'Idolised' grandfather (77) sentenced for money laundering

Natasha Reid and Claire Henry

A 77-year-old former coffee shop owner has been given a four-year suspended sentence for money laundering of more than €89,000 and possession of an encrypted mobile phone.

The ‘idolised’ grandfather had never been in trouble before in his life until gardaí found the money under his bed on April 1st, 2021.

Giovanni Nardone, of Glenhill Avenue, Finglas, in Dublin, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to possessing €89,570, the proceeds of crime, at his home on that date.

He also pleaded guilty to possession of an encrypted phone, in circumstances that gave rise to a reasonable inference that he had it for a criminal offence.

At a previous hearing, Detective Garda John Rourke of the Garda Organised Crime Unit told the court that his bureau had received confidential information which led them to get a search warrant for the elderly man’s home.

Gardaí used force to open the front door after their knocks were unanswered by Nardone, who was behind the door.

He was asked if he had any cash or illegal substances, and he brought gardaí to his room and unlocked two safes, which contained cash, documents and jewellery, which are not the subject of the charge before the court.

However, €89,570 was then recovered from a plastic Supervalu bag in a drawer under his bed.

He said it was savings from his work over the years. Asked why it was under the bed, he said it was a safe place.

A cash counting machine was also found, along with vacuum bags and a vacuum packer, which he said was for meat in the freezer.

A Samsung phone was recovered and sent for analysis, but gardaí were unable to access a chat app on it due to the high level of encryption. Another garda had first-hand knowledge of the app, and the court was told that it did not operate over the normal GSM network or use a regular data SIM.

Nardone was arrested and taken to Finglas Garda Station.

Gda Rourke agreed with James Dwyer SC, defending, that his client appeared to be holding the cash for others and not himself. He accepted that there was no sign of wealth or that any money had been invested in his house over the years.

Gda Rourke further agreed that Nardone, who has lived here for 55 years, was on bail throughout proceedings and had travelled to his native Italy on a couple of occasions to attend family gatherings and had returned.

He used to own a chip shop and delivered soft drinks, before owning a coffee shop in Finglas.

The court heard he had a debt to the Revenue Commissioners.

Mr Dwyer said that his client had trained as a tailor before leaving Italy in 1964 at the age of 15. He moved to Paris and worked making women’s clothing for six years before joining his brother in Ireland.

His brother got him a job in a chipper, and he later ran his own chipper.

Mr Dwyer handed in letters from members of his client's family, who were present in court. They described him as kind-hearted, trusting and loyal. His grandchildren had an amazing bond with their grandfather, whom they idolised, they said.

“I’d ask the court to have regard to his guilty plea,” said Mr Dwyer, noting that his client had lived here for 55 years without conviction, and not been in trouble before that.

“He appears to have played a very low role in these things, holding for others,” he said.

The court heard that the first count had a maximum sentence of 14 years in prison, while the second count had a maximum term of five years.

However, Mr Dwyer asked Judge Orla Crowe to have regard to his client's age and consider sentencing possibilities that did not require an immediate custodial sentence.

Judge Crowe said it was a very unusual case that needed time to consider. She adjourned it until today for a risk assessment from the probation services.

Passing sentence on Thursday, Judge Orla Crowe said, “gardaí had excellent information, and a search warrant was issued for this defendant's house.” She noted that Nardone has been living in Ireland since 1970 and is originally from Italy.

Judge Crowe said a probation report before the court places Nardone at low risk of reoffending. She stated that the aggravating factors in this case were the amount of cash found, the encrypted mobile phone, the cash counting machine, and the vacuum packing machine.

The judge said she would consider the following as mitigating factors: his guilty plea, his lack of previous convictions, that he has not come to any adverse attention, and that he is a family man with no signs of wealth.

Judge Crowe sentenced Nardone to four years in prison, and after considering all relevant factors, including his age, she suspended the sentence in full for four years.