6 years jail for garlic scam

CB19Kevo · 09-03-2012 8:49pm #1

http://www.rte.ie/news/2012/0309/begleyp.html

''The head of Ireland's largest fruit and vegetable producers has been jailed for six years for a €1.6m scam involving the importation of garlic.
Paul Begley, 46, avoided paying customs duty on over 1,000 tonnes of garlic from China by having them labelled as apples.
Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard the import duty on garlic is "inexplicably" high and can be up to 232%.
In contrast, onions have an import duty of 9%.
The maximum sentence for the offence is five years in prison or a fine of three times the value of the goods.
Judge Martin Nolan imposed the maximum term on one count and one year on another count.''

Is this a bit excessive when you would get a lesser sentence for a serious assault ?

El Weirdo · 09-03-2012 8:50pm

It fucking stinks.

Sindri · 09-03-2012 8:51pm

Import duty should be lower. Simple as.

WindSock · 09-03-2012 8:51pm

Is he in Cloverhill?

woodoo · 09-03-2012 8:52pm

It would take your breath away.... tut tut tut

MickySticks · 09-03-2012 8:53pm

Perhaps the judge is a vampire.

MickySticks · 09-03-2012 8:53pm

WindSock wrote: »

Is he in Cloverhill?

No, Mountjoy. :cool:

Birneybau · 09-03-2012 8:54pm

Is he a repeat offender? You know the way garlic can repeat on you?

I'll get my coat.

mikom · 09-03-2012 8:54pm

And still not one banker jailed........

PCPhoto · 09-03-2012 8:55pm

he got a strong sentence which will more than likely be reduced on appeal ...but it will deter others from attempting to defraud the revenue.

Revenue are spending hundreds of thousands ...maybe more ...on keeping a close eye on imports and gaining the correct amount of money from all imports - the government is trying to squeeze every penny out of people and those that try to cheat the system should get a similar sentence ...our courts are too soft as far as I'm concerned we need strong deterrents to try stop people breaking the law.

The law is there for a reason !!

Monty Burnz · 09-03-2012 8:55pm

mikom wrote: »

And still not one banker jailed........

My thoughts exactly. Which scam cost the taxpayer more?

Austo77 · 09-03-2012 8:57pm

Serves him right imo

Outkast_IRE · 09-03-2012 8:57pm

So he knowingly broke the law and defrauded the state and people think its a harsh treatment , in my opinion its the same as someone defrauding welfare or revenue by outright lying to them.

Ghandee · 09-03-2012 8:57pm

IM0 · 09-03-2012 8:58pm

CB19Kevo wrote: »

http://www.rte.ie/news/2012/0309/begleyp.html

''The head of Ireland's largest fruit and vegetable producers has been jailed for six years for a €1.6m scam involving the importation of garlic.
Paul Begley, 46, avoided paying customs duty on over 1,000 tonnes of garlic from China by having them labelled as apples.
Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard the import duty on garlic is "inexplicably" high and can be up to 232%.
In contrast, onions have an import duty of 9%.
The maximum sentence for the offence is five years in prison or a fine of three times the value of the goods.
Judge Martin Nolan imposed the maximum term on one count and one year on another count.''

Is this a bit excessive when you would get a lesser sentence for a serious assault ?

AntiRip · 09-03-2012 9:01pm

So he scams the state for 1.6m and now the state (us) will pay roughly e500,000 to jail him.

Justice wins again yeah!

wexie · 09-03-2012 9:01pm

“It gives me no joy at all to jail a decent man," Judge Nolan said.

He said Begley is a “success story” an “asset to the country” in supporting the economy and providing employment. He noted Begley’s generosity and that he donates money to homeless charities and the St Vincent de Paul.

I wonder how many bankers, developers or politicians this can be said about....

[Deleted User] · 09-03-2012 9:03pm

So, not once did anyone take a look to check if they were actually apples? Great job, customs!

IM0 · 09-03-2012 9:04pm

ail never pay! :mad:

Doc Ruby · 09-03-2012 9:06pm

Tarriffs like that are usually protective tarriffs to stop cheap Chinese imports flooding local markets and putting local producers out of business, similar extreme duties apply to things like clothing imports specifically from China.

