Elderly man arrested after children ‘poisoned' at local summer camp
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The Irish Sun
2 hours ago
- The Irish Sun
Diddy to stay locked up in prison after being denied $50m bail ahead of sentencing for prostitution
SEAN "Diddy" Combs has been denied $50 million bail - for the second time - ahead of his October 3 sentencing on prostitution charges. Judge Arun Subramanian agreed with federal prosecutors' decision to keep the disgraced rapper locked up at MDC Brooklyn. 5 A federal court denied Combs' request that he be released on bail ahead of his sentencing Credit: Getty 5 The rapper will remain inside the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) until October 3 Credit: Reuters 5 A courtroom sketch showing Combs' reaction after he was acquitted of sex trafficking and racketeering charges on July 2 Credit: AP In a court order issued on Monday, the US district judge wrote there were no 'exceptional reasons' warranting Combs' release before his sentencing. The former music mogul reportedly filed a new motion for bail last week, offering a $50 million bail package in which he pledged to stay at his Miami home and restrict travel to Florida and New York. His legal team argued there is no binding precedent for keeping him in jail before sentencing - an argument Judge Subramanian rejected. They also claimed he is likely the only man in America jailed for hiring male sex workers to sleep with his girlfriend. But Subramanian dismissed this, stating that the case involved 'evidence of violence, coercion or subjugation in connection with the acts of prostitution'. When Combs' legal team raised concerns about his safety at MDC Brooklyn, Subramanian said staff protected Combs 'even during an incident of threatened violence from an inmate'. The judge added that the bail denial will not affect Combs' sentencing in 60 days' time. Combs faces a maximum 20-year prison sentence - 10 years for each count of transportation to engage in prostitution. However, federal prosecutors have said they would seek a three- to five-year sentence. On July 2, Combs was convicted on two prostitution-related counts, but was acquitted of the more serious charges he faced. Diddy is found GUILTY of prostitution but cleared of most serious charge He was acquitted of racketeering conspiracy and two counts of sex trafficking in regard to his ex-girlfriends Cassandra "Cassie" Ventura and "Jane" (pseudonym). The music executive fell to his knees in prayer after the jury foreperson read the verdict. Combs' defence team delivered a post-verdict victory speech to reporters outside the US District Courthouse, calling the outcome a "great victory for the jury system". Agnifilo said the 12-person jury "got the situation right - or certainly, right enough". "We are not nearly done fighting. We're not going to stop until he walks out of prison a free man to his family," he added. Meanwhile, in their closing arguments, prosecutors described Combs as the "leader of a criminal enterprise", who used his expansive "wealth, power, violence, and fear to get what he wanted". The prosecution's case centred on disturbing and graphic testimony about drug-fuelled 'freak-offs' during which Combs allegedly coerced his ex-girlfriends into participate in sex acts with male escorts. Prosecutor Slavik told jurors that Combs forced Cassandra Ventura and 'Jane' into punishing sex marathons and - with the help of a close circle of 'loyal lieutenants' - concealed the alleged abuse. Ventura and "Jane" were sometimes required to engage in these acts - referred to as 'hotel nights' and 'wild king nights' - even while suffering from painful urinary tract infections (UTIs), according to prosecutors. Combs was first denied bail in November 2024 - shortly after his arrest in late September of that year. The time Combs has already served in jail - which will be over a year by the time he is sentenced - will be credited towards the final sentence imposed by the judge. 5 Diddy reacts after verdicts of the five counts against him are read on July 2 in a courtroom sketch Credit: Reuters
Sunday World
3 hours ago
- Sunday World
Firm owned by former CAB target paid over €4m by Irish government to house asylum seekers
Former CAB target Bernard Byrne and his brother John Paul alleged to have made €750k from laundering fuel and cash Jim Manfield Jnr, was jailed for for attempting to pervert the course of justice Bernard Byrne's company has been paid more than €4m by the government Bernard Byrne at his Go service station on the Kylemore Road A firm owned by a suspected fuel smuggler and former target of the Criminal Assets Bureau has been paid more than €4 million by the Irish Government to house asylum seekers. Bernard Byrne is the director and owner of Tenzing Ltd, which is listed as receiving funds from the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth. In 2005, it emerged that Byrne, along with his brother John Paul Byrne, had holdings worth Stg£750,000 in Northern Ireland which was targeted by the UK's Assets Recovery Agency (ARA). The case was referred to the ARA by HM Revenue and Customs in 2004 after a joint investigation with CAB into fuel smuggling and laundering on both sides of the border. Bernard Byrne speaking to Samuel Mansfield In its