THE sight of Martin Foley and a couple of well-built side-kicks cruising around Co Offaly in late April did not go unnoticed by the locals. You couldn't miss him, really. Foley -- aka the Viper, ex-convict, survivor of numerous gangland hits and one-time henchman of The General -- was "spotted" outside a coffee shop in Tullamore and later was said to be "floating" around Edenderry in a van boldly emblazoned with Viper Debt Recovery, designed to embarrass his targets.

It wasn't hard to figure out who he was after. Offaly, the Taoiseach Brian Cowen's home county, is also home to one of the more spectacular casualties of the property boom.

Gerard Killally, former Fianna Fail county councillor, running mate of Cowen's and an auctioneer; and Richie Connor, a national school teacher and GAA legend, went on a buying frenzy on borrowed money leaving a trail of bank debts and angry investors in their wake.

They have been sued for millions by former business partners -- their sharp practices exposed as they admitted making 'secret profits' at their expense.

Last week, AIB secured a judgement against them for €15.5m and National Irish Bank is after them for €4.2m.

Not all creditors are going to court. One local building contractor, who claimed Killally owed him money, took matters into his own hands and set 'the Viper' on Ger Killally with unfortunate consequences for the auctioneer's family.

The distress of having Martin Foley knocking on their imposing front door looking for money is a sign of how far the couple have fallen. Having borrowed €11m in pursuit of a property empire, Killally, 39, and his wife, Naomi, 36, who are expecting their third child, have claimed impoverishment. He has claimed they have had their mobile phones cut off because they couldn't pay the bills. He had to borrow money -- €40,000 from his family and €80,000 from his wife's parents -- to stay afloat. During one of the many legal actions, Killally claimed he had to increase security at his home because of threatening and abusive phone calls, texts and emails.

He tearfully begged a High Court judge who froze his assets at €8m to allow him to withdraw €16,000 a month to meet the extraordinary expenses of running their colossal house.

The husband and wife "have not been seen for a couple of months", claimed one local. Another acquaintance said they had to flee their enormous home to escape the debt collectors.

The boom-to-bust story of Ger Killally and Richie Connor has turned into a morality tale for our times. In another era, neither man might have progressed beyond their modest professions were it not for the property mania.

Killally set up his auctioneering business in his native Edenderry at the start of the boom, recruiting Connor as his partner.

"He was the new kid on the block. He seemed to get very big very quickly," said one acquaintance. "One Sunday he sold 150 houses in a couple of hours in Portarlington."

It was a matter of time before he turned developer, buying up land on borrowed money, in the belief that these country towns within striking distance of Dublin would prosper.

Investors apparently flocked to him. "He went on a spending frenzy on borrowed money," said one acquaintance. "Three or four years ago, Killally was gold; he was the guy. Anything he touched turned to gold."

A political career also blossomed. He was Brian Cowen's running mate in the 2002 general election. Although he didn't win a seat, the party regarded him as a potential future star. As a local councillor, his interest was in enterprise and business opportunities for the Midlands, barely a thought spared for a possible conflict of interest in his own zealous pursuit of commercial properties in the region.

Meanwhile, the Killallys built a house befitting their stature on the outskirts of Edenderry. It was a grandiose nine-bedroom construction in faux gothic style spanning 10,000 square feet.

There was more than 5,000 square feet of stables on an acre and a half to accommodate the collection of ponies and horses. There were also extensive garages to accommodate a classic car collection that is said to be worth €30,000. The classic collection was dwarfed by their regular cars. A 07 Range Rover worth more than €100,000, is believed to have cost Killally almost €30,000 a year in repayments.

As property prices soared, so did their ambitions. A glimpse of their expensive tastes emerged when the High Court froze his assets at €8m. Killally begged the court for the €16,000 a month he claimed it cost to run the house. His calculations included €1,500 a month for electricity and €42,000 a year for health and life insurance policies for himself and his wife.

Despite this apparent excess, local people who knew Killally long before he attained the status of property magnate said he didn't seem the sort of fellow who would have his head turned by a flash lifestyle. He didn't play golf, didn't socialise much in the town and one acquaintance described him as "a workaholic". He was "a very quiet sort of fellow, a very decent chap and also a very decent sponsor of organisations". The dream crumbled in 2008. The banks began circling. Debts were left unpaid. Rumours circulated about his financial health. Serendipity, his wife's shop, went into liquidation late last year.

The financial travails of Killally and Connor finally became public when they were sued by their business partners who claimed that Connor and Killally had made secret profits and had "hived off" for themselves bits of land that were bought for the partnership. The auctioneers initially declared they were looking forward to defending themselves in court. But earlier this month, they settled the case out of court having admitted to hiding profits in two out of four land deals. Judge Peter Kelly noted at the time that the admissions had to be wrung out of them.

Even while Richie Connor admitted to the secret profits, Ger Killally blamed his solicitor, saying that she had said it was "okay" if he didn't tell the partners about the secret profits.

Killally's ill-fated property ventures have caused carnage in the county. Local politicians -- although reluctant to jump on Ger Killally's financial grave -- are furious at the disrepute he has brought on his political office.

The day before they settled the legal action, the court was told how Ger Killally was able to tell one of his business partners that a piece of land they planned to buy was shortly to be rezoned -- thus making it more valuable. Killally was chairman of Offaly County Council at the time. He quit as Fianna Fail councillor earlier this year.

The great and the good of Offaly society who invested in his ambitious schemes have been left nursing huge losses. "There are more cases coming down the tracks from other people who have invested with him. He's not finished with it yet," said one local.

Tomorrow, another group of Offaly business people are suing Killally and others over a failed scheme to develop a business park at Mount Lucas.

With Edenderry in recession, building schemes halted and small businesses following each other into liquidation, sympathy for Ger Killally is scarce. The mansion on the outskirts of town that was testament to his success is now regarded as something of a monument to the greed that fuelled his property business.

"There are people hard-pressed to pay mortgages and people here walking away apparently scot-free owing millions," said a public representative.

"It's just not right."