Even if it was going to Mrs. Haughey, Mrs. Haughey of all people in this country is in most people’s, sorry, in everyone’s eyes totally above reproach and indeed much admired for her dignity.”

So, not just some, not just most but everyone in the country thinks Mrs. Haughey is above reproach and is a woman of great dignity. Well, here’ one citizen who takes the complete opposite view.

In my opinion the Haughey family, including Mrs. Haughey, are renegade citizens.

She was happy to live off the proceeds of her husband’s corruption and obviously had no concern whatsoever about the huge damage done to Ireland and its people by that corruption.

When the Moriarty Tribunal finally exposed he husband for the criminal he was she and her family contemptuously rejected the findings of this agency which represented the Irish people.

A sizeable percentage of the monies now in the hands of this renegade family are the proceeds of criminal activities by the corrupt Haughey. His mansion, for example, was sold for an estimated €45 million.

Ireland will never rid itself of the disease of corruption for so long as people like Joe Duffy are happy to bow and scrape before ruthless and greedy people like the Haughey’s.

Copy to:
Joe Duffy

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Dead Haughey – Not a pretty sight

March 4, 2009 in Fianna Fail, Haughey by Anthony | No comments

The corrupt Haughey came up for discussion on Liveline yesterday (More on that later). One support said:

“I think it’s very unfair to be bringing up Charlie Haughey when he’s dead.”

I couldn’t agree more, it would not be a pretty sight.

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PDs legacy

September 22, 2008 in Fianna Fail, Haughey, Progressive Democrats by Anthony | No comments

The legacy of the PDs was discussed on Saturday View. Former PD minister Bobby Molloy said;

“One of the most important things we did was having the tribunal established to investigate the beef industry and all the stuff that has been revealed following that and other tribunals.

None of that would have happened were it not for the fact that we were absolutely adamant there must be an independent judicial inquiry.”

Molloy is right in his claim that the PDs were responsible for the establishment of the Beef Tribunal but when the report was finally published and it became crystal clear that it was a whitewash his party fell into line with everybody else in sticking their heads in the sand.

Every tribunal since has seen the same reaction. Massive corruption revealed but no action taken. Everybody congratulates themselves for doing a wonderful job, the media analyse the report for a week and all is then forgotten until the next investigation.

It will be the same when the present batch of tribunals comes to an end – no action will be taken.

Molloy related an interesting story about how he and O’Malley forced the corrupt Haughey to establish the Beef Tribunal. Apparently, Haughey at first refused outright but when the PDs stood their ground Haughey offered an enquiry by the Attorney General. Again, the PDs stood their ground until finally Haughey gave in and established a full judicial enquiry as demanded.

It was this kind of integrity and courage that made the PDs and it was the abandonment of such principles by Mary Harney that destroyed the party.

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Good news from the navy

August 24, 2008 in Fianna Fail, Haughey by Anthony | No comments

I got some good news from a navy friend of mine last night.

During the week he overheard a conversation in which the commanding officer of the navy expressed anger about my letter criticising the involvement of a State ship in honouring the corrupt Haughey.

Apparently, he wanted to know if there was anything that could be done about this letter writer. He was informed that as Mr. Sheridan was no longer a serving member of the naval service, there was nothing that could be done.

I wrote last week that my letter hadn’t been published, I’m delighted to report that I was mistaken in that belief.

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Honouring the corrupt Haughey

August 22, 2008 in Fianna Fail, Haughey by Anthony | 3 comments

Every year the former corrupt politician Charlie Haughey is honoured by the organisers of Dingle Regatta and every year I write a letter of protest to the main national newspapers.

This year, for the first time, my letter wasn’t published. Perhaps the memory of the crimes that this man committed are beginning to fade or perhaps the editors thought my letter was too strong. I think myself it was perfectly reasonable.

There’s not a great deal that can be done about the annual farce in Dingle where the discredited former Taoiseach Charles Haughey is honoured by the organisers of the town’s regatta.

It is, however, a national scandal and a slap in the face to all compliant taxpayer’s that a State ship, the LE Orla, formed an integral part of the ceremonies for this major tax cheat.

Yours etc.
Anthony Sheridan

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Hutch and Haughey – Two of a kind

March 14, 2008 in Fianna Fail, Haughey, RTE by Anthony | 2 comments

Gerard ‘The Monk’ Hutch hasn’t been convicted of any crime for the last 25 years but anyone listening to Prime Time last night would find that fact difficult to believe as RTE Crime Correspondent Paul Reynolds accused him of being involved in at least one armed robbery.

