Have you ever known a "serious" criminal?

The Inbetween is mine

micar wrote: »

Out of curiosity.....what made you a suspect and what was questioning aspect like

At any time did you feel that the AGS might try and pin it on you?

I was in the area at the time, wasn't ever in the Garda thinking, but had to go thru questions to see if I could remember seeing the lad.
It was pretty horrific killing so tbf, they were thorough in their work

Sgt Hartman

I lived close to a guy who was considered "one of the most violent and dangerous criminals in Limerick ". He and his friend beat a barman to death in a side street because they thought he was carrying the takings from the pub with him. He was identified from a bloodied hand print that was on the wall. He was given life in prison and actually died of a heart attack while in prison a few years ago.

I also know a guy who's currently doing life in prison for stabbing his best friend to death after a drunken argument that got out of hand.

micar

The Inbetween is mine wrote: »

I was in the area at the time, wasn't ever in the Garda thinking, but had to go thru questions to see if I could remember seeing the lad.
It was pretty horrific killing so tbf, they were thorough in their work

Ah ...you were a potential witness rather than a suspect.

Assumed incorrectly.....my bad.

Wildly Boaring

Alan Hawe taught in our local national school.

Taught at least 2 if my brothers.

Never taught me but he definitely coached my school GAA team a few times.

banie01

This is a thread that comes up with a fair degree of regularity in here.
Yes, many both violent and professional aswell as professionally violent.
Even quite a few of the idealogically motivated violent bent.

One person I had quite a bit of contact with in the mid 90's as part of cooperation north and the Garda Youth Diversion project team at the time is currently under investigation as part of review of the operation of a charity they were involved in.
I'd assume based even on what I knew back in the 90's a fair degree of graft went on.

I've family members who have been part of despicable acts, and I'm estranged from them and frankly glad my mother died before he sank to his lowest.

It sounds like I'm at a nexus of criminality, I'm really not.(I think) but I do have a huge number of people I know who are involved.
Another person who was a childhood friend of mine, and is still an acquaintance recently settled with CAB for a substantial sum.
They are "re-orientating" their income from drugs, to property and now are landlord to substantial and growing number of properties around Limerick city.

Munstergirl854

Wildly Boaring wrote: »

Alan Hawe taught in our local national school.

Taught at least 2 if my brothers.

Never taught me but he definitely coached my school GAA team a few times.

I was in a pub one night and that story was on the front page of The Sun,the barman asked a customer did you read about that.The customer who was a barstool critic and had a bad opinion on just about everything just said "We never know what goes on inside a person's mind." Always stayed with me.

corner of hells

The Inbetween is mine wrote: »

Many years ago, I was actually questioned 3 times about a murder in my area turns out a neighbour of mine did it..

My father was questioned three times over a murder that happened near where he worked , the Gardai 500 hundred of his colleagues and about 800 soldiers in a nearby barracks.
My dad was questioned three times because the las who was murdered was related to us , Gardai eventually said to my Dad we know you're not involved, we have your clock in cards and cctv but we have to 100% sure.

Gregor Samsa

Someone I know very well was convicted of murder, later reduced to manslaughter on appeal (crime and case were a bit more complicated than that, but that's the gist of it). They did an absolutely appalling thing, no question about it - and put the family of the victim and their own family though absolute hell - but in every other aspect of their lives they're one of the quietest, nicest, most helpful people you could meet. They pleaded guilty to manslaughter, served their time and are out of prison, but I still can't get my head around what they did, because knowing the person, it just doesn't seem possible.

Witchie

Went on a date with a Malaysian guy a few years ago who told me he was on the FBI'S most wanted list for managing to smuggle oil out of Iran.

Told me his dad owned a fish canning factory in Thailand and one of his mates was in opium production. The friend had some problems with whistleblowers so chopped them up and my guy allowed him to can them in the factory.

He of course could have been making it all up, but either way I didn't want to go out with a dangerous guy or a fantacist.

Oh and my old hairdresser's husband recently went down for the death of his lorry load of Vietnamese people.

fryup

^^^^^^^^^^^^

bravado,

AckwelFoley

I knew a guy that butchered his wife and 2 children with a knife and a hurl

Nice guy to deal with right up until that point.

I know a guy that was questioned about the murders in Yorkshire back in the 80s

Some lad called Peter Suthcliff was eventually convinced

Billy Mays

Same class as a major gangland criminal

Year behind a different major gangland criminal shot dead some years ago

oholly121

Used to play hurling when I was younger with this piece of ****


https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.thejournal.ie/manchester-dubliner-rape-2619160-Feb2016/%3Famp%3D1

Was a load mouth tosser even back then

joebloggs32

I wouldn't say i knew the man, but spent a few days in the company of a former loyalist paramilitary who done some serious porridge in the Maze at the time of the hunger strikes.

