The "mastermind" of a forgery operation involving a stolen bank draft worth £45,000 has been jailed for five years. Francis Cunningham (51), a businessman, of Ranelagh, pleaded guilty to forging the draft with attempt to defraud.
The Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard the draft was taken in an armed robbery at the Bank of Ireland in Howth in September 1996. Det Sgt Collins of the National Bureau of Fraud Investigation said he had no doubt Cunningham masterminded the forgery and that two other men were only "runners".
Gardai had South Richmond Street in the Portobello area under surveillance on November 15th, 1996, when Cunningham entered the Late Nite Extra shop with Edward Dunne. They were joined by John McBride, who worked in a nearby bookmakers.
A security video recorded Cunningham instructing McBride to fill out the bank draft as payable to Oliver McDonald for £45,000.
Sentencing Cunningham to five years in jail, Judge Elizabeth Dunne said she had considered his central role in the plot.