?75 million bail 'would be too little'
Anthony Kelly had offered to have his sister pay an independent surety of ?75,000 to guarantee his release, but the detective involved in the case said he would not be satisfied with a surety of ?75 million.
The 49-year-old is accused of recruiting British-based hitman James Martin Cahill and supplying him with the weapon used to murder Mr Fitzgerald outside his home in Limerick in 2002.
At a sitting of the High Court in Cloverhill, Detective Sergeant Seamus Nolan objected to bail for Kelly on a number of grounds, most notably the threat to the lives of Cahill and another witness, Phillip Deane.
"I fear that if Mr Kelly gets bail, he will take serious steps to ensure that Mr Cahill and Mr Deane do not give evidence against him."
Fear
Det Sgt Nolan said that Cahill, who was sentenced to life imprisonment last year for the murder of Fitzgerald, was rightly regarded as a hardened criminal but was physically shaking with fear in his prison cell.
"He was then, and still remains, absolutely terrified for his own safety. He believes he is going to be shot because of what he told the gardai."
He told the court that Cahill had a minimum of three prison officers with him at all times, which was a "serious resource issue".
Det Sgt Nolan said it would be alleged that Kelly had set up appointments in Limerick city and Portlaoise between Cahill and a number of individuals to organise the murder of Brian Fitzgerald.
It would be further alleged that he had taken Cahill to his house in Kilrush, handed him a firearm with two magazines full of 9mm rounds and instructed him on how to use it. "He said to make sure he shot the deceased in the head, to make sure he was dead."
The court heard there had been an altercation between Mr Fitzgerald and a number of individuals at the former Docs nightclub in Limerick after they had been ejected.
Det Sgt Nolan said that Kelly, from Cragg House, Kilrush, Co Clare, owned a car worth well in excess of ?100,000 and had substantial assets in Morocco, China and Europe.
He had six previous convictions over a 24-year period, including two for larceny and one for living off immoral earnings.
Det Sgt Nolan said members of a Limerick gang had become paranoid about the fact that a former associate, Phillip Deane, had spoken to gardai about the murder and feared that their own liberty was at stake.
He said there had been repeated assassination attempts on the man, who was sentenced to three years' imprisonment for firearms possession in 2003 and is now in the witness protection programme.
"At one stage, consideration was given to using a rocket launcher to blow up the prison transport."
Assassinations
Det Sgt Nolan told the court that Kelly and another named individual had put up £100,000 to fund the assassination of Deane. The court heard that this same individual had at one stage attempted to have Kelly assassinated as well, while another party later tried to kill him.
Det Sgt Nolan rejected suggestions from senior counsel Anthony Sammon, representing Kelly, that his client was involved in the furniture business.
"I believe that Mr Kelly's principal business is the importation of drugs into this jurisdiction, not the furniture business. That is merely a cover for his other businesses.
"He is rightly regarded as being one of the main drug importers into this jurisdiction."
Judge Paul Butler said he was not entirely concerned about the risk of Kelly fleeing the jurisdiction.
But he accepted the evidence given by Det Sgt Nolan about the risk to the lives of witnesses if Mr Kelly was at liberty.
"In these circumstances I am refusing bail," he said.
- Michael Brennan