I was taking part in an educational trip.

I had dinner with him one night.
He had some fascinating stories about what life was like for him growing up. Its hard to comprehend the different upbringing he had compared to me coming from a quiet corner of rural Ireland.

The Inbetween is mine

Witchie wrote: »

Went on a date with a Malaysian guy a few years ago who told me he was on the FBI'S most wanted list for managing to smuggle oil out of Iran.

Told me his dad owned a fish canning factory in Thailand and one of his mates was in opium production. The friend had some problems with whistleblowers so chopped them up and my guy allowed him to can them in the factory.

He of course could have been making it all up, but either way I didn't want to go out with a dangerous guy or a fantacist.

Oh and my old hairdresser's husband recently went down for the death of his lorry load of Vietnamese people.

Ah they finally caught up to Mo....and what a wonderful building that lass has...wonder who financed it all?

Tzardine

One of my best mates dad went to prison a few years back. Totally respectful middle class family.

Turned out he raped his niece when she was a kid.

Complete shock.

Witchie

The Inbetween is mine wrote: »

Ah they finally caught up to Mo....and what a wonderful building that lass has...wonder who financed it all?

Not Mo. Higher up the pecking order.

Munstersrebel

A lad i used to work with and who had some dodgy ways ntdealing with legal papers, went to jail for defrauding clients of a 7figure sum... I totally accidentally found out..

ACitizenErased

Yup, was involved in GAA with a guy who slit a woman's throat and left her bleed out after setting the house on fire.

The Inbetween is mine

Witchie wrote: »

Not Mo. Higher up the pecking order.

Interesting that more than 1 of them had a hairdressers... It's not just the hair that gets washed I'm guessing

Richard Hillman

A few

A murderer, who stabbed a guy 17 times

A guy who was running guns for the Ra and is now a big time drug dealer.

I drank a few times with the guy who set a homeless man on fire in Pheonix Park. He was a nice chap back then but fell into hard drugs. He went mental after having his throat slashed and survived it.

Those 2 brothers who beat up that Autistic guy in Bray. They lived in my estate. Never liked them tbh.

Used to play football with a guy who was caught with 1m of drugs. They were not his but he had to take the fall otherwise he was going for trip to the mountains.

I also chatted to Graham Dwyer in his local pub that I frequented. He is a Real Madrid fan and he watched the Barcelona 5-0 win on the table beside me.

freshpopcorn

Nothing serious my aunt knows a guy who committed a few armed post office robberies and cash in transit robberies back in the 1980's.
I met him once or twice. He's very homophonic and racist and doesn't seem to have much going on. He has good stories to tell tough. I think the thrill of it was nearly as good as the money for him.

A lady who lives near me stole over €400,000 from her work place. She was meant to have being okay but a bit snobby. She lived it up with her money. She got sentenced to a few years but got out very fast. She went on community service and told everybody she was doing work experience.

The Inbetween is mine

I didn't know him.... but my mother did a bunk to Israel with a bank robber after he pulled a job

smellyoldboot

Grew up in an inner city area in Waterford and it's actually shocking the amount of serious criminals I knew or at least well enough they'd approach and say hello etc in a shop/pub. At least 4 currently serving time for murder, plus one I lived next to (we didn't get on, Wonder why) one paedophile (committed suicide) and couldn't count how many have been in for serious drug charges. For a place relatively small it's seriously scummy tbh.

The one thing most of these had in common: In a social setting you would peg them as a bit rough maybe but bar one or two you would have no idea of the level of violence they have proven themselves capable of.

Mad_maxx

Didn't even know who he was at the time but shook hands with and had a five minute chat with the guy who blew up Lord Henry Mountbatten

He was canvassing for the local SF candidate in a bye election, he spent most of the time telling me that Michael McDowell ( justice minister at the time) was a bollocks

Neighbour asked me the following day "had I Thomas McMahon around "

scudzilla

Yeah, i moved here 15yrs ago from Wales, back home i mixxed with a lot of 'bad people' from the North Wales area, most are or have done serious time now, also occasionally mixxed with some of the higher ups from Manchester/Liverpool.

Back then it was interesting, now i just look back on them with humour, some of those from Wales acting the big tough guys, wouldn't last 5 minutes over here and thats no exaggeration.

Hangdogroad

AckwelFoley wrote: »

I knew a guy that butchered his wife and 2 children with a knife and a hurl

Nice guy to deal with right up until that point.

I know a guy that was questioned about the murders in Yorkshire back in the 80s

Some lad called Peter Suthcliff was eventually convinced

In fairness nearly every male in ther 20s and 30s in the North Of England were questioned during the Yorkshire ripper investigation.

gary550

A friends father is currently doing life for murder (which was more of an assassination).