case in the High Court in Belfast at the time, the ARA alleged that the assets of both brothers were from fuel laundering and smuggling, together with excise fraud and associated money laundering activity. Accounts An interim receiver was appointed over two filling stations in Co Armagh and Co Down, a house in Newry, an apartment in Belfast, vehicles, farm machinery and bank accounts. Bernard Byrne's Tenzing Ltd was set up in January 2023 and is registered to an office in Lucan, Co Dublin. That year, the company received payments of €876,000, €553,350 and €366,000 for 'accommodation and/or related costs'. In 2024, the payments from the Department totalled €2,382,000 with €186,000 paid out in the first quarter of 2025, bringing the overall total to €4,363,350. According to a Dail question reply, Tenzing Ltd operated an emergency accommodation centre at Redbank Guesthouse in Skerries, Co Dublin in 2023. Responsibility for the €1.2 billion accommodation budget has been moved to the Department of Justice since May this year. Bernard Byrne's company has been paid more than €4m by the government Bernard Byrne is also a director of other firms involved in the retail fuel business and owns the Go filling station on the Kylemore Road in Ballyfermot, Dublin. The land on which the business is located is owned by Arcount Ltd, which is controlled by Vincent Cosgrave, a Dublin-based businessman. Cosgrave's property portfolio includes the Sheldon Park Hotel across the road from Byrne's filling station business. His daughter, Donna, married Jim Mansfield Jr and the couple's son, Samuel Mansfield, was previously photographed by the Sunday World meeting with Bernard Byrne in 2016. There is no suggestion that Samuel Mansfield is involved in any criminal activity. Footage Jim Mansfield Jr was jailed for 18 months in February 2022 for attempting to pervert the course of justice by directing that CCTV footage be destroyed. The Special Criminal Court acquitted Mansfield of conspiring to have a man kidnapped by a criminal gang but convicted him of directing that the footage be destroyed. Jim Manfield Jnr, was jailed for for attempting to pervert the course of justice It was also heard in a CAB case that Jim Mansfield Jr was previously given €4.5 million of Kinahan cartel cash to launder through property investments. As a result of the 2004 CAB investigation into fuel smuggling, Bernard Byrne's father, John Byrne, paid €1.6 million to the Revenue Commissioners. During a search of John Byrne's home in June 2004, authorities discovered €200,000 in cash and cheques concealed throughout the property. Investigators concluded he had operated a significant grain delivery business for several years. He faced charges over failing to file tax returns at Dundalk Circuit Criminal Court in 2007. The court heard at the time Byrne Snr had 157 previous convictions across both Northern Ireland and the Republic, including a Stg£1.3 million fraud conviction in Northern Ireland. Judge Pat McCartan had deferred sentencing to allow Byrne Snr to finalise his tax affairs. The judge described Byrne Snr as someone who had lived 'completely outside the good order of things' and imposed a two-year sentence, suspended on condition of good behaviour. The Sunday World recently reported on two other firms which have received payment for providing accommodation. One firm had been owned by John Gill, the father of alleged gangland figure Jonathan Gill. According to figures published by the Government, Astervale Ltd was paid €414,505 from 2022 until April 2024. Another firm which has been awarded emergency accommodation contracts has links to the Drogheda gang feud. Ben O'Brien resigned in May as a director of Secure Accommodation, which has been paid €10.2 million since it was set up in September 2022. O'Brien (31) was among several people named in evidence in the 2022 CAB case against gang bosses Owen and Brendan Maguire. Bernard Byrne at his Go service station on the Kylemore Road News in 90 Seconds - Monday, August 4th
Irish Examiner
4 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Media's role in fighting corruption must be defended
This summer marks the 30th anniversary of the enactment of the Ethics in Public Office Act 1995. Although commended for introducing statutory disclosure obligations for designated public office holders, including politicians, and the establishment of Sipo's predecessor, its significance runs deeper. The act ended a 79-year hiatus in Ireland's anti-corruption legislation. From the foundation of the Irish Free State, the legislation governing corruption in Ireland was housed in the Prevention of Corruption Acts 1889 to 1916. That legislation remained unamended on the Irish statute book until 1995, when modest revisions were introduced under the Ethics in Public Office Act. That act was introduced partly as a response to political indiscretions exposed in a number of scandals that gripped Ireland during the 1990s, including the Greencore affair, Telecom Éireann's site purchase, and the Beef Tribunal. But behind that legislative response lay another powerful force — the media. From the 1970s onwards, investigative journalism in Ireland began to develop, which led — among other things — to the exposure during the 1990s of conflicts of interest and ethical