A trial on Tuesday and Thursday focused on a 56-year-old suspended police superintendent, who stands accused of having attempted to defraud people between 2009 and 2016. Suspended in 2014, the man then faced three months in pretrial detention.
The defendant in question had attempted various methods to get money out of his victims, telling tall tales, the prosecutor reported. The man had succeeded in borrowing €150,000 from banks alongside a further €250,000 in scams. The man found himself in the disastrous financial situation due to his gambling habit. According to a psychiatrist consulted during the trial, the former police officer was addicted to gambling. However, as he refused to acknowledge his issue, the expert could not recommend any treatment and would reserve further prognosis for a later date.
It transpired that the man had also scammed people who he had known, who had trusted him. The prosecutor accused him of taking advantage of his standing and failing to show any empathy. She added that the defendant gave off the impression that he did not understand the severity of his actions, pointing out that his three months in detention had not changed his behaviour. The man returned to fraud after being released.
Earlier on Tuesday, a lawyer asked for €50,000 in damages on behalf of five civil parties, one of which was a woman demanding €30,000 alone. This woman had known the defendant for over 40 years and had even made him godfather of her youngest daughter. The court heard how she had had a bad feeling about lending money, to which the man had asked 'Do you think you can't trust me?'. He then disappeared, with the money she'd lent him.
The defendant claimed to have been in a type of trance and was 'not himself'. He told the court he regretted betraying and scamming these people and would apologise, but had needed time to wake up. As the trial continued on Thursday, the defence lawyer described the man's gambling addiction as a type of drug, highlighting this was no excuse, but an explanation.
The lawyer added the man had fallen into gambling following his divorce and was ashamed of his actions, asking friends for money while knowing he could not repay them. He had then spiralled in his gambling and was unable to quit, a point the lawyer asked the judge to consider in the sentence.
The man's lawyer asked the court to consider a suspended sentence with no longer than one year without probation, with the condition the man be treated for his problem. The man reiterated his regret. The prosecutor had already recommended 18 months in prison alongside an adapted fine and a 10-year ban from public service.
The verdict will be pronounced on 12 March.
