REAL IRA CASE STAR WITNESS TAKES BOX
Real IRA case star witness takes box
THE chief prosecution witness in the trial of suspected Real IRA leader Michael McKevitt was first exposed to Irish republicans by his ex-fundraiser girlfriend, he said yesterday.
As FBI agent David Rupert took the stand at Dublin's Special Criminal Court, he told how he was introduced to pub owners Vincent Murray and Joe O'Neill by a woman called Linda Vaughan.
Mr Rupert, a former trucking company boss who was paid 1.25 million US dollars to infiltrate dissident republican organisations, met Ms Vaughan in an Irish bar in Florida in 1992.
At the time, she was a lobbyist for Irish republican fundraising organisation Noraid, he said.
Amid stifled laughter, four times married Mr Rupert, 51, told the court: "I started dating her, it seemed like a good thing to do."
The star witness said he visited Ireland in the autumn of that year with Ms Vaughan, who he described as extremely political.
"She talked about the Irish problem and took an Irish republican slant on it," he claimed.
It was through her that he met Mr Murray, who ran a bar in Co Sligo, and Mr O'Neill, a pub owner in Bundoran, Co Donegal.
Even though he later ended his relationship with Ms Vaughan, Mr Rupert returned to Ireland with his third wife, Jacqueline O'Sullivan, who he said he met via the Internet. As he continued his transatlantic trips, his relationship with his new contacts, particularly Mr O'Neill, were strengthened.
He said: "He (Mr O'Neill) became the teacher and I became the pupil."
Mr Rupert, a striking 6ft 5in, 20-stone man, is crucial to chances of successfully prosecuting McKevitt.
The 53-year-old accused from Blackrock, Dundalk, Co Louth, is accused of directing the Real IRA, the organisation behind the August 1998 Omagh atrocity. He has also been charged with membership of the grouping. He has pleaded not guilty to both offences.
The prosecution has said its case will hinge on Mr Rupert's evidence.
He has submitted a 40-page statement detailing how he met McKevitt on more than 20 occasions in an operation which took him to the heart of the Real IRA.
Mr Rupert, from upstate New York, left school at 16 and launched several business ventures before becoming involved in the haulage industry. But disaster struck two days after Christmas in 1992 when one of his trucks was involved in a major accident in Kentucky in which three children were killed, including the daughter of a prominent district attorney, he told the court.
"Over the period of that month-and-a-half we pulled the plug on that trucking business."
He then gave away his interests in other businesses to other associates. It was around this time that he first visited Ireland with another girlfriend he met after the breakup of his second marriage.
Even though he said the visit did not involve any political meetings, Mr Rupert said he fell in love with the country. Several trips later, he received his first visit at his offices in Chicago from an FBI agent named in court as Ed Buckley.
"He addressed the fact there had been some pictures of me and Joe O'Neill and Vincent Murray," he said.
Mr Rupert said that although he initially rejected the FBI offer he later accepted it, telling the court: "From my moral teachings I found it morally acceptable to do. I wanted to come here and he was offering to expense (pay) for my trips so I agreed to take him up on the issue."
He said this happened late in 1994.
The case continues.
THE chief prosecution witness in the trial of suspected Real IRA leader Michael McKevitt was first exposed to Irish republicans by his ex-fundraiser girlfriend, he said yesterday.
As FBI agent David Rupert took the stand at Dublin's Special Criminal Court, he told how he was introduced to pub owners Vincent Murray and Joe O'Neill by a woman called Linda Vaughan.
Mr Rupert, a former trucking company boss who was paid 1.25 million US dollars to infiltrate dissident republican organisations, met Ms Vaughan in an Irish bar in Florida in 1992.
At the time, she was a lobbyist for Irish republican fundraising organisation Noraid, he said.
Amid stifled laughter, four times married Mr Rupert, 51, told the court: "I started dating her, it seemed like a good thing to do."
The star witness said he visited Ireland in the autumn of that year with Ms Vaughan, who he described as extremely political.
"She talked about the Irish problem and took an Irish republican slant on it," he claimed.
It was through her that he met Mr Murray, who ran a bar in Co Sligo, and Mr O'Neill, a pub owner in Bundoran, Co Donegal.
Even though he later ended his relationship with Ms Vaughan, Mr Rupert returned to Ireland with his third wife, Jacqueline O'Sullivan, who he said he met via the Internet. As he continued his transatlantic trips, his relationship with his new contacts, particularly Mr O'Neill, were strengthened.
He said: "He (Mr O'Neill) became the teacher and I became the pupil."
Mr Rupert, a striking 6ft 5in, 20-stone man, is crucial to chances of successfully prosecuting McKevitt.
The 53-year-old accused from Blackrock, Dundalk, Co Louth, is accused of directing the Real IRA, the organisation behind the August 1998 Omagh atrocity. He has also been charged with membership of the grouping. He has pleaded not guilty to both offences.
The prosecution has said its case will hinge on Mr Rupert's evidence.
He has submitted a 40-page statement detailing how he met McKevitt on more than 20 occasions in an operation which took him to the heart of the Real IRA.
Mr Rupert, from upstate New York, left school at 16 and launched several business ventures before becoming involved in the haulage industry. But disaster struck two days after Christmas in 1992 when one of his trucks was involved in a major accident in Kentucky in which three children were killed, including the daughter of a prominent district attorney, he told the court.
"Over the period of that month-and-a-half we pulled the plug on that trucking business."
He then gave away his interests in other businesses to other associates. It was around this time that he first visited Ireland with another girlfriend he met after the breakup of his second marriage.
Even though he said the visit did not involve any political meetings, Mr Rupert said he fell in love with the country. Several trips later, he received his first visit at his offices in Chicago from an FBI agent named in court as Ed Buckley.
"He addressed the fact there had been some pictures of me and Joe O'Neill and Vincent Murray," he said.
Mr Rupert said that although he initially rejected the FBI offer he later accepted it, telling the court: "From my moral teachings I found it morally acceptable to do. I wanted to come here and he was offering to expense (pay) for my trips so I agreed to take him up on the issue."
He said this happened late in 1994.
The case continues.
Further Information
Publisher: NEWS LETTER
Ref: NL/516
Published Date: 24-Jun-03
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