lapses among public officials. The media reports unearthed a culture of impunity and lack of oversight, and were significant in embedding corruption in the public discourse. The Greencore affair, for example, which arose out of the privatisation of Súicre Éireann, revealed weaknesses in the anti-corruption legislative architecture that had never been focused on before, namely conflicts between public duties and private interests. It centred on a small number of executives who bought a 49% stake in a subsidiary of the company for £3.2m and sold it back to the State a year later for £9.5m, prompting concerns over corporate governance and abuse of trust. Although statutory investigations found breaches of company law and corrupt practices by some of those involved, no criminal prosecutions followed. Then there was Telecom Éireann, a semi-state company, which found itself the subject of much media attention in 1991, arising from irregularities surrounding its purchase of a piece of land for use as its headquarters. The Beef Tribunal, established in 1991, on foot of an ITV World in Action programme, would go on to reveal questionable and uncomfortably close connections between big business interests and Irish political interests. These revelations helped shift public sentiment, fostering a climate more receptive to investigative journalism and expanding the public understanding of corruption. Before then, corruption was regarded as an overt form of bribery. This understanding was reflected in the legislation criminalising corruption, which dated back to 1889. Events throughout the 1990s showed that corrupt behaviour could constitute more clandestine activities where private interests and public duties collided, and an awareness of the connection between conflicts of interest and corruption. This growing public awareness, aided by the media, created the necessary political pressure for reform. The Ethics in Public Office Act 1995 was the first enacted legislative response. However, it was not the first attempt to introduce accountability into Irish public life. Four years previously, Labour TD Brendan Howlin initiated the Ethics in Government and Public Office Bill 1991 as a private members' bill. Although the bill was defeated, its principles were incorporated into the 1995 act. The Ethics in Public Office Act 1995 sparked a series of incremental reforms over the next 15 years, including the introduction of freedom of information laws, regulation of political donations, and the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Acts 2001 and 2010. Running in tandem with these legislative developments was persistent media scrutiny, reporting on events that formed the subject matter of various tribunals throughout the 1990s and 2000s. The media played a pivotal role in the establishment of the tribunals. However, its influence extended beyond this initial contribution, in that it was instrumental in informing the public about the proceedings and findings of the tribunals. The particular significance of the Moriarty, Planning, and Morris tribunals is that, for the first time, findings of corruption were made against individuals who were the subject of the investigations. The momentum for change, driven by media vigilance and Ireland's commitments under international and European instruments such as the OECD Convention on Combating Bribery, ultimately culminated in the Criminal Justice (Corruption Offences) Act 2018. The 2018 Act repealed Ireland's outdated corruption laws and replaced them with a unified modern framework. It introduced offences of active and passive corruption, trading in influence, knowingly giving gifts or advantages to facilitate the commission of a corruption offence, intimidation, and substantially increased penalties for corruption offences. The legislative inertia that had persisted for most of the 20th century eventually gave way to a resurgence of reform, driven in no small way by the media's persistent focus on corruption. As Mr Justice Humphreys recently observed, the media plays a vital role in shaping public discourse, a role that mirrors Percy Bysshe Shelley's famous description of poets as "the unacknowledged legislators of the world". This is not to suggest that the media alone dictates policy and legislation; rather, media coverage can influence legislators' behaviour, as Ireland's experience with corruption legislation has shown. Irish legislation is a product of the Oireachtas, which essentially comprises directly elected politicians. Dependent on public support, politicians risk losing political power if they ignore public opinion. Media reporting and commentary often guide public opinion, which in turn can influence the legislative agenda. The evolution of Ireland's anti-corruption laws is a testament to the enduring importance of the Fourth Estate. Ireland's path towards transparency and reform may not have been so meaningful without it. In a world facing growing threats of free-speech intimidation, protecting an independent Fourth Estate capable of speaking truth to power is more important than ever. Gail Nohilly is a barrister and knowledge lawyer and recently completed her PhD at the University of Limerick, tracking the evolution of Ireland's corruption legislation and the role of the media.
