You Are Free To Go

at



This morning.

Dublin Circuit Criminal Court

Former Anglo Irish Bank Chairman Sean Fitzpatrick with daughter Sarah (top left) leaves court after being formally acquitted of furnishing false information to Anglo’s auditors.

Mr Fitzpatrick was cleared yesterday on all charges after a ruling on day 126 of the trial concerning shredder-based “shortcomings in the prosecution’s evidence”.

Good times.

Sean Fitzpatrick formally acquitted at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court (Breakingnews)

Yesterday: Acquitted

Rollingnews

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51 thoughts on “You Are Free To Go

  1. martco

    yeah but is he happy inside?

    the only thing that gives me a smidgen of positive on all this is that he must surely know that most people passing him in the street who didn’t manage to cross over in time hate his guts

    tried and convicted in my head anyway

    1. Sheik Yahbouti

      Yes, he’s utterly delighted, Martco. He can hold his head up amongst his fellows (who are thinking “there, but for the grace…..). Business as usual. PS lads, karma does not exist – much as we might wish it did.

    2. realPolithicks

      You’re attributing a normal human reaction to somebody who is probably incapable of experiencing them. The guy is clearly a sociopath and as such most likely doesn’t give a rats ass about what the common folk think of him.

  2. Alan

    I have lost all faith in our judicial system, lost all faith in the Gardai, lost all faith in our political system.

    1. classter

      This is the worst reaction possible.

      This is the time to press for adequate white collar enforcement.

  3. It Won't Stand Up In Court

    What an ordeal for Sean and poor Sarah. I’d say they are relieved the witch hunt is finally over.

  4. MoyestWithExcitement

    “Ex-banker regularly in courthouse cafe alongside people in tracksuits” was a genuine headline in the Irish Times yesterday. They’ve changed it now but if you google those words you get IT links.

        1. MoyestWithExcitement

          Oh yeah, you’re that whiney perpetual victim always trying to paint the establishment as the underdog. That headline blew apart your narrative didn’t it. Here you are trying to paint a picture of Successul Businessmen being persecuted by the chaff for wearing a suits and here we have one of the two main national broadsheets actually saying in a headline that people in tracksuits are a subclass of human.

          1. It Won't Stand Up In Court

            They’re ‘actually’ saying that are they? Can we see a copy of this?

          2. Peter Dempsey

            No it doesn’t. It’s stating that he and the lads in tracksuits were in the same cafe. Which is presumably factual and specific to those individuals. I dont see it as a generalisation.

  5. Cloud

    Someone needs to give him a Richard Spencer Special next time he’s at The Rugger with The Guys.

  6. Looking In

    Instead of losing faith and feeling beat perhaps it’s time to make demands, to take to the streets, to call for an election, I don’t know something, because losing faith just gives these corrupt scum more freedom.

    1. MoyestWithExcitement

      I’m starting to think that’s going to happen. Especially if Varadkar becomes Taoiseach. You can only beat someone down for so long before rage sets in.

      1. Increasing Displacement

        Meh…apply that statement to when Fine Gael got elected
        Where did that get us?

    2. classter

      Agree that it is time to make demands.

      Who here honestly believed even before today that we adequate resources for white collar crime investigation?

  7. Mel

    Back circa 2012, I was speaking to an older German man who was visiting Ireland, we got talking about the Banking Crisis and he asked me why, with such manifest corruption and lack of accountability, the Irish people were not demonstrating, even rioting, in the streets about all this. He assured me that if anything like this happened in Germany, they wouldn’t stand for it and people of all classes and creeds would unite to ensure something substantive was done to put the issue right. I thought upon it and told him it really wasn’t in the Irish way to call people to account properly and to demonstrate for justice in these instances, especially with white collar crime.
    There’s no question that the collapse of this trial – due to state mishandling of the case and political decisions not to adequately resource the unit tasked with getting a conviction here – that there is no justice in the wake of Sean Fitzpatrick’s acquittal. I’m angry, but like most Irish people, we’re going on ten years of this poo now and more than anger, I’m just tired of this crap. I have no idea what good a demonstration (or indeed a riot) would do at this point in time but I would just like to say that today I feel like throwing a fupping brick at something (not someone). Grr.

