Badfellas

by Paul Williams

  Dunne’s first serious run-in with the law came in June 2002 when a Garda unit pulled his car over for a drug search. By then local cops were aware that he was part of Hyland’s mob and he was regularly stopped. That day Garda Paul Keane struck lucky when he found €13,000 worth of cocaine and ecstasy in the car. An airgun was also recovered. Dunne was charged with ten charges relating to the sale and supply of drugs and possession of the illegal firearm. When the gangster was released on bail he went back to work.

  Five months later, on 6 November 2002, Dunne was dispatched to ‘sort out’ a problem with a 19-year-old drug-pusher who owed Marlo money. The young psychopath abducted the pusher and gave him a severe beating, breaking one of his arms in the process. He was then bound, gagged and dumped in the boot of Dunne’s car. Fortunately for the victim the officer who’d arrested Dunne in June spotted his car parked at Glasnevin Avenue around 8 p.m. Garda Paul Keane decided to check it out for a second time. When the eagle-eyed officer and his colleagues asked Dunne to open the boot they found his terrified victim inside. But Dunne showed that he had the brass-neck to be a major player – when the cops asked him why a man was tied up and gagged in the boot of his car, Dunne laughed and said it was part of a birthday prank. The officers didn’t believe him and he was arrested. Police believed that Dunne had intended to execute his captive. The victim was rushed to hospital and treated for his injuries.

  Dunne was later charged with false imprisonment and assault. The Don was now facing two sets of serious criminal charges and a long stretch behind bars. The false imprisonment charge was dropped when the victim withdrew his statement and left the country. On 24 February 2004, Dunne pleaded guilty to the drug charges. However, two months later he decided to change his plea to not guilty, claiming that he didn’t understand the charges that he had originally pleaded to. He then set in motion a series of appeals to the High Court and Supreme Court, which guaranteed his freedom. By the time of his death in 2010, the Supreme Court appeal had still not been heard.

  Chicore Dillon was one of the 19 people, including two sets of brothers, who fell foul of hit men in 2005. It was the highest number of gangland murders on record in a single year, since organized crime first emerged in Ireland. In addition, two armed robbers, 33-year-old Colm ‘Collie’ Griffin and 24-year-old Eric Hopkins, were also shot dead by the Emergency Response Unit during an attempted post office heist in Lusk, County Dublin.

  All but four of the gangland murders in 2005 were the result of blood feuds across Dublin. One of the worst became known as the Crumlin/Drimnagh feud. The seeds of the conflict could be traced to a bitter split in a gang of young drug-dealers from the neighbouring working-class areas – the traditional homeland of organized crime. In 2001 Brian Rattigan stabbed his former friend Declan Gavin to death outside a fast-food joint in Crumlin. Rattigan and his pals had accused Gavin of being a police informant after he was caught with a large haul of ecstasy. The murder led to war, with Rattigan leading one side of the feud and Fat Freddie Thompson the other. Both men were sadistic killers. Thompson was a close associate of Christy Kinahan’s sons, Daniel and Christy Junior.

  Over the following nine years the Crumlin/Drimnagh feud claimed the lives of 16 gang members. Dozens of criminals and innocent people were also injured in the madness. There were scores of shooting incidents and arson attacks, as well as grenade and bomb attacks.

  Behind the scenes, Marlo Hyland facilitated the ongoing war. It was in his interests that the Crumlin/Drimnagh bloodbath continued. He reasoned that the murder spree would soak up police resources and keep specialist units busy on Dublin’s south-side – and far away from his patch on the north-side. As part of the same strategy he quickly intervened to stop a simmering feud between two rival gangs in Coolock. If it had kicked off then the area would have been swamped by extra detective units – and that would have been bad for business.

  The bloodiest episode in the Crumlin/Drimnagh gang war occurred during a 48-hour period which began on Sunday 13 November 2005. Around 9.40 p.m. two members of Thompson’s gang, 25-year-old Darren Geoghegan and 30-year-old Gavin Byrne, were shot dead by two hit men at Carrickwood Estate in Firhouse, South Dublin. They’d been lured into a trap to meet an associate of Thompson’s, 25-year-old Paddy Doyle. Investigating Gardaí believed that the murders were ordered by Thompson, who feared that the two men were posing a threat to his leadership.

