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Arrest warrant issued
Page 7
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By Mike Jewell STEPHEN O'SULLIVAN remains at large after a warrant for his arrest was issued at Luton Crown Court last week when he failed to appear to hear a jury convict him and two hauliers of conspiracy to defraud.
After an eight-week trial, O'Sullivan, of Buckinghamshire, and hauliers Anthony Purnell, of Derbyshire, and William Robertson, of Aberdeenshire, were found guilty of conspiring to defraud the Traffic Commissioners and their staff; conspiring to defraud people who had paid money for having their vehicles unlawfully specified on 0-licences belonging to another licence holder: and conspiring to allow 0-licences to be used by persons not holding 0-licences.
O'Sullivan was also found guilty on three counts of money laundering. Sentencing has been adjourned until 24 April for the preparation of pre-sentencing reports. Purnell and Robertson were given unconditional bail.
The prosecution had claimed that O'Sullivan's schemes caused havoc within the UK road haulage industry, "driving a coach and horses through the legislation': Advertisements were placed in trade magazines offering the availability of 0-licences. The adverts were as the purchaser and seller of companies that held 0-licences and in that way licences were obtained with the ability to hire out space on the licences.
Traffic Area Office staff were misled into issuing 0-licence discs for vehicles that were not being operated by the licence holder. Once the money had been converted into cash, it was laundered by O'Sullivan.