NO biz like fraud biz

A long-serving civil servant caught with his hands in the till escaped jail and kept his pension this week. Donal McBride (57) claimed €147,000 worth of bogus overtime, but retired early and is paying back the money with his pension. By 2014 the money will have been paid back and he can enjoy life and the rest of his pension. Just to make that clear - he paid back the Department with the cash the Department were paying him. He got a three year suspended sentence today. (Read more here). In contrast immigrant chef Andela Konda who claimed €70,000 while working under a bogus name last year got 18 months in jail for his version of welfare fraud. Surely McBride should just get the basic welfare assistance and the savings on his pension would cover what he took. Konda (40) could have been dealt with differently to save €80,000 a year it costs to keep a prisoner. Then, of course, there's the cost of the legal fees from the trials.