major probe | 

Dublin undertaker accused of stealing cash from homes of dead people

Investigation launched into scale of the alleged thefts

An undertaker is at the centre of a major garda probe into allegations that he stole cash from dead people while removing them from their homes.

We can reveal that gardaí swooped on the Dublin funeral home worker in recent days after putting a sting operation in place.

He was arrested and questioned in relation to two theft incidents.

However, investigators are trying to establish whether anything else was stolen from other homes of dead people he visited as an undertaker.

Garda analysts will now carry out a review of similar reported thefts to determine the scale of the alleged ­offending.

“This was detected following great police work. It might have been going on for a number of years but is yet to be established,” one source said.

The undertaker at the centre of the inquiry would have been responsible for preparing bodies before being escorted from their homes to a mortuary.

Suspicions were first raised last month after uniformed gardaí at the scene of a sudden death in the capital believed a sum of cash was taken from a room.

The undertaker had been alone in the room while organising for the ­remains to be transported to the ­local mortuary.

After another similar incident weeks later involving the same undertaker, gardaí decided to put a sting ­operation in place targeting him.

Last week he was called to the scene of another sudden death at a private residence.

Gardaí had placed a small sum of marked notes in the room where the body was lying and when they returned after the body had been removed, they discovered the money was missing.

The undertaker was subsequently searched, and the marked notes were allegedly discovered on him.

He was later arrested and detained for questioning at a Dublin garda ­station on suspicion of theft.

The man was later released without charge and gardaí will prepare a file for the Director of Public Prosecutions.

Gardaí are now attempting to ­establish if the alleged thefts from dead people’s homes had been going on for several years.

At this stage there is nothing to suggest other persons were involved but investigations are ongoing.

“The theft of money from a deceased person while their family is grieving is a serious matter,” a source said.

“Investigations are attempting to establish if this has been happening for several years. In some instances, it may be the case that families may not even have noticed money had gone missing, and in other cases gardaí could have been wrongly blamed for money being taken as they would have had access to the scene.

“Uniformed members became aware of the alleged offending and have to be commended,” the source added.

As part of the garda’s response to the incident, analysts are now expected to comb through An Garda Síochána’s Pulse system to find any similar incidents where money was reported missing at the home of a person who had died suddenly.

A garda spokesperson said: “An Garda Síochána in the Dublin region are investigating two incidents of alleged theft.

“A male has been arrested for these alleged offences under the Criminal Justice (theft and Fraud Offences) Act 2011 and was detained at a Dublin garda station.

“Investigations are ongoing and a file will be prepared for the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions.

“An Garda Síochána has no ­further comment at this time,” the garda spokesperson added.