Morris tribunal:A Garda sergeant turned the Donegal border town of Raphoe into a "ghost town", a nephew of publican Frank McBrearty snr told the tribunal.
Mark McConnell was arrested in December 1996 along with his cousin Frank McBrearty jnr on suspicion of murdering local cattle dealer Richie Barron, the victim of a hit-and-run driver.
The extended McBrearty family claim gardaí launched a campaign of harassment against them following the arrests, and tried to drive Mr McBrearty's nightclub out of business, following the arrival in the town of Sgt John White in early 1997.
Mr McBrearty snr says this is the reason for over 100 court summonses served against him, his business, his extended family and employees in 1997 and early 1998. The DPP withdrew all the charges in July 2000.
Mr McConnell told the tribunal that following an encounter at Mr McBrearty's nightclub in March 1997, Sgt White had served him a summons the following month, calling to his home at 11.45pm to serve the summons while he was in bed.
Mr McConnell's wife Róisín was afraid to stay in the house at night for weeks afterwards, he said. "He [ White] absolutely destroyed the town of Raphoe single-handedly," Mr McConnell told the inquiry.
"It never has returned. It's like a ghost town. He summonsed left, right and centre - anybody that was related to Frank McBrearty, worked with him, anybody that was related to me, the Quinns, Paul Quinn. He absolutely tried to stamp us into the ground in Raphoe.
" He absolutely destroyed that town. If you go into the town now at the weekend there's not one person in it. . ."
Róisín McConnell said she was in bed with her husband when gardaí called. She said that when her husband complained that she had been hospitalised, she overheard the sergeant telling him "It was her own guilty conscience put her in the hospital."
Gardaí deny the incidents took place as the McConnells describe them, and say they called to serve the summons before 11pm.