    1. b

      the german banks also got bailouts and we’re responsible for flagrant abuses, the taxpayer in Germany could afford it and they also bailed out the greeks while they were at it. Their car companies are corrupt, VW emissions, Porsche insider trading etc. After all that Merkel is still enjoying massive popularity

      your German friend is talking bollocks

    2. Liam Deliverance

      We don’t demonstrate because the government are doing a good job of dividing us and pitting us against each other????

      That is why they got noticeably nervous when the anti-water charges protest built up a strong and diverse following and some decent momentum. I felt that the water protests was going to be pivotal in turning the tide and addressing the power imbalance for all issues and not just the water issue. People had varying views on many issues but seemed unanimous on the water issue because, well, we need it on a daily basis to live. Alas many couldn’t see the wood for the trees and the government cleverly (so far) have taken the wind out of the sails of the people power movement.

      1. classter

        The water charges was a stupid issue on which to build this campaign.

        The water charges protest was mainly about middle-class people not wanting to pay money for the services they use.

    3. bertie "The Inexplicable Pleasure" blenkinsop

      I’m not sure I’d take my cues for how the general public should behave from an elderly German man.
      #BasilFawlty

  8. Murtles

    Sean Fitzpatrick : Defaults on €80 million in loans that he hid from auditors – Gets off scott free
    Ray Flavin – Widower of 5 caught up in Tracker Mortgage Scandal, defaults €18,000 (which was an incorrect amount) – Served with an eviction notice.

    Social equality me hole.

    1. martco

      +1
      that’s about the sum total of the situation we seem to allow ourselves to permit. does anyone here find this scenario a bit smelly, that this was by design, he was ultimately protected?

      1. Mel

        Agreed, it reeks to high heaven. Smug look on his face and a list of golf buddies that would see you right on any trouble you were having …

    1. phil

      Anglo did however do non-recourse loans to individuals, just look up what a ‘non-recourse’ loan is

      a story the irish times is not comfortable anymore with

      https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:rtpppVcNbxQJ:www.independent.ie/irish-news/courts/willie-mcateer-got-82m-loan-on-day-of-bank-guarantee-30242254.html+&cd=3&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=ie

      but the indo is

      http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/courts/willie-mcateer-got-82m-loan-on-day-of-bank-guarantee-30242254.html

      1. Peter Dempsey

        Isnt a non recourse loan one that is secured by the asset only and the lender can’t chase the borrower for any shortfall? That means that the borrower has an easier ride than a mortgage customer who can be pursued by the bank after they lose their home. So that means that Anglo (and by extension Fitz ) treated their borrowers better, so what is the problem?

    1. Moderate THIS!

      I’m genuinely delighted for Seanie though

      The elites threw him and that hapless McAteer fellow to the wolves when in actual fact they were all up to their necks in it, and how

  9. rob

    Posted this in ‘Acquitted’ but thought it might be worth posting here:

    The outcome of this case shows that despite everything that has happened over the past decade, there is absolutely no appetite whatsoever to prosecute white collar criminals. It wasn’t just Seanie Fitz who was to blame here – the auditors and lawyers, legal advisers working for Anglo at the time also acted in a very questionable manner. Faced with the prospect of taking on major law firms, banks and auditors, what does the Government do? It puts out a poorly resourced organisation like the ODCE to fight the State’s corner. It was like sending Scunthorpe out to face Real Madrid for all the good it did. The one thing that puzzles me about this case however, is why did the Garda Fraud Squad not get involved as this was alleged fraud on a massive scale, probably the biggest such case in the Irish State’s history. So why did they not weigh in – was it the presence of ties and pinstripes?

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