“Why do you say you didn’t do the robbery when you know you did and everybody else knows you did?”

So much for the principle of being innocent until proven guilty.

It’s interesting to observe how RTE treats people like Hutch in comparison to more ‘respectable’ criminals. For example, Miriam O’Callaghan introduced the piece by telling us that people are often outraged at how some individuals seem to be almost immune from prosecution.

For years I’ve been outraged at how politicians and white collar criminals seem to be immune from prosecution and yet I’ve never witnessed any of them get the grilling that Hutch received.

It’s also interesting to observe the parallels between Hutch and the most corrupt politician of all, Charles Haughey, a criminal who was always treated with the highest respect by RTE.

Hutch claims he made his money from shrewd investments in the property market. How many times did we hear Haughey supporters make the same claim – and expect us to believe it?

Hutch denied any knowledge about the source of dodgy money in his bank account. Haughey was just as barefaced in relation to dodgy money in his accounts.

Hutch was asked:

“The money that you made, the figures just don’t add up, the compensation doesn’t really wash, the evidence is there in the figures that don’t add up because one minute you’re a guy who has no money, you get a compensation claim and now you’re a multi-millionaire. – Do you really expect people to believe that?”

Haughey was a guy who initially had no money and then suddenly he was a multi-millionaire. His figures never added up but somehow he was never asked the hard questions.

Hutch said he didn’t care what people believed. Haughey adopted the same attitude.

Hutch claims that he was ignorant of tax laws but when he realised the error of his ways he was more than happy to settle with Revenue. Haughey also claimed ignorance of his tax obligations and also made a deal with Revenue.

But by far the most interesting comment was made by Detective Superintendent John O’Mahoney of the Criminal Assets Bureau.

“There are people out there who would have you believe that a certificate of tax clearance meant that people were innocent of criminality. A certificate of tax clearance is just that, it is not a certificate of innocence.”

Couldn’t agree with you more Superintendent.

Copy to:
Prime Time

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Mafia country

December 2, 2007 in Banks & Finance, Consumer interest, Fianna Fail, Government, Haughey, IFSRA, Mahon Tribunal, Regulatory Agencies by Anthony | 2 comments

Padraic O’Connor, the former director of NCB has stated that he is not and never was a friend of Bertie Ahern’s. In spite of this Ahern is adamant that they were very good friends. In effect, Ahern is calling O’Connor a liar. It’s as if O’Connor said that black is black and Ahern retorted, no; black is white.

This kind of fantasy world speak is common throughout all of Ahern’s evidence to the Tribunal. Only a fool would believe he is telling the truth and only someone from Mars would be in any doubt as to what really happened.

So why is he still the Prime Minister, why isn’t he being questioned by the police, why is it that, as sure as black is black, Ahern will never be brought to account for any of his actions?

Less than a week ago it emerged that the UK Labour Party had received large donations from a businessman using middlemen to pass on the money.

The next day there was a resignation. Three days later an opposition politician asked the police to investigate the matter. To my knowledge this has never happened in Ireland despite years of rampant political and business corruption.

Four days later the UK Electoral Commission also asked the police to investigate. The Irish equivalent, The Standards in Public Office Commission is debarred by law from initiating an investigation until it first receives a formal complaint.

This commission is a joke. The law debarring the commission from acting seems to have had only one function – to assist and protect the corrupt.

The reason Ahern will not be brought to account is because Ireland is a corrupt state. There is no authority in Ireland with the power, will or courage to bring rogue politicians or corrupt businessmen to justice.

This is why corrupt politicians like Haughey and Burke can successfully live out careers of rampant corruption doing untold damage to Ireland and its people.

It’s the reason politicians like Lorcan Allen can go on RTE and arrogantly admit that he doesn’t bother with obeying the law.

He knows with absolute certainty that nobody, no authority in the land can touch him. Allen is merely doing what any ruthless and unprincipled politician will do when he knows that the country he operates in is a corrupt entity. He allows his greed and arrogance full rein despite the massive damage done to society by his actions.

Jim Flavin of DCC possesses the same arrogant confidence that is common to those who know they are untouchable.

Found guilty (2nd item) of insider trading by the highest court in the land, a crime that sees long jail sentences in real democracies, Flavin knows he has nothing to worry about, he knows that there is no authority in the land that will take any serious action against him, he knows that the pathetic attempts by the ODCE to make him accountable are just that – pathetic.

