A man who was allegedly the subject of a contract killing has told a court he met a man who offered him the chance to buy out the contract for €100,000.
Co Clare woman Sharon Collins (45), of Ballybeg House, Kildysart Road, Ennis and Essam Eid (53), an Egyptian man with a Las Vegas address have pleaded not guilty at the Central Criminal Court to conspiring to kill PJ, Robert and Niall Howard between August 1st, 2006 and September 26th, 2006. Ms Collins also denied hiring Mr Eid to shoot the three men.
Mr Eid denies demanding €100,000 from Robert Howard to cancel the contracts. He also denies breaking into the Howard family business at Westgate Business Park and stealing two computers, some computer cables, a
digital clock and a poster of old Irish money and then handling the stolen items.
Mr Eid denies demanding EUR100,000 from Robert Howard to cancel the contracts
Robert Howard told prosecution counsel Mr Tom O'Connell SC he received a call on his mobile from a man who called himself Tony on September 26th, 2006. "It was a male voice and he said I heard you lost a few computers," he said.
Mr Howard said that he was a director of the family property investment business Downes & Howard, where he and his brother worked with his father. Ms Collins, who was PJ Power's partner at the time, also worked in the
business.
Seven people had keys to the premises, including the three Howards, Ms Collins, a cleaner, a handyman and the firm's accountant. These seven people also had the alarm codes.
On September 26th he had come into work as normal. He noticed that the Chubb lock on the front door was not locked. Going upstairs he noticed that the alarm was not on either. His Toshiba laptop was missing, along with an Advent desktop computer from the reception area, some computer cables, a digital clock and a picture of some old Irish money.
Mr Howard said that the robbery had been reported to the gardaí. That evening he received the phone call. "He said I will be at your house in five minutes."
Mr Howard said he did not contact the gardaí at this stage because he didn't believe anyone would turn up. "Next thing I knew there was a knock at the door about five minutes later."
From the lights of cars passing on the road outside and light from the hallway of the house, he could see someone standing at the door so he went to open it.
The man standing outside said his name was Tony and Mr Howard said he could see something on the bonnet of his car. The man went and collected it and Mr Howard said he could see it was the Toshiba laptop that had been taken in the robbery.
Mr Howard told Mr O'Connell that he went inside and gave the laptop to his brother who phoned the gardaí. Mr Howard went back outside.
The man told him there was a contract out on himself, his brother Niall, and his father PJ. He told him it was worth €130,000 but said he did not want to carry out the hit. "He said he didn't want to do it and he said he wanted me to buy the contract out for €100,000".
Mr Howard said the man was holding documents showing how to get to the house he shared with his brother, how to get to his father's house and how to get to the holiday home he and his brother had in Kilkee.
He also showed him some photographs of PJ Howard, one showing him on the deck of a boat, the other of him and Ms Collins at a Christmas party.
Robert Howard said he took the photographs, which had been printed off from a computer, and kept them, later giving them to gardaí.
At some point during the twenty minutes they were talking on the doorstep one of Mr Howard's housemates walked past them into the house. He said he went back inside and phoned the gardaí to see if they were on their way and when he came back out the man was leaving. "I came outside the house again and Tony was over the wall and he was on his way to a car."
Mr Howard said he tried to follow him as he drove off without lights but lost him. He was not able to identify the colour of the car or the licence plate.
Later that night he said he received another phonecall from Tony who asked him if he had started getting the money together. Robert said he had.
The trial continues on Monday afternoon before Mr Justice Roderick Murphy and the jury of eight men and four women. It is expected to last for four weeks.