Garda Ombudsman offices bugged

hatrickpatrick · 23-02-2014 04:01PM

dxhound2005 wrote: »

shall not disclose, in or outside the State, information obtained in carrying out the duties of that person’s office or of his or her contract or other arrangement with the Commission if the disclosure is likely to have a harmful effect.

Harmful from who's perspective? This disclosure has undoubtedly had a positive effect on the public's knowledge of what's going on inside one of our state organisations. It's had a harmful effect on Shatter and Callinan.

I'm pretty sure I know which is the overriding concern here...

timmy4u2 · 23-02-2014 04:38PM

Gardaí ‘planted gun in bid to incriminate man’
Saturday, June 18, 2005

By Paul O’Brien
GARDAÍ planted a gun in an innocent man’s car in an attempt to incriminate him, Sinn Féin TD Martin Ferris told the Dáil yesterday.

During the special sitting to discuss the two reports of the Morris Tribunal into garda corruption in Donegal, Mr Ferris raised the case of James Sheehan.

Mr Sheehan was arrested on August 17, 1989, and taken to Tralee garda station. A gun was discovered four hours later in his car.

"There was no gun in James Sheehan’s car when he was arrested," Mr Ferris said. "There was an open pocket book cover, from where the gun was taken by (a detective) and removed from the car in James Sheehan’s presence without any attempt to protect the forensics or fingerprints on the weapon."

Mr Ferris said he had been attempting for several years to have the matter investigated, but Justice Minister Michael McDowell had refused to meet with him to discuss it.

"(The minister) is preventing justice for James Sheehan and supporting an injustice against him and his family. I challenge the minister to open an investigation into this issue, to initiate an independent inquiry."

Labour leader Pat Rabbitte supported the call.

"The claim made by Deputy Ferris about the planting of a gun in a car four hours later by members of the Garda Síochána deserves to be investigated."

This story appeared in the printed version of the Irish Examiner Saturday, June 18, 2005

Further to my previous post I am surprised that Kerry's Martin Ferris is staying so quiet on this.
Was there not a case whereby Ferris' s director of elections Sheehan accused Gardai in the Dail of planting a gun in his car?
His claim for an investigation was supported by Pat Rabbitte.

http://www.irishexaminer.com/archives/2005/0618/ireland/gardai-aposplanted-gun-in-bid-to-incriminate-manapos-567934140.html
http://republican-news.org/archive/2003/March20/20kerr.html

And very interestingly

Deputy Ferris then challenged the Minister to open an investigation into the issue, to initiate an independent inquiry, and to explore if there was a link between the gun that was found in James Sheehan’s car and what subsequently happened in Donegal.

On July 25, 1990, the Director of Public Prosecutions wrote to Mr Sheehan and confirmed that charges against him had been withdrawn. The DPP had directed the gardaí to charge Mr Sheehan with firearm possession but no such charges were ever brought against him.

In September 2000, former Chief Superintendent Fred Garvey responded to James Sheehan’s enquiry regarding the whereabouts of the gun alleged to have been found in his car.

In a letter the Superintendent stated that the gun and the ammunition in question had been destroyed at Garda HQ one month earlier.

Source
http://www.independent.ie/regionals/kerryman/news/ferris-demands-inquiry-claiming-garda-planted-gun-in-his-director-of-elections-car-27363407.html

Now I know that Kevin Dillon has retired but it would be very interesting to see what rank some of the Gardai involved now hold.
Not that I do not know:)

And that Chief Superentendant Fred Garvey; did a relation or friend not run for the Council for some party or other at the time he sent an internal circular out to the Kerry Gardai to monitor Ferris's movements

Just saw that the incident was mentioned on 20th Feb last.
http://www.kildarestreet.com/debates/?id=2014-02-20a.119
You will note it refers to senior gardai.