Financial institutions and in particular the banks have robbed millions from consumers over the years. Not a single bank official has ever been questioned by the police. The banks too are supremely confident that they operate in a country where the system is specifically geared to protect their criminal behaviour.

The so called Irish Financial Regulator is a joke, it monotonously issues just one piece of advice to consumers –shop around. You want advice on buying a car, a house, a condom, a politician, the regulator has the answer – shop around.

In the meantime it enthusiastically enforces a secrecy law that forbids any consumer from knowing which financial institution is engaged in criminal activity and which, if any, is honest.

Nobody has even hinted that Ahern should resign or be fired for his behaviour. The only discussion that comes near to any possible consequences is that he might have damaged his chances of landing a job in Europe or that the controversy might damage his legacy – that’s it.

A Prime Minister who, when he was Minister for Finance, accepted very large amounts of cash from ‘friends and businessmen’ who insults the intelligence of all thinking Irish citizens with his ‘Alice in Wonderland’ explanations is not expected to resign, not expected to be accountable, not even expected to come up with a decent lie.

Let’s be absolutely clear about the situation. Ireland is not a normal country, it is not like any other Western democracy. It is a country run more along the lines of a mafia operation than a modern democratic state. It is a country where the powerful can do as they wish without the slightest fear that they will face justice.

David Cameron, leader of the UK Conservative Party speaking about the ongoing scandal said;

“There is a time in the life of every government when it slips over from complacency into arrogance, and from arrogance into even indifference for the law”.

To paraphrase him, I would say: There is a time in the life of many states when they slip over from the democratic process and become a country that operates principally for the benefit of the rich and powerful.

The corrupt Haughey began that process in the 1980s and his faithful and admiring protégé Bertie Ahern, has been successfully following his masters low standards ever since.

Copy to:

Fianna Fail
Standards in Public Office Commission
ODCE
Financial Regulator
Revenue
ISE
Dept. of Finance

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Haughey and coalition gobshites

June 17, 2007 in Fianna Fail, Haughey by Anthony | No comments

The subject of Fianna Fail in coalition came up on Saturday View.

Sean Haughey suggested that leading Fianna Fail into coalition will be seen as an important aspect of his (corrupt) father’s legacy. Apparently, we are supposed to believe that the corrupt Haughey acted in the higher national interest, which is exactly what the criminal claimed at the time.

The reality, as always with Haughey, was very different.

In 1989, after yet another failed election, Haughey had to choose between going to the country again or abandoning the Fianna Fail core ‘value’ on coalition. He knew that if he failed again he would be finished in politics.

Given that power was always his primary objective he had no problem doing what was necessary in his own interests. He completely bypassed his cabinet on the matter, calling them “a crowd of gobshites.” Some legacy

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Haughey, corruption and denial

May 30, 2007 in Haughey by Anthony | 2 comments

Vincent Browne does not know what corruption is and he has no idea whatsoever of the very serious consequences that follow from the disease. This was very clear from a discussion on last Monday’s Tonight with Vincent Browne.

In an acrimonious exchange with Colm Mac hEochaidh, barrister and member of Fine Gael, Browne defined political corruption as the taking of money in return for favours.

Here’s the relevant exchanges:

Mac hEochaidh:

Charles Haughey, Liam Lawlor and Ray Burke were people who occupied very high positions in Fianna Fail and who self evidently not only exercised low standards but were profoundly corrupt men.

Browne:

There’s no proof that Charles Haughey ever did anything in return for monies he got which seems to me the definition of corruption.

Mac hEochaidh:

No, that is not the definition of corruption. First of all there is no definition of corruption but if you have any political standards at all…

Browne:

The word corruption, what’s the understanding of that in terms of politics. That a politician receives money in return for giving a favour and therefore in order to prove corruption or to use the word intelligently with regard to a particular politician you’ve got to show that a politician received money and in return he did a favour and I’m just simply pointing out there’s no evidence that Charles Haughey did any favours for anybody he got money from.

Cleary, Vincent Browne, who for decades questioned the dodgy activities of Haughey but eventually came to see him as a heroic figure has now entered the final phase of Haughey worship – Total denial.

By Browne’s narrow definition the following events do not constitute corruption. The theft of millions through tax evasion by a citizen/politician/Prime Minister; the acceptance of millions from rich businessmen while holding public office; the theft of large amounts of money from the Party Leaders Fund and most tellingly the plundering of a fund set up to save the life of Brian Lenihan.

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