News
Man gets ten months for his role in Galway stolen car scam
A man who asked no questions when a colleague offered to swop his 2009 Ford Focus for a newer vehicle, claimed that he had no idea the vehicle was stolen, Galway District Court heard.
In imposing a 10-month prison sentence on the defendant, Judge Mary Fahy remarked: “I don’t accept that anyone can be that stupid.”
David Simo (23), with an address at 207 Rosan Glas, Rahoon, had denied handling the stolen Peugeot 508 on dates between November 26 and December 4 last year. The Slovakian native further pleaded not guilty to inducing a man to lodge €800 into his bank account as payment for a bogus car engine on January 19 last year.
The Peugeot was stolen during the burglary of a house in Foxrock on November 26 2014, while its owner was in hospital. It was subsequently discovered in an estate on the Ballymoneen Road on December 4.
Detective Garda John Horkan told the court that there were false registration plates on it, but that the chassis numbers confirmed that it was the same vehicle.
Simo was identified as a suspect, and in a voluntary caution statement he claimed that he had not been suspicious when his colleague at a motor garage, a man he named as John Corcoran, offered to swop his car for the Peugeot at no extra cost. He admitted, though, that the vehicles were not of equal value.
Within a week he had sold it on to another man, Kevin, making ‘a few thousand’ in profit – although he could not recall for Gardaí the exact amount, nor what he had spent it on.
However, within days he was contacted by Kevin who said that the car had been seized by Gardaí.
Simo claimed that it was only at this point that he realised it may have been stolen.
“I wasn’t suspicious at the time as he (Corcoran) had told me that his friend had the log book, but had left it at home – we were friends at the time,” he told the court under oath.
“I asked him at least six times about it. Then he said that the friend had lost it and had applied for a replacement. I sold it because I was stuck for money.”
When asked by Inspector Mick O’Dwyer why he had not parked the car outside his home in Rahoon, Simo said he did not want his parents to know he had a car.
In a separate incident, the court heard that a man from Cavan had placed an ad on the Done Deal website seeking an engine for a 2008 Ford Mondeo.
He was contacted by a person by text, who claimed to have what he was looking for, and said that if €800 was lodged to an account in Simo’s name, that the part would be posted the following day.
The engine never materialised, and the seller could not be contacted. However, the injured party reported the matter to Gardaí, and the account was traced to the AIB branch at Lynch’s Castle, and from there to the defendant.
The State maintained that this ‘fraudulent transaction’ was the work of two people, and that Simo was equally culpable by the principle of ‘common design’.
However, he claimed that his friend, John Corcoran – accepted as the owner of the phone used in the transaction – had asked him to allow the payment, as he did not have a bank account of his own.
“He was living in a caravan, and I didn’t think he’d have been able to prove an address,” Simo said.
“I was only doing him a favour; he didn’t give me anything for it.”
The defendant said that he gave the money to Corcoran, although there was no proof of this.
Judge Fahy asked if he had requested the money to be returned, to which Simo replied: “He (Corcoran) said he was giving no money back.”
The defendant’s solicitor, John Martin, said that it was “quite plausible” that his client knew nothing about the transaction.
“It would have been quite stupid to use his own bank account when something was not right,” he said.
Judge Fahy did not agree, and concluded that Simo had been working in tandem with these other parties.
“The first thing he needs to do is break away from these people,” she added, before imposing a ten-month prison sentence, and a five year driving disqualification on him.
Recognisances were fixed in the event of an appeal, on condition that he does not drive any vehicle pending the outcome.
Significant state investment is required to address ‘shocking’ inequalities that leave cancer patients in the West at greater risk of succumbing to the disease.
A meeting of Regional Health Forum West heard that survival rates for breast, lung and colorectal cancers than the national average, and with the most deprived quintile of the population, the West’s residents faced poorer outcomes from a cancer diagnosis.
For breast cancer patients, the five-year survival rate was 80% in the West versus 85% nationally; for lung cancer patients it was 16.7% in the west against a 19.5% national survival rate; and in the West’s colorectal cancer patients, there was a 62.6% survival rate where the national average was 63.1%.
These startling statistics were provided in answer to a question from Ballinasloe-based Cllr Evelyn Parsons (Ind) who said it was yet another reminder that cancer treatment infrastructure in the West was in dire need of improvement.
