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https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/courts/former-bursar-at-dublin-fee-paying-school-stole-500000-to-fund-gambling-addiction/a300168327.html
Natasha Reid Today at 17:52.
A private school bursar who stole half a million euro to fund a gambling addiction has sold her home and signed over her pension to pay back the institution, a court has heard.
Mary Higgins (62), with an address at Hawthorn Lawn, Castleknock, was before Dublin Circuit Criminal Court today, where she pleaded guilty to stealing €500,000 from Mount Sackville Secondary School in Chapelizod between January 1, 2012 and March 23, 2017.
The court heard that she had spent 12 years attending the school and 24 years working there. She told gardaà that she had hoped and prayed every day for “a big win” to pay the school back, but the court heard that the hole kept getting deeper.
Det Gda Brendan O’Hora testified that Higgins had controlled all aspects of cash flow in the school, was the main signatory on its bank accounts and controlled the lodgements. When cash was received in the school, it was placed in a folder for her and she decided how it was to be allocated.
He explained that, while parents received receipts, there was no cash receipts book, no copy of receipts was ever kept, and there was no oversight.
However, it was another employee who prepared ledger cards for each child attending the school. This employee noticed that, from time to time, they were rewritten by Ms Higgins. She also noticed that the accounts were always late and never up-to-date.
The principal was informed and, in March 2017, it was decided an auditor would be brought in to help the defendant.
Higgins told the principal that she had taken cash from the school over time and used it for gambling addictions. She said she had taken about €500,000 and that she had a property she could sell.
She was so distressed that the school was concerned for her well-being and suggested she attend her GP. She was placed on administrative leave.
An accountant was engaged by the school but such was the dearth of records, that the exact amount taken or period of time concerned could not be identified with any certainty. The Director of Public Prosecutions proceeded on the basis of the defendant’s own admissions.
Det Gda O’Hora said that Higgins had cooperated fully with gardaà and the forensic accountant. She had stressed she was the only person involved in the theft, and was very anxious that nobody else would be blamed.
She told her interviewers that she had spent all of the money on gambling, and was able to identify money having been paid to bookies.
The detective explained that she was able to hide what she’d been doing as some fees were paid in advance. She worked a year ahead so students were not affected and all children attending the school had their fees paid. She had no previous convictions and has since repaid €470,949.62.
Under cross-examination from Ronan Kennedy SC, defending, the detective agreed that this was an unsophisticated offence, where she was stealing cash that she was responsible for lodging into bank accounts.
He accepted that she’d had unfettered access to the cash due to a lack of oversight, meaning it wasn’t difficult to carry out.
Det Gda O’Hora agreed that she was in crisis and couldn’t live with herself any more and came forward to disclose her addiction and what she had done.
She had attended voluntary meetings with the principal and chairperson of the board of management, who had urged her to get medical advice for her gambling disorder.
Another staff member told investigators that she had always been very professional in school. She had noticed that Higgins seemed to be betting on horses in recent years, but didn’t realise it was an addiction.
The court heard that she was very remorseful in her interviews with gardaĂ. She told them that she had spent 36 years at the school, was not married, had no children and that her job was her life. Det Gda O’Hora added that her social life, too, and therefore her whole life had revolved around the school.
She told them that she would hope and pray every day that she’d have a big win and pay back the money.
“The hole just seemed to get bigger,” remarked the detective.
“I believe she showed true remorse,” he added. “Notwithstanding what she’d done, she was a pleasure to deal with.”
The court heard that she had attended the Rutland Centre for her addiction and still attends Gamblers Anonymous, where she had served as a secretary, giving her time voluntarily. She had also engaged with counsellors for personal therapy.
Higgins returned to education in the eight years since the offence came to light, studying addiction and counselling so she could use her own experience to help others.
She’d received a postgraduate qualification from Trinity College, and a Master’s degree in counselling psychotherapy and has been providing voluntary counselling services to others.
The court heard that she had sold her home and another apartment she had, and had also signed over her pension to repay the money.
