A mother of three who laundered more than €34,000 for the Boylan organised crime group received a fully suspended prison sentence after telling the court she ‘lived in fear’ of her former partner and his associates.
Amy Rooney
A mother of three who said she “lived in fear” of her former partner, a one-time member of the Boylan Organised Crime Group, received a fully suspended two-and-a-half-year sentence for laundering criminal proceeds on behalf of the gang.
Judge Dara Hayes said Amy Rooney (31), “was involved with serious criminals in Drogheda and facilitated their ill-gotten gains.”
Ms Rooney, of Newtown Meadow’s, Drogheda, Co Louth pleaded guilty to laundering money for the Boylan organised crime group. She has no previous convictions.
The crime group, the court heard previously, is allegedly headed by two brothers.
Keith Boylan (30) of Moneymore in Drogheda was named by a garda witness as ‘the leader of the organised crime group,’ while his brother Josh (26) was named as the group’s ‘second in command.’
A third member, Craig Coyle (26), was also previously named in court by a garda witness as a member of that crime group.
Dundalk Circuit Court previously heard Ms Rooney had “laundered money and transferred money to two bank accounts controlled by Keith Boylan and Craig Coyle, two members of the Boylan OCG.”
The total amount of money Ms Rooney admitted to laundering was €34,363 between June 9, 2020 and February 23, 2021.
Ms Rooney told gardai she ‘didn’t intentionally transfer money’ to the OCG but that she was ‘exploited and living in fear’ of Joey Whearty, her ex-partner. Mr Whearty lost his life in Columbia in September 2023, and was an associate of the Boylan OCG, the court heard.
She told gardai she had been ‘assaulted, threatened and abused’ by Whearty, whom she described as a ‘monster’ and was ‘living in fear of him.’
Detective Garda Niall McManus previously told the court it was accepted when Ms Rooney told them ‘I am a little bit afraid, Joey is dead but I am afraid of his associates.’
Defence barrister said Ms Rooney was ‘in a relationship with Mr Whearty and she was under his thumb.’
“She was in fear of him and the whole OCG and is still in fear of them,” the defence counsel told the court.
“There is no suggestion she gained personally from it at all,” defence counsel said, adding Ms Rooney has a good work history.
Testimonials were handed into court where the court heard those who supplied the references expressed their shock at the offence and that it was ‘out of character’, that Ms Rooney is ‘dedicated to her children.’
Judge Dara Hayes said she “was involved with serious criminals in Drogheda and facilitated their ill-gotten gains.
“Small as it might be, she gave significant assistance to the organised crime group in laundering their illicit income.
“She was not naive and was not approached by strangers. She knew the criminals and the type of criminality they were involved in.
“It appears Ms Rooney was in fear of her then partner and his associates and that played a role in her offending. It was reckless,” Judge Hayes said.
“It appears she got in over her head with serious criminals,” the judge said and imposed a sentence of two and a half years which was suspended in full.
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