Gort resident pleads guilty to stealing from restaurant owner
Galway Bay fm newsroom - A 74-year-old man has admitted stealing 135,000 euro from the owner of Eddie Rockets.John Carlos - who lives in Gort,- pleaded guilty to forging cheques while working as a bookkeeper for the fast food chain.
Peter Fortune hired Mr. Carlos to look after his books as his company was expanding across Dublin in 1999.The two men have known each for thirty years.In September 2008, Mr. Fortune became aware of some financial irregularities after receiving a letter from Revenue about a tax audit.The Garda fraud squad got involved shortly afterwards and Mr. Carlos made full admissions.Today, he pleaded guilty to forging his boss' signature on some cheques and defrauding him to the tune of €135k over a two year period starting in 2007.The court heard he was using the money to feed an online "gambling bug" that he picked up in his late 60s.He was described as a "hopeless gambler" who lost all his cash and has no prospect of paying back his former employer.Judge Mary Ellen Ring told him she wasn't ruling out a jail term because of the amount involved and adjourned sentencing until June.