A property developer who defrauded the ESB of £40,000 worth of electricity has been given a one-year suspended sentence after paying £30,000 to the St Vincent de Paul Society.
Patrick J. McGrath, of Sweepstakes, Ballsbridge, also refunded £40,000 to the ESB in respect of electricity he fraudulently extracted at a flats property he owned since 1979 in Nelson Street near Dublin city centre.
McGrath pleaded guilty a year ago at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to one charge of fraudulently extracting electricity there on January 13th, 1993.
Judge Kevin Haugh ordered him then to pay £30,000 to the St Vincent de Paul Society within one year and said if that was done he would impose a suspended sentence. The judge said McGrath was saved from an immediate jail sentence by a combination of his guilty plea, his £40,000 payment to the ESB and by the character reference in evidence from Garda Sgt Pauline Gallagher.
"This was a serious charge and I would not like it thought that people with wealth can buy themselves out of trouble. But the evidence showed you had done much good in other matters," Judge Haugh said when he imposed the suspended sentence. Last year he said the offence represented "a home industry of some sophistication". If the flats were full or nearly full the profits accruing to McGrath would have been quite substantial.
Prosecuting counsel Mr Tom O'Connell said the maximum penalty was 10 years' imprisonment and/or an unlimited fine. McGrath had no previous convictions.
Evidence was given at the 1996 hearing that engineers found three time switches and two electromagnetic relays installed in McGrath's Nelson Street premises.
McGrath had provided a laundry since 1982 at the rear of the Nelson Street property, to which residents of his flats had unlimited access for a fee of £7 per person per month. The flats had a capacity for 54 people.
The ESB said unmetered electricity powered the laundry, one flat, and other parts of the property. The laundry had five washing machines and five dryers.
McGrath installed slot meters in the laundry after ESB engineers disconnected the illegal unmetered supply.
Sgt Gallagher said McGrath had never before come under Garda notice and she told Judge Haugh of several charitable deeds he performed.
Mr Patrick MacEntee SC, for McGrath, said his client was a man who had accumulated some wealth with years of hard work. He was thoroughly ashamed of this offence.