Brian Meehan was convicted of the murder of Veronica Guerin after the Special Criminal Court accepted the evidence of State witness Russell Warren that Meehan had driven the stolen motorcycle used in the killing.
"The court accepts Russell Warren's evidence that the accused inspected the motorcycle, directed repairs and renovations to be carried out, later road tested the motorcycle, returned to collect the motorcycle on the morning of June 26th, 1996, directed Russell Warren to go to Naas and to look out for the red sports car, to report when he saw it and when he did to follow it and report where they were on the Naas Road.
"The court is satisfied that during these phone calls or some of them the accused used a hands-free facility for his mobile phone and as a result was heard to be travelling on a motor cycle. The court is satisfied that the accused subsequently agreed to dispose of the motorcycle.
"The court is satisfied that this evidence leads to only one conclusion, namely that the accused was a fundamental part of the conspiracy or plot to murder Veronica Guerin, that he participated fully in the event," the judge added.
The court was critical of the evidence of State witness Charles Bowden and his wife Juliet Bowden in relation to the murder, although it accepted their evidence concerning Meehan's role in the drugs and firearms.
Giving the court's verdict Mr Justice Morris, presiding, noted: "In cross examination Meehan's defence counsel suggested to Charles Bowden that he was deliberately bolstering the evidence which he was giving so as to be the witness who implicated the accused in the crime and thereby make himself a more `saleable commodity' if he sold his story to the newspapers or wrote a book.
"Charles Bowden denied in positive terms that he ever considered such a thing. He did so in explicit terms. Subsequently defence counsel produced and established to the court's satisfaction that Charles Bowden had in fact contacted a journalist, namely Mr Paul Williams, with a view to collaborating with him in the publication of his involvement in this matter. Charles Bowden acknowledged to the court that he had lied to the court."
These were but examples of the way the court found his evidence unsatisfactory. "The court rejects this witness's evidence as unreliable in relation to count number one."
Mr Justice Morris, presiding, said the court treated the evidence of Mrs Juliet Bowden on the same basis as that of an accomplice. He said the court was satisfied that Mrs Bowden lied on a number of occasions to the court.
The court said the evidence of Julian Clohessy should be treated with caution but should not be regarded as accomplice evidence. Mr Clohessy, who was an associate and socialised with members of the gang, told the court that during a conversation with Meehan in the POD nightclub on July 11th, 1996, Meehan told him he was involved in the murder.
Turning to the evidence of Russell Warren - serving five years for stealing a motorcycle and handling the proceeds of crime - the court said he was an accomplice and his evidence in relation to the murder had to be approached with caution and reserve.
It had been suggested that Warren was only now telling his story at the behest of Det Garda James B. Hanley, in the hope of achieving a reward.
"The court considers it proper to say that none of the allegations of improper conduct on the part of Detective Garda Hanley was substantiated nor indeed supported by evidence. The court is of the view that through the enquiry and trial of this matter Detective Garda Hanley's conduct has been above reproach," the judge said.
The court said that Warren's evidence was strongly supported by one piece of evidence and corroborated by another. The evidence of Mrs Maureen Finnegan, who told the court that she saw a man in Naas on the morning of June 26th using a mobile phone, satisfied the court beyond all reasonable doubt that the man she saw was Warren.
Dealing with the drugs offences, Mr Justice Morris said the court approached the evidence of Charles Bowden on the drugs and firearms offences with extreme caution and was satisfied he was prepared to lie under oath and had been found to do so in this trial.
But the court was satisfied that while carrying out his function as a drugs distributor Bowden acted under the direct control of Meehan and that Bowden and Meehan, together with three other men, "collected, counted and transmitted to others money generated from the sale of drugs."
The court was also satisfied that Meehan informed Bowden that guns and ammunition would be arriving with the drugs and these were stored by Bowden in a graveyard at Oldcourt Road. The court was accordingly satisfied that these arms and ammunition were in the accused's possession or under his control.
Following the verdict and sentence the court agreed to hear an application for leave to appeal by Meehan's lawyers on October 11th next.