  Paddy Doyle, who was from the inner-city, was a member of the gang led by Gary Hutch, which had close ties with the Kinahan organization. Doyle was also a close associate of Marlo Hyland.

  The following Tuesday, 15 November, Paddy Doyle was in action again. This time his victim was Noel Roche, a member of the Rattigan gang. The 27-year-old was shot dead as he travelled in a car through Clontarf, on Dublin’s north-side. His younger brother John had been whacked eight months earlier, as part of the same feud.

  Doyle was also the prime suspect in the murders of two other Rattigan gang members, Terry Dunleavy and, six months later, Joe Rattigan (Brian Rattigan’s brother) in 2002. The Roche hit brought to six the number of murders Doyle had been directly connected to. His accomplice in the Noel Roche hit was 19-year-old Craig White, from the north inner-city and a member of Marlo’s extended gang. White was subsequently convicted of Noel Roche’s murder and sentenced to life. Doyle fled the country and moved to live in Spain. He continued to work for Marlo’s mob, in conjunction with the Kinahan organization. It later emerged that Hyland had provided the murder weapon, a Glock automatic, and the getaway car used in the Roche hit.

  The bloodshed in November 2005 had again placed the gangland crisis at the top of political and police agendas. As a result, Garda Commissioner Noel Conroy announced the establishment of the Organised Crime Unit (OCU), which would specifically target big criminal gangs. It was not good news for Marlo. But the police had already set an operation in place to smash his criminal empire.

  A few weeks after the murder of Andrew Dillon in August 2005, the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation (NBCI) launched a top-secret investigation, targeting Marlo Hyland, codenamed ‘Operation Oak’. The Godfather had become a source of major concern at the highest levels of the Garda Síochána. They were aware of his attempts to form powerful alliances and create a glorified Crime Inc., across the country. Hyland was facilitating a veritable crime wave and becoming so big that he could soon be completely out of control. Marlo was to the new millennium what Martin Cahill was to the 1980s and John Gilligan to the 1990s.

  On 9 September 2005, a secret Crime and Security memo was circulated to the chiefs of all the specialist units. The document summarized the need for radical action. It read: ‘Ongoing intelligence at this branch confirms that Martin Hyland continues to be heavily-involved in serious crime. Hyland is recognised as the leading figure in a criminal gang based primarily in West Dublin. However, Hyland is linked to a substantial number of the crime gangs operating throughout the DMR [Dublin Metropolitan Region] and beyond. Hyland continually endeavours to establish links to the most violent criminals in this jurisdiction. His gang are involved in murder, armed robberies, procurement of firearms, drug distribution and major fraud. In recent times Hyland has become closely linked to both Dessie O’Hare and Patrick “Dutchie” Holland.’

  The newly formed OCU, which was attached to the NBCI, was mobilized to spearhead Operation Oak. The young, enthusiastic cops were ordered to get close-up and very personal with Marlo and his men. Other units, such as the CAB and the National Surveillance Unit, were also deployed to build up a comprehensive picture of the gang’s operations. The mob’s phones were tapped and informants were recruited within the overall group. The investigation would have devastating consequences for the gang.

  The first strike in the offensive came eight days after the Noel Roche murder, when €300,000 worth of cocaine was seized in Limerick on 23 November. Three members of the McCarthy/Dundon gang were arrested after collecting the drugs from Marlo’s people in Dublin. A week later, two
of Marlo’s associates were nabbed while transporting a ton of hashish on the Swords Road, on Dublin’s north-side. That was quickly followed by a raid on one of the gang’s cocaine-mixing factories in Skerries, North County Dublin. Detectives seized €210,000 worth of cocaine and enough mixing agent to more than double the drug’s value. Two of Marlo’s associates were arrested and charged with the find. The following day, in Stamullen, County Meath, over €200,000 in cash was seized from a 36-year-old gang member. He was arrested under money-laundering legislation. Detectives later found a specially constructed hide under a garden shed that the bagman used to store cash for Marlo.

  On 4 February 2006, Marlo’s trusted sidekick Johnny Mangan, and another gang member, were caught with over €340,000 worth of hashish. Two days later Operation Oak struck again. This time police seized cocaine worth almost €500,000. On 17 February, the undercover Gardaí busted another cocaine-processing operation and seized €200,000 worth of the drug.