“Checks have been carried out, and any properties or moneys she had has been paid over to the school,” confirmed the detective.
She now lives with her 93-year-old mother and receives €260 per week in carer’s allowance to provide the 24-hour care she needs.
Det Gda O’Hora said that all of the money had been used to feed gambling; bank statements showed significant amounts were paid to large bookmakers, and that she had been allowed to continue to bet.
Mr Kennedy asked him if she had suffered a significant fall from grace.
“Her whole life appears to have revolved around the school and she was highly regarded within that circle,” he said.
“I think she’s tackled her issues head-on and has gone above and beyond in tackling her issues, in terms of what I’ve seen in my career,” he added.
He said that she had worked hard for the school and that, while the offence had an impact on the school, losing her also had an impact.
He confirmed that the school had since changed its system.
“It’s a remarkably sad and tragic case,” said Mr Kennedy, explaining that she had asked him to publicly apologise to the entire school community.
He said that she was from a family of four and had been born in America. Her own father had been inflicted with alcohol and gambling problems and had suffered a fatal heart attack in her presence when she was three years old. This had led to her having emotional disturbances for which her mother had sought treatment. The family moved to Ireland when she was six.
Mr Kennedy said that during her time at Mount Sackville, she had overseen maintenance and capital building, with €7 million in profits reinvested into the school.
Things changed in 2012 and some responsibilities were removed from her, affecting her self-esteem. She found herself having more time on her hands and, with no hobbies, she engaged in the secretive activity of gambling. He said that studying formula and bets became all-consuming.
“She was living a double life,” he said.
He noted that there was a shortfall of €29,000 in what she had repaid, but said that she was committed to paying it back if made a condition of her sentence. It would take time, however, as her only source of income is now carer’s allowance.
Counsel handed in several testimonials from current and former staff at the school, including a former principal and deputy principal. Letters from family members were also handed in, including from her elderly mother, who spoke of her unwavering love and support to her and her regret that she didn’t see the signs of gambling.
Her brother, who had travelled from New York for the court case, wrote of how “gambling has destroyed a life so well lived in kindness”.
“She recognises the gravity of what she has done,” said Mr Kennedy, asking for leniency. “She’s already lost her job in a very public fall from grace and has hit every branch on the way down.”
Judge Orla Crowe asked why the matter had come forward only now, and was told that this was due to the length of time it took to complete the forensic accountant’s report.
She said she would give her decision on June 19.
Natasha Reid Today at 17:52.
A private school bursar who stole half a million euro to fund a gambling addiction has sold her home and signed over her pension to pay back the institution, a court has heard.
Mary Higgins (62), with an address at Hawthorn Lawn, Castleknock, was before Dublin Circuit Criminal Court today, where she pleaded guilty to stealing €500,000 from Mount Sackville Secondary School in Chapelizod between January 1, 2012 and March 23, 2017.
The court heard that she had spent 12 years attending the school and 24 years working there. She told gardaà that she had hoped and prayed every day for “a big win” to pay the school back, but the court heard that the hole kept getting deeper.
Det Gda Brendan O’Hora testified that Higgins had controlled all aspects of cash flow in the school, was the main signatory on its bank accounts and controlled the lodgements. When cash was received in the school, it was placed in a folder for her and she decided how it was to be allocated.
He explained that, while parents received receipts, there was no cash receipts book, no copy of receipts was ever kept, and there was no oversight.
However, it was another employee who prepared ledger cards for each child attending the school. This employee noticed that, from time to time, they were rewritten by Ms Higgins. She also noticed that the accounts were always late and never up-to-date.
The principal was informed and, in March 2017, it was decided an auditor would be brought in to help the defendant.
Higgins told the principal that she had taken cash from the school over time and used it for gambling addictions. She said she had taken about €500,000 and that she had a property she could sell.
She was so distressed that the school was concerned for her well-being and suggested she attend her GP. She was placed on administrative leave.
