A Co Donegal detective broke down yesterday when he said he might have to call his mother to give evidence that he did not meet witness Bernard Conlon in Raphoe on the night of a Garda pub raid.
Det Sgt John White (50) was being questioned about an allegation by Mr Conlon that they met in Raphoe on Saturday, August 30th, 1997 at 9.30pm to arrange for Mr Conlon to deliberately be found drinking after hours that night in Frankie's nightclub owned by the McBreartys to set them up.
Denying all allegations of corruption made by Mr Conlon against him, Sgt White said on that night he was at home in Ballybofey looking after his two children.
Sgt White said his wife and mother had gone on a tour to Enniskillen. As they would both be gone all day, there was nobody to mind the children so he took a day's leave. He had no idea what time they would be returning and they arrived back at about 10.30 to 11 pm. He then made them tea.
There was the evidence of his wife and mother and if there was any doubt on this, he would call them. Becoming emotional, Sgt White said: "I hate the thought of putting my mother through this."
He broke down and tribunal lawyer Paul McDermott SC asked him if he was all right. "I'm a bit upset," he said and the tribunal took a short adjournment.
Sgt White said he only met Mr Conlon in Raphoe once on July 20th, 1997. He was on duty when Mr Conlon complained to him in the street that he had not got a meal in Frankie's.
He denied Mr Conlon's evidence that they had also met in Raphoe after that and before the night of the raid and he asked Mr Conlon to do him a favour.
He said he did not meet Mr Conlon after July 20th until March 1998 when he was in court in Letterkenny.
Mr Conlon had also alleged that Sgt White had come to his house in Sligo several times after August 30th and given him money. "I can guarantee you, before God, that I never was in Bernard Conlon's house in my life," he said.
On the allegation that he gave Mr Conlon money on different occasions, he said: "I absolutely vehemently deny it."
Mr Conlon alleged Sgt White had told him to make up the story that two men had threatened him with a silver bullet and wrongly identified two members of the extended McBrearty family. Sgt White said: "For five and a half years I've lived under that horrible, horrible allegation."
Asked if he thought Mr Conlon made up the allegation against him by himself, Sgt White said he thought Mr Conlon started off himself, but there was certain encouragement from the Carty investigation team.
The chairman asked if he thought Mr Conlon was capable of making up this story on his own.
Sgt White said: "I think he's very clever in ways. He may not be well-educated, but he picks up on information as he goes along. He is good at inventing things."
Sgt White said he had notes and documents stolen from his locker in Letterkenny Garda station between March 17th and 20th, 2000. The Carty team were in the station on March 20th but would not discuss the allegations in the presence of his solicitor.
He said he was angry that some policeman broke in and and took his documents. He was basing his suspicions that it was the Carty team on the facts available to him, he said.
He was arrested on March 21st 2000. Earlier this year, he was acquitted in Letterkenny Circuit Court on charges of perverting the course of justice and making false statements.