And in other news, don't mess with Mr Taxman.

blatantrereg · 09-03-2012 9:06pm

It's easy to grow garlic in Ireland. I did it before myself. Sure the stuff starts to grow if you leave it in the cupboard too long.

That right there is good enough argument for a very high import tax. He's killing local producers and killing anybody trying to import without breaking the law. It's hardly victimless crime. It's also very deliberate and premeditated by nature.

He'll probably get the punishment greatly reduced on appeal anyway.

krudler · 09-03-2012 9:08pm

shoulda murdered someone before he went to trial, would have been suspended then.

Irish judges: tough on white collar crimes, soft touches on actual criminals.

senorwipesalot · 09-03-2012 9:09pm

Jesus,these golden delicious fcukin stink.

wexie · 09-03-2012 9:14pm

...are there really any local garlic producers though?

I'm willing to believe there might be the odd local artisan grower with a little niche of the local's farmer's market but any decent size commercial operators?

Don't get me wrong, breaking the law is breaking the law. But given the seemingly ludicrous and completely unjustified import tarriff (much more likely we have local onion growers) I can see where he's coming from.

Do our courts not have more important things to focus on?

Oh...and something else....how in the name of everything that is good and holy did the customs agents not smell?

Doc Ruby · 09-03-2012 9:17pm

wexie wrote: »

...are there really any local garlic producers though?

Might be an EU-wide tarriff, no point in applying it in one country and not in the others.

henryporter · 09-03-2012 9:19pm

Considering that your average garlic from China costs about 30cent in the shops that a lot of garlic or onions whatever way you look at it

wexie · 09-03-2012 9:19pm

ah yes.....

blatantrereg · 09-03-2012 9:26pm

wexie wrote: »

...are there really any local garlic producers though?

I'm willing to believe there might be the odd local artisan grower with a little niche of the local's farmer's market but any decent size commercial operators?

Don't get me wrong, breaking the law is breaking the law. But given the seemingly ludicrous and completely unjustified import tarriff (much more likely we have local onion growers) I can see where he's coming from.

Do our courts not have more important things to focus on?

Oh...and something else....how in the name of everything that is good and holy did the customs agents not smell?

But that's the point isn't it? If there were any they were killed by Begley and maybe others doing the same thing. And thanks to him and the like, it's not commercially viable to be local producer outside of the small local farmer's market niche.

I really think the tarriff is justified. How can it be a good idea to import something we can produce easily ourselves? Aside from the obvious economic and environmental considerations, there are serious health concerns as well.

As a developing nation, China has relatively low sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) standards for its agricultural goods. Corruption in the government, such as the bribery of former head of the State Food and Drug Administration Zheng Xiaoyu, has also complicated China's regulation difficulties.[35] Excessive pesticide residues, low food hygiene, unsafe additives, contamination with heavy metals and other contaminants, and misuse of veterinary drugs have all led to trade restrictions with developed nations such as Japan, the United States, and the European Union.[36] These problems have also led to public outcry, such as in the melamine-tainted dog food scare and the carcinogenic-tainted seafood import restriction, leading to measures such as the "China-free" label.[37]

About one tenth of China's farmland is contaminated with heavy metals, according to the Ministry of Environmental Protection of the People's Republic of China.[38]

Incidentally I've read that crops are grown separately for the elite in China, because they are well aware of the issues with most of the crops they grow there. Dont remember the source or whether it was credible...must see if I can find it.

ejmaztec · 09-03-2012 9:30pm

He'd have probably got a smaller sentence for smuggling weed.

CorkBabe33 · 09-03-2012 9:31pm

When I heard this on the news this evening I had to check my calendar to make sure it wasn't April 1st! What a joke. People who murder, rape, assault.... get sentences that are way less than that. The judges in this country haven't got a clue about the real world as this judge just proved...

Big Nasty · 09-03-2012 9:31pm

He broke the law and evaded tax, no question but Johnny Scumbag with 37 previous still gets away with a suspended. :mad:

6 years jail for garlic scam

Comments