  The sudden surge in police swoops caused panic in Hyland’s organization. By the end of April 2006 drugs worth €9 million had been seized, and ten gang members had been charged with drug offences and attempted robbery. Files on eight other mob members were being prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions, relating to possession of drugs, money-laundering and handling stolen goods. On a daily basis gang members were being stopped and searched by the Garda squads involved in Operation Oak. The CAB also began raiding their homes, and the offices of their solicitors and accountants, in search of the gang’s money and assets. Hyland, Eamon Dunne and the other thugs tried to intimidate members of the OCU but it had little effect.

  With his empire under sustained attack, Hyland was growing more paranoid and volatile by the day. Drug shipments were still getting through the Garda net, but the losses were soaking up profits. Cash flow became a major problem and he still had to pay his suppliers in Spain and Holland. Christy Kinahan was his biggest creditor. Marlo knew that, if he couldn’t pay up, he would find himself in the sights of a hit man’s gun. The vulnerable Godfather was desperate to surround himself with formidable allies, reckoning they would provide a comfort zone around him. When Dutchie Holland and Dessie O’Hare were both released from prison in April 2006, Hyland gave the two killers money and provided them with accommodation.

  Marlo had the equally pressing problem of finding out why the cops were suddenly being so successful. He launched an investigation to find the Garda mole he believed was in the midst of his mob. The paranoid mobster’s chief suspect was his former associate, 42-year-old Paddy Harte. Harte had made the fatal mistake of setting up a drug-distribution network in opposition to the Godfather. Hyland convinced two of his closest lieutenants, one of whom was Harte’s friend, that the former associate was a tout. He offered them €50,000 to kill him. On 29 May 2006, Harte was shot three times in the head when he returned home after taking his children to school. But the murder did not stop the inexorable Garda offensive, as the drug seizures and arrests continued.

  By the time Operation Oak came to a conclusion it had led to the seizure of over €20 million worth of heroin, cocaine and cannabis and an arsenal of 16 firearms and ammunition. A number of stolen vehicles and over €200,000 in cash were also recovered from the mob. By autumn 2006, a total of 41 people in Marlo’s organization had been arrested, including Willie Hynes and Johnny Mangan. Mangan had been caught twice in a matter of months with large drug shipments and was facing years behind bars. A total of 26 gang members were facing serious criminal charges for drug-trafficking, attempted robbery and possession of firearms. Operation Oak had also prevented at least three gangland murders and thwarted a number of attempted robberies. In policing terms it had been a spectacular success. For Hyland it was a disaster.

  Marlo’s once-powerful empire was crumbling around him. As the situation deteriorated he became more isolated. Members of the gang facing serious charges blamed him for their predicament. There were murmurings of resentment over the Harte murder from those closest to Marlo. The Godfather had reneged on his contract with the two hit men and hadn’t paid them for the execution. Gang members were becoming as dangerously paranoid about a rat in the camp as their boss. And the finger of suspicion was moving in the direction of Marlo himself. After all, he had organized the operations that had been compromised.

  There was even evidence that Hyland turned to God in a bid to halt his descent into hell. He carried a bundle of prayers, miraculous medals and a scapular in his pocket. Marlo was desperate for friends and he was prepared to go to extraordinary lengths to curry favour. In November 2006 he was contacted by John Dundon of the McCarthy/Dundon gang, who was still serving four years for threatening to kill Owen Treacy. Dundon wanted Hyland to organize one of the most shocking murders in gangland history. The target was a 26-year-old Latvian, a mother-of-two called Baiba Saulite.

  Dundon was sharing a cell with Baiba’s estranged Lebanese husband, Hassan Hassan, an associate of Hyland, who was serving a four-year sentence for running the stolen car ring. Hassan had already tried to solicit criminals on the outside to kill his wife and her lawyer, John Hennessy. Hennessy had represented Baiba in a bitter courtroom battle for custody of the Hassan children. Hassan had abducted his two sons and sent them to the Middle East but was forced to bring them back by the Irish courts and he was subsequently charged with kidnapping. In February 2006 there had been an arson attack on Hennessy’s home in Swords and he’d managed to get out of the house with his partner just in time. Gardaí said it was a case of attempted murder. In October Baiba had been forced to move into hiding in Swords, after her car was petrol-bombed outside her home. In the same month Gardaí learned that the McCarthy/Dundons had provided a gun and silencer to a Moroccan asylum-seeker to murder Hennessy. The hit was foiled when the Moroccan was arrested on a separate matter.

