Gerry 'The Monk' Hutch enjoys pint after prison release as he mulls election run
EXCLUSIVE: The 61-year-old was photographed scrolling on his phone at a bar counter shortly after getting out of Lanzarote's Tahiche Prison on bail last Monday
Here is Gerry ‘The Monk’ Hutch celebrating his prison release in Lanzarote with a pint in a local bar as he mulls over running as a candidate in the general election.
Our picture shows Hutch, 61, who was released on bail from Lanzarote’s Tahiche Prison last Monday, sitting at a bar and scrolling through his phone in the days after his release.
The picture shows a slimmed-down Hutch wearing glasses and looking like he hasn’t a care in the world after Spanish authorities released him from prison on bail after he had lodged a surety of €100,000.
Meanwhile, the Irish Mirror understands that Hutch, who remains under investigation in Spain for alleged money laundering, has not yet registered with the Dublin City returning officer to run in the general election.
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We understand that he has until next Saturday to do so - either in person or through a representative - in order to be able to stand for election.
Hutch is reported to have told pals that he intends to run as an independent in the election in Dublin Central - challenging the likes of Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald.
He is further rumoured to have told pals that he intends to set up his campaign headquarters in his old stomping ground at the Corinthians Boxing Club in the inner city.
"He has a week left to get himself officially in the race," a source told the Irish Mirror last night.
It comes after Spanish authorities unexpectedly stated on the record that Hutch was granted bail and did not have to surrender his passport after stating that he intended to run for election here.
In a surprising development, a spokesman for the Canary Islands High Court of Justice told this paper last week: “In reference to the alleged leader of an international gang of criminals who yesterday was provisionally released on bail of €100,000, the investigating court (Instruction 2 of Arrecife) reports that, apart from the aforementioned bail to ensure his presence at the trial, no other precautionary measure has been imposed.”
The spokesman said this was “since one of the main arguments that both the prosecutor in his favourable report and the investigating magistrate have taken into account when making the decision is that the person under investigation stated in his appeal that he was going to stand in an electoral process.”
“In this context, the withdrawal of their passport or other measures limiting their movements would prevent their free access to the elections, causing irreparable damage to their right to seek popular support in an election, which remains intact (only a final ruling can prevent them from standing in an election).”
The spokesman previously said Hutch was being investigated “as the alleged perpetrator of a money laundering crime committed within the scope of a criminal organisation.”
The arrest last month was timed to coincide with a search of Hutch’s home in Clontarf in Dublin, where it is understood that laptops, phones and other devices were seized following an early morning raid assisted by armed officers of the Garda Emergency Response Unit.
The Dublin search was led by the Garda National Bureau of Criminal Investigation, with support from the Criminal Assets Bureau and the Emergency Response Unit.
Last April, Hutch was sensationally acquitted in the Special Criminal Court of the gangland murder of Kinahan cartel associate David Byrne at Dublin's Regency Hotel.
During Hutch’s trial, a senior Garda detective gave evidence for the first time about the existence of the Hutch crime gang.
Detective Superintendent Dave Gallagher of the Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau said, in his opinion, the group is made up of “close family members” and came together and “galvanised” after the Kinahan feud exploded. He described it as being made up of “intergenerational” family bonds and was based predominantly in Dublin City Centre.
The Hutch criminal organisation is made up, he said, of “close family members,” and is “less hierarchical” than some other criminal organisations. It operates on what he called a “patriarchal system” that is based on “loyalty” and “monetary gain.”
The detective superintendent said that, historically, the Hutch criminal organisation was “quite a fluid organisation” that had participants, associates and affiliates working together to commit certain crimes. But it often consisted of those individuals operating independently at times, and working with other criminal organisations, he said.
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