THE Det Garda sentenced yesterday for stealing a car engine was part of a car-parts theft ring that involved two other gardai which had criminal dealings with one of the key figures in the gang which murdered Veronica Guerin. The three gardai were involved in the "ringing" operation where stolen cars which had been recovered and brought to Garda stations were taken to a breaker's yard. There the cars were stripped of valuable parts which were then sold off at a considerable profit.
Det Garda John Ryan operated the ring along with Garda John O'Neill, who was sentenced to four-and-a-half years imprisonment last year for accepting £16,000 in bribes from the gang which murdered Ms Guerin.
A third Garda, who has since left the Force, was also involved in the stolen car-parts ring but there was not sufficient evidence to bring charges against him, according to sources.
Detectives involved in the Guerin investigation raided a car-parts business in west Dublin in late 1996 and uncovered evidence that Ryan was in the habit of tipping off his criminal associates that they were about to be raided.
Ryan had provided tip-offs about impending raids by gardai seeking stolen car-parts, to a Tallaght man who was closely associated with the Dublin criminal John Traynor, now believed to be in Spain and who is wanted in connection with Ms Guerin's murder.
During the Guerin investigation detectives raided the breaker's yard and discovered a note-book where he had recorded details of tip-off calls from Ryan that the yard was about to be raided by detectives. Local officers confirmed yesterday that the yard was raided on a number of occasions but nothing was found. However, it is expected that the yard owner may still face criminal charges relating to other stolen parts.
Garda O'Neill was also known to have tipped off members of the gang which murdered Ms Guerin about when other detectives were planning raids against them. The Guerin investigators also believe the three gardai and the owner of the breaker's yard were assisted by an insurance assessor in their activities.
The "ringing" had been going on for a number of years. In one instance a stolen Nissan Maxima, with a value of £32,000 and only very slight damage, was taken from a west Dublin station to the breaker's yard. When it was later assessed, it had been stripped, and was valued at about £800.
Ryan, who was based at Rathfarnham station, arranged for cars to be taken from stations all over the west of the city. He had a particular interest in Nissan Micras, for which there is a strong market in second-hand parts.
During his trial Ryan tried to pass the blame for possession of the stolen Micra engine to another garda, Det Sgt Pat Normile. Sgt Normile was completely exonerated and senior gardai are satisfied he innocently bought the second-hand engine from Ryan as a favour for another Garda's girlfriend who owned a Micra and needed an engine. Sgt Normile, the court was told, believed Ryan had honestly obtained the engine. Ryan last night started a nine-month sentence in Mountjoy Prison.