An accountant was engaged by the school but such was the dearth of records, that the exact amount taken or period of time concerned could not be identified with any certainty. The Director of Public Prosecutions proceeded on the basis of the defendant’s own admissions.
Det Gda O’Hora said that Higgins had cooperated fully with gardaà and the forensic accountant. She had stressed she was the only person involved in the theft, and was very anxious that nobody else would be blamed.
She told her interviewers that she had spent all of the money on gambling, and was able to identify money having been paid to bookies.
The detective explained that she was able to hide what she’d been doing as some fees were paid in advance. She worked a year ahead so students were not affected and all children attending the school had their fees paid. She had no previous convictions and has since repaid €470,949.62.
Under cross-examination from Ronan Kennedy SC, defending, the detective agreed that this was an unsophisticated offence, where she was stealing cash that she was responsible for lodging into bank accounts.
He accepted that she’d had unfettered access to the cash due to a lack of oversight, meaning it wasn’t difficult to carry out.
Det Gda O’Hora agreed that she was in crisis and couldn’t live with herself any more and came forward to disclose her addiction and what she had done.
She had attended voluntary meetings with the principal and chairperson of the board of management, who had urged her to get medical advice for her gambling disorder.
Another staff member told investigators that she had always been very professional in school. She had noticed that Higgins seemed to be betting on horses in recent years, but didn’t realise it was an addiction.
The court heard that she was very remorseful in her interviews with gardaĂ. She told them that she had spent 36 years at the school, was not married, had no children and that her job was her life. Det Gda O’Hora added that her social life, too, and therefore her whole life had revolved around the school.
She told them that she would hope and pray every day that she’d have a big win and pay back the money.
“The hole just seemed to get bigger,” remarked the detective.
“I believe she showed true remorse,” he added. “Notwithstanding what she’d done, she was a pleasure to deal with.”
The court heard that she had attended the Rutland Centre for her addiction and still attends Gamblers Anonymous, where she had served as a secretary, giving her time voluntarily. She had also engaged with counsellors for personal therapy.
Higgins returned to education in the eight years since the offence came to light, studying addiction and counselling so she could use her own experience to help others.
She’d received a postgraduate qualification from Trinity College, and a Master’s degree in counselling psychotherapy and has been providing voluntary counselling services to others.
The court heard that she had sold her home and another apartment she had, and had also signed over her pension to repay the money.
“Checks have been carried out, and any properties or moneys she had has been paid over to the school,” confirmed the detective.
She now lives with her 93-year-old mother and receives €260 per week in carer’s allowance to provide the 24-hour care she needs.
Det Gda O’Hora said that all of the money had been used to feed gambling; bank statements showed significant amounts were paid to large bookmakers, and that she had been allowed to continue to bet.
Mr Kennedy asked him if she had suffered a significant fall from grace.
“Her whole life appears to have revolved around the school and she was highly regarded within that circle,” he said.
“I think she’s tackled her issues head-on and has gone above and beyond in tackling her issues, in terms of what I’ve seen in my career,” he added.
He said that she had worked hard for the school and that, while the offence had an impact on the school, losing her also had an impact.
He confirmed that the school had since changed its system.
“It’s a remarkably sad and tragic case,” said Mr Kennedy, explaining that she had asked him to publicly apologise to the entire school community.
He said that she was from a family of four and had been born in America. Her own father had been inflicted with alcohol and gambling problems and had suffered a fatal heart attack in her presence when she was three years old. This had led to her having emotional disturbances for which her mother had sought treatment. The family moved to Ireland when she was six.
Mr Kennedy said that during her time at Mount Sackville, she had overseen maintenance and capital building, with €7 million in profits reinvested into the school.
Things changed in 2012 and some responsibilities were removed from her, affecting her self-esteem. She found herself having more time on her hands and, with no hobbies, she engaged in the secretive activity of gambling. He said that studying formula and bets became all-consuming.
“She was living a double life,” he said.
