Paul Casserly (49), Moyaugher, Cortown, Kells, pleaded guilty to possession of a stolen John Deere tractor on 28th June 2014 at Milltown Cortown Kells or being reckless as to whether it was stolen.

Det. Gda. Eugene O’Sullivan from the Stolen Vehicle Unit at the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation told prosecuting counsel Carl Hanahoe BL that gardai acting on a tip-off searched the defendant’s premises at Cortown and found a John Deere 6930 four wheel drive tractor.

The 155 horse power machine was registered in the name of a man with an address in Balbriggan but when gardai checked, no one of that name lived there and the registration was bogus.

They also discovered that the chassis number on the tractor was false.

Diagnostic examination

A diagnostic examination revealed a false number had been stamped over the original number.

Casserly claimed to have paid €43k for the tractor

The false number matched an identical model which had been sold by a UK dealership to a farmer in Norway and the original chassis number matched that of a tractor reported stolen on 30 November 2013 from an agricultural contractor in Scotland - Alastair John Lauder based in Kelso on the Scottish Borders.

The detective said that Casserly claimed to have paid €43k for the tractor and produced a docket in the name of ‘Derek McGrath Motor Dealer’, with an address at Monaghan Road, Middletown Co Armagh.

The docket was dated 28th Nov 2013 which was two days before the theft in Scotland.

Bogus post-code

Det O Sullivan told the court he had driven up and down the Monaghan Road as part of his investigations and found no such premises. He said the post code was bogus. He also spoke to other people in the trade and none had ever heard of a dealer called Derek McGrath.

The court heard that Mr Lauder had paid £59,000stg for the tractor but had received £47,000stg in compensation from his insurance company. He had also lost almost £5,000stg by having to hire a replacement tractor and loss of work.

Defence Barrister Pat Purcell BL told the court his client accepted he had been reckless in the extreme.

A probation report had assessed Casserly at low risk of re-offending

He said that Casserly operated turf cutting and plant hire businesses and paid €43,000 for the tractor as he needed it for his turf cutting.

Referring to the bogus registration the lawyer said his client is now tax compliant but at the time had been in difficulties with the Revenue Commissioners and did not want them to know he had an expensive tractor in his shed.

Community involvement and charity fundraising

Mr Purcell said his client who had a history of community involvement and charity fundraising had €2,500 in court as an expression of his remorse and Mr Lauder was willing to accept the money.

I hope its been an expensive lesson to learn

Replying to the barrister the detective agreed that Casserly had not stolen the tractor and had been out of pocket as a result of his actions.

‘I hope its been an expensive lesson to learn’, said the detective.

Judge Michael O’Shea said the defendant should have taken more detailed precautions in respect of the tractor.

‘If something is too good to be true its because it is’, said the judge.

He noted that a probation report had assessed Casserly at low risk of re-offending in the coming 12 months and imposed a suspended sentence of two and a half years.

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