Sound guy who would do anything for you and just got mixed up with the wrong crowd.....

dhaughton99

I used to work for the accountant who controlled the Ansbacher accounts.

AckwelFoley

Hangdogroad wrote: »

In fairness nearly every male in ther 20s and 30s in the North Of England were questioned during the Yorkshire ripper investigation.

Yea. You're right. That's quite true.

joebloggs32

About 15 years ago i picked up a newspaper to see a picture of my housemate in it.
She was on trial for manslaughter. I never knew a thing.

It was a house share and I'd only moved in a few months before so i didn't know her.

I nearly **** myself until i read down into the article.

Turned out she killed some lad walking on the road one night while driving.
She didn't stop at the scene as she claimed to be unaware of the collision.

She did kill him as forensics proved it was her car, but she was not convicted.


A year later, another house and a complete weirdo moved in with us. (Me and one girl)
The girl in the house was totally creeped out by him. Walking around in boxers all day, up all night smoking etc.
We rang a mate in the Gardai and it turned out he had multiple convictions for violent offences.
He left meds in the batbroom and we looked them up...treatment for schizophrenia.
We told the landlord he had to go or we would leave.
He knew the we told the landlord. Threatened to burn us out. We let the cops know, and they called to his homeplace in another town to send him a message.
We slept in friends houses for a few nights until we knew he skipped town.

Gregor Samsa

Gregor Samsa wrote: »

Someone I know very well was convicted of murder, later reduced to manslaughter on appeal (crime and case were a bit more complicated than that, but that's the gist of it). They did an absolutely appalling thing, no question about it - and put the family of the victim and their own family though absolute hell - but in every other aspect of their lives they're one of the quietest, nicest, most helpful people you could meet. They pleaded guilty to manslaughter, served their time and are out of prison, but I still can't get my head around what they did, because knowing the person, it just doesn't seem possible.

Was that the Cork murder from the mid noughties?

El Gato De Negocios

Not a "serious criminal" but a blood relative of mine is currently serving a long sentence in the central mental hospital for killing his partner. Terribly sad case, he has/had mental health issues and got in trouble for assaulting a garda when a teenager, served some time for that, got out, did his leaving, went and got a University degree, extremely intelligent chap and to speak to him in person you'd say a really nice and gentle soul. Not for one second excusing his crime but he had a very tough upbringing, his mother is an absolute crackpot, proper headbanger, his dad had alcohol abuse issues and he witnessed his infant sibling die when he was 3 or 4. Was on medication for schizophrenia but tablets ran out, he started having episodes and hallucinations and ended up taking someone's life. Heartbreaking for all concerned, particularly his partners family.

weldoninhio

joebloggs32 wrote: »

About 15 years ago i picked up a newspaper to see a picture of my housemate in it.
She was on trial for manslaughter. I never knew a thing.

It was a house share and I'd only moved in a few months before so i didn't know her.

I nearly **** myself until i read down into the article.

Turned out she killed some lad walking on the road one night while driving.
She didn't stop at the scene as she claimed to be unaware of the collision.

She did kill him as forensics proved it was her car, but she was not convicted.


A year later, another house and a complete weirdo moved in with us. (Me and one girl)
The girl in the house was totally creeped out by him. Walking around in boxers all day, up all night smoking etc.
We rang a mate in the Gardai and it turned out he had multiple convictions for violent offences.
He left meds in the batbroom and we looked them up...treatment for schizophrenia.
We told the landlord he had to go or we would leave.
He knew the we told the landlord. Threatened to burn us out. We let the cops know, and they called to his homeplace in another town to send him a message.
We slept in friends houses for a few nights until we knew he skipped town.

So your housemate was ill, was taking medication for it, and you had him kicked out?

Wanderer78

smellyoldboot wrote:

The one thing most of these had in common: In a social setting you would peg them as a bit rough maybe but bar one or two you would have no idea of the level of violence they have proven themselves capable of.

You ll find most criminals would have experienced truma growing up, sprinkle in some complex psychological disorders, and you ve a ticking time bomb. Can't think of any serious criminals, but I meet petty criminals regularly, have met a chap that was shot, think during a burglary, he's lucky to be alive, and to be able to walk.

Gregor Samsa

weldoninhio wrote: »

So your housemate was ill, was taking medication for it, and you had him kicked out?

A close family member of mine has schizophrenia (different person to whom I posted about earlier).

It’s an awful disease for the poor sufferer, and you’d be right to have sympathy for them.

