Suspended sentence for son of hurling legend in 'grip of addiction'
Colm Fitzgerald, 28, of Castlequinn, Sixmilebridge, Co. Clare, stole the money while employed to be in charge of cash at a counter at Bank of Ireland, Shannon Industrial Estate, Shannon, Co. Clare, on seven dates in 2023.
Fitzgerald, who immediately resigned from the bank after the thefts were discovered during an internal audit, told the bank and gardaí he stole the cash to sustain a gambling addiction.
Fitzgerald's barrister, Kenny Kerins, told Ennis Circuit Criminal Court that 'steeped in GAA' Fitzgerald had paid all of the money back with the assistance of his family. Mr Kerins said Fitzgerald was in a 'serious' grip of addiction to gambling and had 'expressed relief' when the thefts were discovered.
Fitzgerald admitted stealing the cash in bundles of €5,000 on seven dates in 2023.
Mr Kerins said: 'He was living a life of secrets. He has remorse, he has shame. This young man had everything going well in his life. He was engaged in sport, he had a job, and in seven actions he absolutely destroys his career.'
The barrister told the sentencing hearing last Friday that, before the discovery of the thefts, Fitzgerald's gambling had got so serious that bookmaker chain Paddy Power banned him from betting with them. Colm Fitzgerald outside court in Ennis. Pic: Brendan Gleeson
'They were so concerned that they wrote to him and banned him from gambling with them… This was a serious addiction for Mr Fitzgerald,' Mr Kerins said.
'His life was completely out of control, so much so that he sees all this as a positive thing – he sees it as a disengagement from his addiction.'
Mr Kerins said when bank auditors discovered €35,000 was missing, Fitzgerald prepared a document that would have concealed 'his deceit' but 'cancelled it almost immediately'.
'He was about to further his criminal endeavour, but he stopped it,' said Mr Kerins. 'He went home and told his grandfather and close family. He knew the jig was up… He met with bank officials and made admissions. He resigned and met with gardaí by appointment. That is to his credit. He faced up to it. He is a gentleman.'
Mr Kerins said Fitzgerald had taken responsibility and measures not to return to gambling.
'He and his family are steeped in GAA, which was perhaps how he became involved in [sports] gambling,' he continued. 'He has great passion for sport and he is still involved in coaching, which is a great pride to him.'
Mr Kerins said Fitzgerald had 'engaged with therapeutic services and had worked as courier' to pay his family back the money they reimbursed to the bank.
Along with his partner, Fitzgerald has opened a coffee shop business in Sixmilebridge employing four people, he said, and has 'taken careful steps' to limit his 'access to the business's finances and cash'.
Detective Garda Paddy Bourke, of Shannon Garda Station, told the court he believed Fitzgerald had done all he could to co-operate with the Garda investigation, as well as trying to tackle his addiction. 'And I hope he continues to do so,' he added. Colm Fitzgerald outside court in Ennis. Pic: Brendan Gleeson
CCTV at the bank's cash counters had expired by the time the bank discovered the thefts and alerted gardaí, so Fitzgerald's pleas were valuable, the court heard.
Mr Kerins said Fitzgerald had 'no previous convictions', had engaged in residential therapy, and continues to attend Gamblers Anonymous.
'He's not seeking to blame anyone. He developed a low-level gambling addiction, which snowballed and got out of control while he was working as an employee of the bank. The court is aware of the compulsive nature of gambling addiction.'
Prosecuting barrister SarahJane Comerford said the prosecution 'accepted he'd been suffering from gambling addiction.
Judge Francis Comerford said Fitzgerald 'took bundles of cash from his employer each worth €5,000' and he considered a twoyear headline sentence to be appropriate. He said 'it was a significant breach of trust', and 'the aggravating factor is that it was theft by an employee from their employer'.
The judge said: 'Gambling is not an excuse for theft, and one should seek help without having to resort to this.' He accepted people in addiction 'have the compulsion to do this', and this 'does reduce culpability somewhat'.
He said there was an air of desperation about Fitzgerald's actions, adding: 'It was not a sophisticated fraud.' Reducing his sentence to 12 months, he said: 'It wasn't a commercial calculated crime, so that tends to put it at a lower level, and it was discovered very quickly, following an internal audit.'
The judge suspended the 12-month term for 18 months and directed Fitzgerald to continue to engage with gambling support services.
'It would have been more serious if it was someone vulnerable that was preyed upon,' he said. 'This was not done for a high lifestyle or to accrue wealth, but it was for a gambling addiction.'
Fitzgerald hugged his family outside the court afterwards.
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