He noted that there was a shortfall of €29,000 in what she had repaid, but said that she was committed to paying it back if made a condition of her sentence. It would take time, however, as her only source of income is now carer’s allowance.
Counsel handed in several testimonials from current and former staff at the school, including a former principal and deputy principal. Letters from family members were also handed in, including from her elderly mother, who spoke of her unwavering love and support to her and her regret that she didn’t see the signs of gambling.
Her brother, who had travelled from New York for the court case, wrote of how “gambling has destroyed a life so well lived in kindness”.
“She recognises the gravity of what she has done,” said Mr Kennedy, asking for leniency. “She’s already lost her job in a very public fall from grace and has hit every branch on the way down.”
Judge Orla Crowe asked why the matter had come forward only now, and was told that this was due to the length of time it took to complete the forensic accountant’s report.
She said she would give her decision on June 19.
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Replies: 58
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My daughter attended the school in that timeframe, was quite the scandal.
Cant picture the lady in question, even though she lived nearby. |
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Never a mention about who took the bets is there?
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Do they have affordability checks in Dublin?
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Everyone will feel the brunt of this individual no doubt….
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Bookies are scums. Bookies will bleed you dry without an ounce of conscience. I hope the bookies concerned will show a bit of remorse, and will do what this lady is doing ie seek counselling and reviewing their sharp practice business strategy eg profit at all costs.
I also hope the bookies concerned will pay back every euro they "knowingly" stole from the school with interest, and fine heavily. I also hope the bookies will be named, and prosecuted too. The woman has paid a huge price for her addiction to gambling. This is not a one-off. It could happen to anyone with that category of self-control/discipline (or lack of it). |
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sageform27 May 25 07:34Joined: 15 Jun 01 | Topic/replies: 29,459 | Blogger: sageform's blog
Do they have affordability checks in Dublin? She stole the money between 2012 & 2017 (during the height of the period when all the casino & slot peddlers were breaking the law) - so no. No details (above) on what she lost it on - was she actually "betting" or was she "gaming"? Either way, she's probably just part of the tip of a massive iceberg, as far as female "problem gamblers" are concerned. We're approaching the stage now where a couple of generations of women will have been lured into addiction via slots and casino sites masquerading as a bit of social fun on a pretend Bingo site. |
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@TM
"No details (above) on what she lost it on - was she actually "betting" or was she "gaming"?" The article strongly suggests it was horseracing: "She had noticed that Higgins seemed to be betting on horses in recent years, but didn’t realise it was an addiction." |
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Not sure that counts as a "strong suggestion" longbridge.
It's pretty much par for the course with these stories, in that there's nothing specific or more detailed than a fleeting observation from a bystander, plus some references to her being secretive and studying formula. |
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secretive, borrowing money, systems and stats, searching for a grail to get out of the hole
it's gaze! |
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I live in cork city and have 3 paddy's 2 boyles and 2 ladbrokes within 5 minute drive anytime I have gone into one of them in the last 12 months there's almost nobody in them except women playing bingo and that could be anytime of the day or evening I only stay for a few mins to place my bet but always makes me sad to see it
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How do you play bingo in an irish bookies office
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Each bookie have their own game version that's played throughout the country every couple of minutes it's crazy to see the women running up with their slips before next game starts practically no males stay in the shops around here just in and out because of all the women in the shops I believe male and female have equal right to gamble freely it's just feels so wrong to see all ages of females hooked on these games
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Was she really addicted or just desperately trying to smash her way out?
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People get addicted to alcohol but responsible drinkers don't get punished and why should they
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A well known football manager/coach blew 65 large in hours in a far flung country in the small hours,certainly wasn’t horse racing…..
He was in a bad situation if people hadn’t bailed him…. |
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Jacko, whereabouts roughly can you reach 7 shops in Cork City?
I struggle to find clusters like that down there. |
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Was she really addicted or just desperately trying to smash her way out?