Hootanany · 23-02-2014 05:21PM

The plot thickens

Busted Flat. · 23-02-2014 05:44PM

Hootanany wrote: »

The plot thickens

In this case the "Thick Plottens", in justice.

tayto lover · 23-02-2014 06:02PM

I hope that when this inquiry is over there will be a Banking Inquiry too.
Like what was in the famous letter and who was present when it was agreed to bail out the banks and put every citizen in the country, their children and grandchildren in hock?

Banjo String · 23-02-2014 08:39PM

I see the FG lads meetings went well yesterday and today.

The wagons are being circled, and it looks like Callinan may be about to be fall guy number 2.

Justice Minister Alan Shatter’s claim that GardaWhistleblower Maurice McCabe did not cooperate with an internal inquiry into his allegations was based on a briefing from Garda Commissioner Martin Callinan, it emerged today.

http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/politics/shatters-claims-on-garda-whistleblowers-lack-of-cooperation-in-inquiry-came-from-garda-commissioner-30034549.html

Will Callinan take Shatter down with him I wonder?

Hootanany · 23-02-2014 08:50PM

Hope so his arrogance is galling.

aloyisious · 23-02-2014 09:47PM

Para's 10, 11 and 12 of the Indo story are funny if you ignore the serious of the matter. Alan, you're on your own. It's make or break time for Alan, if not Enda. I'd imagine there will be no chair for Martin Callinan in Alan's office this week, merely a place on the carpet. Para 7 mention's an official, not an officer, as replying to Sgt McCabe.

tomwaterford · 23-02-2014 10:30PM

Banjo String wrote: »

I see the FG lads meetings went well yesterday and today.

The wagons are being circled, and it looks like Callinan may be about to be fall guy number 2.

http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/politics/shatters-claims-on-garda-whistleblowers-lack-of-cooperation-in-inquiry-came-from-garda-commissioner-30034549.html

Will Callinan take Shatter down with him I wonder?

with all that is coming out in the last week this shouldn't be an issue,they should be long gone
no doubt they will try reshuffle the cabinet - cowards solution

Callinan (garda commissioner not tipp hurler,hat-trick today ftw:D)-well hes holed below the waterline now surly???

timmy4u2 · 23-02-2014 11:21PM

The official Garda and Justice department approach to whistleblowers was to isolate him or her. Divide and conquer and then a la Cromwell send him/her to hell.

They should well remember what happened to Cromwell in the hands of his own after his death.

He was dug up, hung, decapitated and his skull was placed on a spike where it remained for fifty years.
Hopefully now the tide of whistleblowers will be strong enough to hang, draw and quarter the system that allowed these terrible injustices to be applied to those who sought to see that justice would prevail.

timmy4u2 · 23-02-2014 11:30PM

tomwaterford wrote: »

with all that is coming out in the last week this shouldn't be an issue,they should be long gone
no doubt they will try reshuffle the cabinet - cowards solution

Callinan (garda commissioner not tipp hurler,hat-trick today ftw:D)-well hes holed below the waterline now surly???

But this is not just Shatter and Callinan. Getting rid of them will just be a hiccup. The whole system needs to be exposed for what it is and flushed out. That is the Gardai, the Department of Justice, senior civil servants, The CSSO and the judiciary where they are found to be complicit.
This is a lot lot bigger than just Callinan and Shatter.

WilyCoyote · 24-02-2014 12:00AM

Hootanany wrote: »

The plot thickens

But not as fast as the skin of the main protagonists

renegademaster · 24-02-2014 01:46AM

timmy4u2 wrote: »

But this is not just Shatter and Callinan. Getting rid of them will just be a hiccup. The whole system needs to be exposed for what it is and flushed out. That is the Gardai, the Department of Justice, senior civil servants, The CSSO and the judiciary where they are found to be complicit.
This is a lot lot bigger than just Callinan and Shatter.

i second your motion!! :mad::mad:

hatrickpatrick · 24-02-2014 07:12PM

Two more whistleblowers on the way, according to the Examiner, and according to Pádraig MacLochlainn on Morning Ireland earlier. As people have said with regard to Edward Snowden, "courage is contagious" - it wouldn't surprise me if we see an almighty sh!tstorm of them coming out of the woodwork in the near future. Next couple of weeks are going to be very interesting.

