A DUBLIN man who allowed money drawn on cheques stolen by his girlfriend's brother to be lodged in his bank account and then spent it on gambling has been given a suspended sentence.

Daniel Casey (24), of Greenfort Crescent, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to two counts of stealing sums totalling €6,650, the property of Independent Star Ltd, on dates in April and May, 2007.

His co-accused, Amir Essalhi (25), stole 14 cheques from the offices of the Irish Daily Star, which he had gained access to in a previous job as a drain technician. Essalhi had a role in defrauding the company of €69,050.

Admitted

Essalhi, of Rochford Lawns, Bakers Walk, Kilcock, Co Kildare, was given a six-year sentence last December after he admitted theft at the offices of the Star newspaper and of stealing sums of money which were the property of Independent Star Ltd.

Essalhi was also being sentenced on that date for stealing an industrial heater and arson at EMVA, JFK Road, Bluebell, in September 2007, as well as stealing €7,000, which was the property of Bank of Ireland, between July and August 2007.

Judge Katherine Delahunt said she was taking into account that Casey had made admissions to gardai and was co-operative after his arrest and that his previous convictions were of a more minor type than this offence.

Judge Delahunt said she did not feel the community would be best served by Casey serving a custodial sentence and she imposed a four-year suspended sentence. She ordered that he undergo random drugs testing.

She said she would impose a community service order on the second count if Casey is deemed suitable. Det Garda Ronan Clogher told Ronan Kennedy, prosecuting, that staff at the Star alerted gardai after discovering that €69,050 had been drawn on their account without authorisation and that 14 cheques were missing from a cheque book that was kept in a locked office.

Staff installed hidden cameras which captured Essalhi, a former employee of Drain Doctor, which had been carrying out work at the building, removing €440 from a petty cash box and going through drawers in the financial controllers' office.

Det Garda Clogher said that officials at Ulster Bank became suspicious of unusual transactions in Essalhi's account. They contacted the Star office to ask them about a €23,000 cheque drawn on their account and staff there verified he was unknown to them.

Squandered

He said they were able to check the path of the cheques and found that they had been lodged into the accounts of Essalhi, Casey and a third person.

He said €35,500 was recovered from Essalhi's account before he could spend it but the bank was at a net loss of €33,550 which was not recovered, including €6,650 withdrawn by Casey and €13,500 by a third person.

Michael Bowman, defending, said Casey, who was in a relationship with Essalhi's sister, had a gambling problem and had "naively, foolishly taken something for nothing" and had squandered it on gambling.

hnews@herald.ie

- Fiona Ferguson