“The situation is pretty stark. In the Western Regional Health Forum area, we have the highest incidence of deprivation and the highest health inequalities because of that – we have the highest incidences of cancer nationally because of that,” said Cllr Parsons, who is also a general practitioner.
In details provided by CEO of Saolta Health Care Group, which operates Galway’s hospitals, it was stated that a number of factors were impacting on patient outcomes.
Get the full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune, on sale in shops now, or you can download the digital edition from www.connachttribune.ie. You can also download our Connacht Tribune App from Apple’s App Store or get the Android Version from Google Play.
On the eve of completing his 150th marathon, an odyssey that has taken him across 53 countries, Loughrea’s Marathon Man has announced that he is planning to hang up his running shoes.
But not before Jarlath Fitzgerald completes another ten races, making it 160 marathons on the occasion of his 60th birthday.
“I want to draw the line in 2026. I turn 57 in October and when I reach 60 it’s the finishing line. The longer races are taking it out of me. I did 20 miles there two weeks ago and didn’t feel good. It’s getting harder,” he reveals.
“I’ve arthritis in both hips and there’s wear and tear in the knees.”
We speak as he is about to head out for a run before his shift in Supervalu Loughrea. Despite his physical complaints, he still clocks up 30 miles every second week and generally runs four days a week.
Jarlath receives injections to his left hip to keep the pain at bay while running on the road.
To give his joints a break, during the winter he runs cross country and often does a five-mile trek around Kylebrack Wood.
He is planning on running his 150th marathon in Cork on June 4, where a group of 20 made up of work colleagues, friends and running mates from Loughrea Athletics Club will join him.
Some are doing the 10k, others are doing the half marathon, but all will be there on the finishing line to cheer him on in the phenomenal achievement.
Get the full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune, on sale in shops now, or you can download the digital edition from www.connachttribune.ie. You can also download our Connacht Tribune App from Apple’s App Store or get the Android Version from Google Play.
From the Galway City Tribune – An impassioned plea for a ‘masterplan’ that would guide Galway City into the future has been made in the Dáil. Galway West TD Catherine Connolly stated this week that there needed to be an all-inclusive approach with “vision and leadership” in order to build a sustainable city.
Deputy Connolly spoke at length at the crisis surrounding traffic and housing in Galway city and said that not all of the blame could be laid at the door of the local authority.
She said that her preference would be the provision of light rail as the main form of public transport, but that this would have to be driven by the government.
“I sat on the local council for 17 years and despaired at all of the solutions going down one road, metaphorically and literally. In 2005 we put Park & Ride into the development plan, but that has not been rolled out. A 2016 transport strategy was outdated at the time and still has not been updated.
“Due to the housing crisis in the city, a task force was set up in 2019. Not a single report or analysis has been published on the cause of the crisis,” added Deputy Connolly.
She then referred to a report from the Land Development Agency (LDA) that identified lands suitable for the provision of housing. But she said that two-thirds of these had significant problems and a large portion was in Merlin Park University Hospital which, she said, would never have housing built on it.
In response, Minister Simon Harris spoke of the continuing job investment in the city and also in higher education, which is his portfolio.
But turning his attention to traffic congestion, he accepted that there were “real issues” when it came to transport, mobility and accessibility around Galway.
“We share the view that we need a Park & Ride facility and I understand there are also Bus Connects plans.
“I also suggest that the City Council reflect on her comments. I am proud to be in a Government that is providing unparalleled levels of investment to local authorities and unparalleled opportunities for local authorities to draw down,” he said.
Then Minister Harris referred to the controversial Galway City Outer Ring Road which he said was “struck down by An Bord Pleanála”, despite a lot of energy having been put into that project.
However, Deputy Connolly picked up on this and pointed out that An Bord Pleanála did not say ‘No’ to the ring road.
“The High Court said ‘No’ to the ring road because An Bord Pleanála acknowledged it failed utterly to consider climate change and our climate change obligations.
“That tells us something about An Bord Pleanála and the management that submitted such a plan.”
In the end, Minister Harris agreed that there needed to be a masterplan for Galway City.
“I suggest it is for the local authority to come up with a vision and then work with the Government to try to fund and implement that.”
Families queue up for school’s offer of free house
West has lower cancer survival rates than rest
Galway minors continue to lay waste to all opponents
Gardaí and IFA issue a joint appeal on summer road safety
Marathon Man plans to call a halt – but not before he hits 160 races
