Episode 863: The bizarre unravelling of a Grandmother’s 28-year-long pension fraud

This week saw the sons of high-profile criminals, Fat Freddie Thompson and Jason Hennessy Snr, sentenced for their roles in two separate crimes.   Brad Dempsey was handed down 8 years behind bars for a shooting in 2022, while Brandon Hennessy received a suspended sentence for a 2021 drug offence.   Clodagh Meaney speaks to Eimear Rabbitt about growing up around criminality, how the justice system treats youth offending and the two young men who followed their fathers into crime. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Criminal John Gilligan’s troubles in Spain intensified today after police there released details on his recent arrest - saying he was caught with an enormous €8 million worth of pink cocaine and components for crystal meth in a home he had turned into a Breaking Bad lab. Nicola speaks with Niall Donald about 72-year-old Gilligan and the lengthy prison term he is likely to now face. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dissident extortionist Nathan Kinsella is out of jail and driving around in a €30,000 Audi after telling a court that his flash lifestyle is thanks to gifts from a mystery millionaire friend. Nicola speaks with Eamon Dillon about Kinsella’s release from a short prison term for failing to pay taxes on hundreds of thousand of euros that were lodged into three accounts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Murder victim John George is to be laid to rest in Belfast this weekend, more than a month after he disappeared, having gone on holidays to Spain.  Nicola speaks with journalist Allison Morris about the murder case, about a funeral, and about the ongoing hunt for a suspect.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2025 looks likely to be the year that the IRA wing in Portlaoise high-security prison is closed for good marking the end of an era and leaving a handful of dissident prisoners with no more privileges or empty cells to call their own. Nicola speaks with Niall Donald about Portlaoise, the army withdrawal, and the 70 empty beds that have made E wing a place of ghosts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.