Ciouncillor John Hearne talk to our reporter Alan Sherry
John Hearne's car was petrol bombed
AN OUT-of-control crime gang has issued a death threat to a politican and attempted to kill the brother of a witness in a chilling challenge to the rule of law.
The gangsters are waging war on the streets of Waterford where they have terrorised hard-up families with extortion and money lending rackets.
A brave local councillor who appealed to victims not to pay has now been warned about a credible threat to his life by Gardai.
The gang, which is led by a settled traveller who has been linked to the rape of a 12-year-old girl, has been the focus of a major Garda probe in recent months, leading to raids on dozens of homes and the arrest of several gang associates.
However, the majority of its members remain on the streets of Waterford City, as they have either been given bail or have yet to be charged with offences they have been arrested for.
The gang boss is due to face trial over a serious matter and his associates have been behind a wave of intimidation as they try to get a key witness to drop his evidence.
On Friday, they ran over the brother of the female witness just around the corner from a Garda station, the Sunday World can reveal.
The man had been on a bicycle in Five Alley Lane when gang heavies drove after him the wrong way down the narrow one-way lane and smashed into him, pinning him against the wall.
A source said:
“The jeep had him pinned against the wall and he said he knew he had to stay upright or he’d be killed. He was dragged along for 20 yards and then there was a gap where the wall went in and he fell to the side but luckily he didn’t go under the jeep. It was attempted murder.”
As he was lying on the ground injured, one of the gangsters got out of the jeep and took an €80 cheque which had fallen from his pocket before speeding away.
The witness – the injured man’s sister – was also in the vicinity at the time but escaped unharmed. The lane is less than 200 metres from Waterford Garda Station.
Gardai have launched an investigation into the incident, which is the latest worrying attack on the justice system to be carried out by the out-of-control mob.
The same man identified as driving the jeep is a relative of the gang boss and has previously been arrested by gardai after he gave the witness the option of dropping the case for €40,000 or getting a “bullet in the head”. Despite the gang’s attempts at intimidation, the witness fully intends to press ahead with the case.
In another equally sinister development, gardai have received credible intelligence that the gang are plotting to kill Sinn Fein Councillor John Hearne.
The politician, who has bravely helped victims come forward to testify against the gang, has been officially warned of the threat to his life and has been given security advice.
Earlier this year, the criminals petrol-bombed his car as part of an intimidation campaign against him but gardai believe they are now intent on trying to take him out.
Cllr Hearne said he refused to be intimidated by the gang. “I had been getting phone calls for the past while with threats against me but then last week the guards said there was an escalation and they were planning to try and take me out. But I’m not going to let them intimidate me into backing down.”
The worrying developments are the latest in a long line of attempts by the gang to attempt to prevent the trial against the gang boss going ahead.
Previously, the thugs have smashed windows in the home of the witness’s mother. They have also threatened the witness’s sister with a machete and made several other verbal threats to people connected to the witness.
The long list of criminal activity the gang has been involved in includes drug dealing, violence, money lending rackets, extortion, intimidation, arson attacks, murder threats, burglaries, the illegal tobacco trade and weapons offences.
The illegal money lending activity is at the centre of the recent Garda investigation.
The gang lent small sums of money to people who were struggling to make ends meet but then kept increasing the interest payments to impossible levels so victims would be indebted to the criminals for life. Those who refused, which mostly included single mothers, were brutally attacked.
The ruthless criminals are continuing that racket since the raids but some people have refused to keep paying them. In a desperate attempt by the gang to keep payments coming in, the amount owed by some victims has been lowered.
The mob’s heavies have also continued to carry out assaults to scare people into paying up. They have seized people’s social welfare papers and accompany them to post offices when they are collecting children’s allowance and other benefits.
The Sunday World has previously revealed how another member of the gang set a girl on fire by igniting nail polish remover while she had her hand in it. The girl was left with horrific injuries but bravely came forward to gardai to give evidence against the young thugs behind the attack. He has been arrested over the matter and a file is currently with the DPP.
When gardai raided the homes of some gang members, they had marble staircases and floors, chandeliers and safes containing thousands of euro. They also had massive extensions to the homes which were illegally built without planning permission.
Forensic accountants have been going through the gang’s finances in recent weeks and several people are expected to be hit with CAB bills.
Gardai have already seized a number of vehicles belonging to the gang.
alan.sherry@sundayworld.com