Hootanany · 24-02-2014 07:19PM

One of them is a Lady Guard, I wonder if it's the one who tried to take the Breath sample?

Happyman42 · 24-02-2014 07:21PM

With the parade of ministers singing the praises of the MOJ today it is clear that Callinan's hopes of staying in a job are about to be 'shattered'

hatrickpatrick · 24-02-2014 07:28PM

For those who insist that the wi-fi device connecting to a nearby public Bitbuzz network is proof that it wasn't being hacked or tampered with, can I direct you to John Mooney's latest article in this week's Sunday Times, in which he talks about the fact that on their second visit, Verrimus themselves found that they were under surveillance, and that when they attempted to take a closer look at the wi-fi device in question (a video conferencing system according to Mooney), the device was wiped/formatted remotely, while they were in the process of examining it?

I'm sure the Godges and Shatters of this world can conjure up another perfectly innocent explanation for this, of course, but I'd advise people to read the article, since it has garnered significantly less coverage than the previous two due to the understandable media focus on this new situation around Connolly and further whistleblowers, etc.

The business with the wi-fi device is looking less and less like an innocent, random aspect of this whole story.

From the article:

A video conferencing device in the commission's boardroom had also been compromised after it was discovered it repeatedly connected to an external wi-fi network, say sources. The device was "wiped" remotely when those involved in the surveillance realised their activities had been detected.
Screen grabs of all data flows on the device were taken earlier, and revealed it was communicating with an external network. It is suspected spyware may have been uploaded to the device, enabling it to record private meetings, which were then transmitted via a wi-fi connection in a local coffee shop. It is thought that hackers may have used the existing wi-fi system to eavesdrop on GSOC by disabling the video device's security features and password.

And more, regarding Verrimus themselves being targeted:

Verrimus, the British security company hired by the Garda Siochana Ombudsman Commission (GSOC) to mount a counter-surveillance operation, was itself targeted when visiting Dublin last October, according to sources. Verrimus advices GSOC that whomever was involved in the spying affair had detected the company's presence the previous month.

...

Security sources say operatives from Verrimus were the likely target of a device used to intercept movile telephone calls during a second sweep of the GSOC building by the security consultancy last October. The firm detected a UK 3G network operating in the immediate vicinity of the GSOC offices on Abbey Street in Dublin. The signals it emitted - known as Sign - were those asociated with an IMSI catcher, a device that disables the security features on mobile phones, making them vulnerable to interception. The device, which was described as "government level technology", was targeting British registered mobile phones when it was detected.

And finally, an interesting snippet regarding Rits:

Verrimus had already subjected its own findings to an independent technology company to ensure they were correct before submitting a report to GSOC. It appears Shatter was unaware of this.

Quite surprised this isn't getting more coverage, but then understandably this whistleblowing business has completely overtaken the GSOC story. On the other hand, this piles more evidence on to the bugging scandal and answers some of the suggestions that there were innocent explanations for everything. The wi-fi thing in particular, as I said in a previous thread if one wanted to hack into such a device, a public wi-fi network like Bitbuzz would be perfect as it would be almost impossible to track down an individual connected to it - in fact, depending on the network you mightn't even have to be in the shop to use it, you could be parked outside and using your laptop in the car (my college wi-fi is easily strong enough to use half way down the street from the building, so it depends on the network). The fact that the device's memory was erased remotely, during an integrity test, seems incredible insidious to me.

How long now before someone suggests that Verrimus are incompetent enough to have formatted the device themselves without meaning to, and somehow mistaken this for an external command? :rolleyes:

TheLastMohican · 24-02-2014 07:33PM

Hootanany wrote: »

One of them is a Lady Guard, I wonder if it's the one who tried to take the Breath sample?