But from personal experience I would not judge this poster negatively for making such an ultimatum. There’s only so much anyone should have to put up with in the behaviour of others, and schizophrenia can blast right through that limit and keep in going (and I’m not even talking about violent behaviour here). Medication doesn’t necessarily “cure” it either, just takes the edges off some of the more extreme symptoms, but can cause behavioural issues of its own.

That said, this is a thread about knowing people who committed serious crimes, so the anecdote doesn’t really fit here. People suffering from schizophrenia are have a larger likelihood of being the victim of violent crime than those who don’t, but don’t necessarily have a higher instance of committing them.

circadian

weldoninhio wrote: »

So your housemate was ill, was taking medication for it, and you had him kicked out?

I don't agree with this. The housemate clearly had serious issues and the rest of the house was in no way equipped to handle it. There should be much better support services for people with severe mental illnesses allowing them to live as normally as possible. House shares with a variety of characters that comes with the territory of conflict over the most inane **** is not a stable or supportive environment.



The housemates, while it comes across as cold, done the right thing to protect themselves as anything could have happened in such a situation to set everything off without any supports whatsoever for the fella that needs it most.

Hangdogroad

gary550 wrote: »

A friends father is currently doing life for murder (which was more of an assassination).

Sound guy who would do anything for you and just got mixed up with the wrong crowd.....

"More of an assasination"

Is that different from the oul murder?

antodeco

Someone I know is being trialled for murdering his wife. Actually need to check up what's happening with that case. I've a few photos with him a week or 2 beforehand. Such a nice guy, you'd happily invite him around to your place.

Another old manager of mine did a few years for kidnapping and attempted murder. He always was a bit of an oddball so didn't surprise me.

Someone else I know did 15 years for something relating to freedom fighting group here in Ireland...

Mad_maxx

weldoninhio wrote: »

So your housemate was ill, was taking medication for it, and you had him kicked out?

thats right , mental illness gives someone licence to behave in an appropriate way which makes others deeply uncomfortable

:rolleyes:

fussyonion

I know Linda Martin and she murdered Get Lucky by Pharrell Wiliams.

Feisar

A lad that was a regular in a pub I worked in killed a man. I found out when one of the other barmen came in with a paper with the story in it.

branie2

Thankfully, none

gary550

Hangdogroad wrote: »

"More of an assasination"

Is that different from the oul murder?

eh no, both result in someone being dead

If you google the definition of assasination you will get:

"to murder (a usually prominent person) by sudden or secret attack often for political reasons"

If you google murder you will get:

"the crime of unlawfully killing a person especially with malice aforethought"

The former more accurately describes it :rolleyes:

MarkY91

Guy in my class in primary school is in prison for killing two eastern european blokes. Was the typical kid who was always going to end up in a bad way. Thinking back, it was obvious that his life was going to be meaningless.

Irishphotodesk

MarkY91 wrote: »

Guy in my class in primary school is in prison for killing two eastern european blokes. Was the typical kid who was always going to end up in a bad way. Thinking back, it was obvious that his life was going to be meaningless.

With a screwdriver ?

Walking_Wolf

MarkY91 wrote: »

Guy in my class in primary school is in prison for killing two eastern european blokes. Was the typical kid who was always going to end up in a bad way. Thinking back, it was obvious that his life was going to be meaningless.

Was it this scumbag?

https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/news/screwdriver-killer-david-curran-granted-day-release-from-prison-where-he-serves-life-sentence-for-double-murder-38131439.html

Charles Babbage

I know a few people on the political side.
On the criminal end, my primary school bully subsequently did time for murder. He was an evil ****. However, the interesting point on the nature vs nuture debate was that he had been adopted and his adoptive parents were decent kindly people, who offered him no bad example whatsoever. In the latter part of his sentence in the big house, he used to ring people in the area to chat with people that he had been at school with, probably because he didn't know many people, and anyone who met him avoided him. He rang the father of a friend of mine looking for his classmate, the father put him off and claimed that my friend had emigrated although he had actually built a house next door.
He is out now, not sure what he did. Let's hope he doesn't read boards.

Walking_Wolf

Walking_Wolf wrote: »

Was it this scumbag?

https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/news/screwdriver-killer-david-curran-granted-day-release-from-prison-where-he-serves-life-sentence-for-double-murder-38131439.html

Jesus remember that story so well. Absolutely horrific. That fella should never get out and seems the type that will reoffend.

For Forks Sake

Hangdogroad wrote: »

In fairness nearly every male in ther 20s and 30s in the North Of England were questioned during the Yorkshire ripper investigation.

Including Sutcliffe himself, repeatedly.

Despite the false lead, Sutcliffe was interviewed on at least two other occasions in 1979. Despite matching several forensic clues and being on the list of 300 names in connection with the £5 note, he was not strongly suspected. Sutcliffe was interviewed by police nine times in total.