The programme spoke to more than 60 men and women from all over Ireland who were conned by Patrick Russell over three decades.
Russell, a former Sinn Fein activist, rose through the establishment. A business partner of Albert Reynolds from the mid 1990s, they were involved in property and business dealings in Britain and Ireland including a failed attempt to buy a Swiss Bank.
Through the 1990s, Patrick Russell gained a reputation as a man who didn’t pay his debts. A taxi driver from Wicklow, a shop fitter from Meath, a drinks company, two banks, a builder, the Revenue Commissioners all took Russell to court to try to force him to pay a combined sum of around €800,000.
In 2001 Patrick Russell qualified as a barrister. He exploited the prestige his position gave him to con people.
· He defrauded two well-known musicians of close to €1.5m
· He took €800,000 from a Chinese businesswoman.
· He took another €500,000 from a doctor in the midlands
· In a property scam he took €400,000 from a well known sports star
· In the same property scam he took €100,000 from a Dublin-based barrister.
Eleven years after he qualified Russell became the first barrister in the history of the state to be disbarred. He was disbarred for “professional misconduct.” According to the decision of the Kings Inns he had “lied” to a client and engaged in continued “deception”.
But he managed to evade criminal prosecution for a long time. RTÉ Investigates spoke to more than 20 victims who say they reported Russell to Gardai over the years.
Russell’s luck finally ran out. He appeared before the courts in June 2018 and pleaded guilty to a charge of the theft of €215,000 from a Kildare trucker, Paul O’Connell. It was his first conviction for theft. On November 4th last, he was sentenced to four years in prison, with the final year suspended.
Watch: RTÉ Investigates: Barrister & Conman – The Patrick Russell Story, Wednesday 25th November at 9.35pm on RTÉ One.