Hopefully, but I doubt it

tomwaterford · 24-02-2014 07:51PM

hatrickpatrick wrote: »

For those who insist that the wi-fi device connecting to a nearby public Bitbuzz network is proof that it wasn't being hacked or tampered with, can I direct you to John Mooney's latest article in this week's Sunday Times, in which he talks about the fact that on their second visit, Verrimus themselves found that they were under surveillance, and that when they attempted to take a closer look at the wi-fi device in question (a video conferencing system according to Mooney), the device was wiped/formatted remotely, while they were in the process of examining it?

I'm sure the Godges and Shatters of this world can conjure up another perfectly innocent explanation for this, of course, but I'd advise people to read the article, since it has garnered significantly less coverage than the previous two due to the understandable media focus on this new situation around Connolly and further whistleblowers, etc.

The business with the wi-fi device is looking less and less like an innocent, random aspect of this whole story.

From the article:

And more, regarding Verrimus themselves being targeted:

And finally, an interesting snippet regarding Rits:

Quite surprised this isn't getting more coverage, but then understandably this whistleblowing business has completely overtaken the GSOC story. On the other hand, this piles more evidence on to the bugging scandal and answers some of the suggestions that there were innocent explanations for everything. The wi-fi thing in particular, as I said in a previous thread if one wanted to hack into such a device, a public wi-fi network like Bitbuzz would be perfect as it would be almost impossible to track down an individual connected to it - in fact, depending on the network you mightn't even have to be in the shop to use it, you could be parked outside and using your laptop in the car (my college wi-fi is easily strong enough to use half way down the street from the building, so it depends on the network). The fact that the device's memory was erased remotely, during an integrity test, seems incredible insidious to me.

How long now before someone suggests that Verrimus are incompetent enough to have formatted the device themselves without meaning to, and somehow mistaken this for an external command? :rolleyes:

proof beyond any reasonable doubt of bugging....how can anyone argue against this anymore:eek::eek:

Dyr · 24-02-2014 07:53PM

I had a feeling when verrimus were on about compromised devices on wi fi that it would turn out to be either a room control system or a conferencing unit, the fact that shatter was highlighting that the devices didnt have access to databases was a hint

Don't need database access when you have a line into the boardroom

tomwaterford · 24-02-2014 07:55PM

Bambi wrote: »

I had a feeling when verrimus were on about compromised devices on wi fi that it would turn out to be either a room control system or a conferencing unit, the fact that shatter was highlighting that the devices didnt have access to databases was a hint

Don't need database access when you have a line into the boardroom

what happened the insomnia wi-fi:pac::pac::pac:

dxhound2005 · 24-02-2014 08:12PM

So apart from the quite astonishing access that Mooney has gained into GSOC and Verrimus, he now has "sources".

A video conferencing device in the commission's boardroom had also been compromised after it was discovered it repeatedly connected to an external wi-fi network, say sources. The device was "wiped" remotely when those involved in the surveillance realised their activities had been detected.

Not just sources but "security sources"

[I]Security sources say operatives from Verrimus were the likely target of a device used to intercept movile telephone calls during a second sweep of the GSOC building by the security consultancy last October.[/I]

Unfortunately his attempt to render what those sources told him into anything understandable failed, for me anyway. But I await the next instalment from his mole or team of moles inside GSOC. It's laughable that people get wound up about some electronic bugging which may or may not have existed. And may or may not have gained information from inside GSOC for someone. While at the same time swallowing whole loads of gibberish from a journalist who apparently sits in at every meeting in GSOC.

aloyisious · 24-02-2014 08:39PM

tomwaterford wrote: »

what happened the insomnia wi-fi:pac::pac::pac:

Caffeine overdose?

tomwaterford · 24-02-2014 11:18PM

dxhound2005 wrote: »

So apart from the quite astonishing access that Mooney has gained into GSOC and Verrimus, he now has "sources".

A video conferencing device in the commission's boardroom had also been compromised after it was discovered it repeatedly connected to an external wi-fi network, say sources. The device was "wiped" remotely when those involved in the surveillance realised their activities had been detected.