  Investigating Gardaí later learned that Hassan made two further attempts to have both Baiba and her solicitor murdered. When the two potential killers refused the job, the Lebanese thug turned again to Dundon, who phoned Marlo. If anyone could organize the hit, the Godfather could. Marlo agreed to do it because he was anxious to ingratiate himself with Murder Inc. Hyland recruited Paddy Doyle, who flew back from Spain, Eamon Dunne and three other young mob members. None of them had any qualms about murdering an innocent woman.

  In the meantime Baiba and Hennessy were placed under surveillance by Hassan’s associates. On Tuesday 14 November, a Garda patrol spotted Marlo and Dessie O’Hare meeting in a hotel in Swords. It was never established if this encounter was connected to the murder plot.

  On Sunday 19 November, a pizza delivery arrived at Baiba’s door. She hadn’t ordered one. At the same time Hassan received a phone call in prison, informing him that his wife was at home. Dundon then called the hit team in Cabra to give them the go-ahead. Marlo’s men had been given a picture of Baiba, along with a map and directions. Shortly before 9.45 p.m., Baiba was having a cigarette with a friend at the front door when a man wearing a scarf and baseball hat suddenly ran up to her. The young thug from Cabra pulled a handgun from his jacket and shot Baiba four times at close range – killing her instantly. Within minutes of being called to the scene the Gardaí took Hennessy out of Dublin, under armed guard.

  Not since the murder of Veronica Guerin had a killing so enraged and shocked the entire nation. Baiba’s murder struck a chord with the public. There was also outrage that a solicitor had been targeted for simply doing his job. It was proof that the crime bosses had again become so powerful that they didn’t care who they butchered. Completely innocent people were being deliberately gunned down, on what seemed like a regular basis. In the previous March another young mother, Donna Cleary, had been shot dead when Dwayne Foster, a drugged-up thug from Finglas, indiscriminately opened fire with an automatic weapon at a house party. In June another innocent victim, 23-year-old Keith Fitzsimmons, was gunned down in a case of mistaken identity by a drug gang. In Limerick, the McCarthy/Dundons had been responsible for the mu
rders of three innocent men.

  Within days of the outrage, detectives had established that Marlo and his gang were involved. Gardaí raided Hassan’s prison cell and he was later arrested and questioned about the vile crime. They discovered that Hyland had contacted Troy Jordan and asked him for a Magnum revolver. When Jordan heard about Baiba’s execution he was furious with Hyland. He told the crime boss that if he’d known about it he would not have handed the gun over. Hyland claimed that he also didn’t know and blamed the McCarthy/Dundons. No criminal wanted to be associated with the murder.

  A sense of nervousness hit Gangland as villains everywhere braced themselves for a backlash, similar to that which had followed Veronica Guerin’s murder. But before the week had ended Marlo’s name was being connected with even more bloodshed. Four days after Baiba’s murder, 26-year-old Paul Reay was gunned down in Drogheda, County Louth. He was facing charges after being caught in one of Marlo’s cocaine factories. Reay was shot four times as he was about to go to court for a remand hearing. He’d decided not to wear his customary bullet-proof vest that morning. He died a short time later.

  Hyland was anxious not to be publicly connected with Baiba’s killing, but everyone knew he was involved. The crime added to the mounting pressure on the Godfather. In the weeks after the Saulite murder, Hyland was taking a lot of cocaine and was described by associates as a human wreck. His situation mirrored that of Tony Montana, from Oliver Stone’s movie Scarface. Being in Marlo’s mob was no longer seen as a badge of honour. Even his most loyal henchmen had stand-up rows with their boss over the collective heat he had brought down on them. Several gang members, including Dunne, began to distance themselves from him. As the gang began to implode, friends turned into foes.

  The beginning of the end came when Hyland had a serious falling out with an associate called Michael ‘Roly’ Cronin. Cronin was a convicted heroin-dealer who was classified by Gardaí as a major player. The 33-year-old had been running with Marlo and members of John Gilligan’s gang since his release from prison in 2004. Hyland owed Cronin money for drugs and was unable to pay up because of the huge losses he was suffering. One of Hyland’s henchmen tried to shoot Cronin but he escaped uninjured. Cronin was determined that it wouldn’t happen again.