It's a good point ramruma - I think many times these type of cases blur that boundary, as people gambling to get out of a hole may act fairly similar to an addict, but for different reasons as you suggest. This case reminds me a fair bit of anohter Irish gambling story, the guy himself wrote a book about it, it's actually a decent read: Tony 10: The astonishing story of the postman who gambled €10,000,000 … and lost it all. He basically started much smaller and ended stealing huge amounts try and smash his way out, of course losing it all. Of course, as suggested, bigger problem is they use these cases to beat us ordinary gamblers over the head with 'safer gambling action' etc |
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TV ADS seem to be targetting Certain Folks With Slots and Bingo
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Just recently I noticed a tv ad to promote females going horseracing. It could have been done for the GBR. A rather unfortunate timing, if so.
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It's a very sad case.
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quite right ironman
if it had been a geezer it wouldnt have been 'very sad'. women seen as mugs and need to be protected |
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TV ADS seem to be targetting Certain Folks With Slots
In light of this topic, I can read that sentence more than one way  |
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Let's hope the judge requests the attendance of the CEOs of the bookies jointly responsible for this sad but avoidable case. The CEOs are just as culpable and responsible for the plight of the accused/victim and the school.
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unbearable off the money as usual
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It's hard to argue that on-line bingo sites aren't specifically targeting women, plenty of them are pretty open about it (Pink Casino, 888ladies, etc) - and they beat you to the joke about "Ladies Slots" or "Slots for Ladies", as they use that in their own marketing material.
It's also pretty hard to argue that Bingo isn't a front (or at best a "gateway") to the slots. Google any on-line Bingo site and they all have at least 100+ links to slots on their Homepage. A couple of them, it's actually pretty hard to locate the Bingo! |
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why are wimmin so suspeptible to random number games? is that why they are targeted?
whether they are playing slots or bigno is irrelevant. its the same thing |
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susceptible to wobbly spelling this early in the morning
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mitolo, some time ago I got given a bucket load of 'free tickets' for an online bingo site (completely free to me), so obv had to use them up. I'd never dream of being on those sites otherwise.
It was real eye opener the way it's set up and designed - essentially they try to make it sound both social (it's not) and skillful (it's not of course), and felt almost 100% aimed at women too. They also try to make it entertaining with stupid graphics and noises etc, but it's completely boring after a few goes at it - I found myself wishing I didn't have to keep playing my free tickets, lol |
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mitolo28 May 25 15:17Joined: 13 Apr 21 | Topic/replies: 5,830 | Blogger: mitolo's blog
whether they are playing slots or bigno is irrelevant. its the same thing You can play bigno (sic) from as little as one penny per game (according to their own adverts) - no idea how long a game last - but relative to slots and casino games, it's an eternity. Speed of play is just one of many factors in how addictive any game can be - but it's a major factor. |
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wot MJK said ^
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At least she seems to be genuinely sorry and has or is paying the vast majority of it back.
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i dunno either as ive never looked at any of em despite having been given a zillion free spins which expired. shouldnt have done as another punter i no spun his up to 1200 quid and has never used em since
but why are wimmin in luv with numbers? |
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sorry but she's a thief, when she started out it doesn't matter why she took the money she stole it
if gambling was her stupid way of trying to put the money back, that was the time to sell her house or gold or take a bank loan and return it, right at the start, not when she got hung out for half a mil |
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the story will run; poor victim, never had a criminal record, everyone likes her, it's those nasty gambling firms that we need to legislate
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Isn't it other way round though - it's marketed towards the ladies, so they just flock along to it....?
Same as the blokes are drawn into 'macho' card gambling etc Both types of gambling and gambler entirely moronic for the most part. |
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correct els
nuffink macho about cards and not moronic either. you dont have to be alan einstein to understand the maffs and if you ally that to observational skills and memory you can profit considerably from them |
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No sympathy for a tea leaf.
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A few insensitive comments from me ...
What did she bet on? How did she decide her bets? Who did she bet with? Did they contact her? Have they previous with big losers? |