Not just sources but "security sources"

[I]Security sources say operatives from Verrimus were the likely target of a device used to intercept movile telephone calls during a second sweep of the GSOC building by the security consultancy last October.[/I]

Unfortunately his attempt to render what those sources told him into anything understandable failed, for me anyway. But I await the next instalment from his mole or team of moles inside GSOC. It's laughable that people get wound up about some electronic bugging which may or may not have existed. And may or may not have gained information from inside GSOC for someone. While at the same time swallowing whole loads of gibberish from a journalist who apparently sits in at every meeting in GSOC.

how do you make out he have access to GSOC and Verrimus and he is running moles in both organisations??
quite a serious accusation if true

as for his security sources id imagine he is being offered opinions on the report and information he is being fed, not just running straight to press with it?????

its far from laughable people getting wound up-if what appears to have happened in relation to the bugging
in fact it is nearly 100% accepted that bugging has taken place-and as for bugged it-who has most to gain by bugging GSOC??

it is far from jibberish he is putting forward,i hope its meant as a joke he is sitting at GSOC meetings-if not what other information from meeting has he leaked??

as far as I can see the only one who leaked anything from a GSOC meeting is the commissioner when he told GSOC what they were discussing in private and made reference to a deleted part of a report-how did he know it was there??:rolleyes:

K-9 · 25-02-2014 12:27AM

Pretty damning endictment on whistle blowing in general on Prime Time. Doesn't look good for Callinan if this stuff is true.

steddyeddy · 25-02-2014 12:31AM

K-9 wrote: »

Pretty damning endictment on whistle blowing in general on Prime Time. Doesn't look good for Callinan if this stuff is true.

I'm out K9 can you give us the gist of it please?

mickdw · 25-02-2014 12:40AM

K-9 wrote: »

Pretty damning endictment on whistle blowing in general on Prime Time. Doesn't look good for Callinan if this stuff is true.

Yes, whistleblower gardai being blocked from accessing pulse system unless supervised. Direct correspondence from commissioner warming them off whistleblowing actions and threatening disciplinary actions.
It is quite clear that within the garda top brass, they did not want the whistle blowers rocking the boat and were prepared to go to any length to keep on top of it.
How the Commissioner is still in the job I don't know.

K-9 · 25-02-2014 12:47AM

steddyeddy wrote: »

I'm out K9 can you give us the gist of it please?

Callinan said he directed the whistleblowers to give their evidence to the internal Garda enquiry, Prime Time showed him giving evidence to the Oireachtas enquiry.

Gda. McCabe says the only direction he got was to desist from taking information from the Pulse system, it seems he is saying Callinan never directed him to give his evidence, if anything, he was more concerned about McCabe obtaining and leaking information.

If what McCabe says is true, and there seems to be transcripts, it may well be Callinan lied to a Dail committee!

steddyeddy · 25-02-2014 12:55AM

K-9 wrote: »

Callinan said he directed the whistleblowers to give their evidence to the internal Garda enquiry, Prime Time showed him giving evidence to the Oireachtas enquiry.

Gda. McCabe says the only direction he got was to desist from taking information from the Pulse system, it seems he is saying Callinan never directed him to give his evidence, if anything, he was more concerned about McCabe obtaining and leaking information.

If what McCabe says is true, and there seems to be transcripts, it may well be Callinan lied to a Dail committee!

Thanks K9. I'm glad the truth is coming out.

renegademaster · 25-02-2014 12:57AM

mickdw wrote: »

Yes, whistleblower gardai being blocked from accessing pulse system unless supervised. Direct correspondence from commissioner warming them off whistleblowing actions and threatening disciplinary actions.
It is quite clear that within the garda top brass, they did not want the whistle blowers rocking the boat and were prepared to go to any length to keep on top of it.
How the Commissioner is still in the job I don't know.

because we're not on the streets demanding he goes that's why

Garda Ombudsman offices bugged

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