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AN IRISHMAN WHO was extradited to the United States has been sentenced to over six years in prison for his role in the operation of the narcotics ‘Silk Road’ website.
Gary Davis (31), who went by the alias Libertas, was a Silk Road administrator in 2013 and was paid a weekly salary to carry out duties that included resolving disputes between drug dealers and buyers on the “dark web” site.
The Wicklow man was arrested in Ireland in January 2014 and extradited to the United States in July 2018, where he had faced a battery of charges. Last October, Davis pleaded guilty in New York to narcotics conspiracy over the now-defunct online marketplace.
Until the FBI shut it down in October 2013, the US government called Silk Road “the most sophisticated and extensive criminal marketplace on the internet”, used by vendors in more than 10 countries in North America and Europe.
Texan mastermind Ross Ulbricht was convicted and sentenced to life in prison in 2015 for running the online enterprise that sold $200 million in drugs worldwide.
In Manhattan Federal Court yesterday, Davis was sentenced to 78 months in prison – six and a half years.
He was also ordered to serve three years of supervised release and fined $25,000 (€22,400).
Following, Davis’ sentencing, Manhattan US Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said: “Gary Davis helped run the Silk Road website – a dark web marketplace for illegal drugs, hacking services, and other criminal activity.”
“Davis’s arrest, extradition from Ireland, conviction, and prison sentence should send an unmistakable message: the dark web does not cast shadows long enough to protect criminals from the long arm of the law.”
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“…while the government could also introduce an environmental tax on wet wipes, which are responsible for a significant number of blockages in the system.” – because the facility is running beyond capacity. Any excuse for more tax, more tax, more tax.
@Artugal: you never know charging us all an extra 25c per packet of wipes might somehow increase the capacity at Ringsend to an appropriate level
@Daniel Wilson: Get Irish Water and DOBs cronies out. Let the civil service run it again. DOB has zero respect and thoughts for the Irish people. Our water is too precious to let a business get their grubby hands on it. Let alone someone who controls the media
@Artugal: Or just ban the sale of wet wipes. We managed without them for thousands of years.
@Artugal: where do you think the hundreds of millions of euros to fix this will come from? Or the hundreds of millions of euros to fix the health service? Or the hundreds of millions of euros to fix the housing crisis? We wouldn’t pay €4 per week water tax. How big and tough we were. We showed them alright.
@Thewestisbest: we would absolutely have paid a €4 water tax, if it were ring fenced for water and didn’t involve putting in millions of water meters to set us up for a privatised pay for usage model.
@Thewestisbest: maybe that money should come from the insane amount of tax we currently pay. Most people are working for less than what’s deemed enough to live on. Where do you think the tax is gonna come from?
@Manbackonboard:
Or just use biodegradable cotton ones.
@Artugal: Tax collection has to start at the top. A wealth tax of some description is warranted. Leo needs to forget his tax cuts, he needs to put 2% on the top rate. The standard rate needs to go to 21%. A water tax needs to be introduced and local property tax needs to be increased to a realistic level.
The money has to be raised for the health service, education, water and sewage treatment. Council houses will have to be built for low paid workers.The government needs to act now before our continued growth causes our infrastructure to collapse.
@Thewestisbest: this has nothing to with water tax o demented one. We already pay for our services. Our money is pissed away by corrupt government after corrupt government voted in by fools. Why should we pay a second time just so billion dollar companies can pollute at will. How much do ballygowan pay for our water?
@Artugal: they should just be banned. They don’t degrade, they block up everything in the sewer network and treatment plants, form huge knotted ropes and rag heads. And on top of that, they are then ground up in treatment processes to particle size that ends up in sludge which is used as compost or straight into receiving waters. They are the devil’s own invention in waste water treatment
It’s a bloody disgrace that all The monies that should have been invested into our water infrastructure went towards others things like “Water Meteors “ for example & lots of money for CC’s + bonuses ect ect which would have caused more damage!
@Colette Kearns:
If we were now paying for water via a demand based charge, that would have allowed IW to borrow money outside of the annual budget giveaway. Then things like wastewater treatment could have been properly prioritised. Instead we now have a limited budget, dependant on the mood of the government and the budgetary contraints of the day.
I suppose I should add that the meters have been used to find tens of thousands of leaks, most of which have been fixed for residents for no cost.
@Tim Pot: Tim come on now, theres no argument anymore, the setting up of a company installing metres all the spin, all the consultants it made absolutely no sense, none. It was set up to be sold on. If it was anything to do with water treatment, conserving water or for the good of the country amalgamation and stream lining of the local authorities water sections into a water board was the way to go, so please stop all this “if we did this” “if they could borrow that” it just didnt fool people, let it go
@Tim Pot: wee already pay for our wate just like we pay for our health education housing etc. yet every service in s crumbles. Where’s my fn money going? Why charge ordinary people who pay already? Why not charge ballygowan for example or the companies which make billions from polluting our water and environment?
@Tim Pot: 93% of all leaks found were NOT on the household side, so the meters have found 7%. Why would anyone be in favour of borrowing to fix infrastructure when the €1bn spent on metering could have resolved all issues with no interest payments. You must work for a bank if you wanna promote Ireland paying interest rates of up to 5%. Whereas, the State borrowing could be done at a rate of less than 1%. Anyone still in favour of domestic water charges has skin in the game. You never mentioned that they should increase commercial water charges, or that they should implement abstraction charges. Is it only poor people you target, while protecting big business?
@Tim Pot: I was informed if a leak on my property by Irish water. Over 20 liters of water per min was going into the ground and then another leak was found on 2 of my neighbours houses same issue. Irish water plumber told me I was lucky that I get 1 free repair. 6 months after it was fixed by a contractor from the local council and not Irish water. Guy is charge said was no leak but the metres very installed with shoddy parts and were leaking and there was no leak on my property
@Thomas Maher: There is nothing to let go of, it is totally correct to say the sabotaging of Irish water’s ability to fund itself has been a mistake. Made primarily by the tax paying middle earners, who paid heed to the shrieking of the left while dozily continuing to pay usc at €20, €30,€40 and more per week, without a whimper.
@Brian Conway: Why not charge anyone that’s not me? I think taxes should be raised for everyone who earns more than me.
@Tim Pot: so the government can’t directly borrow that same money and funnel it into IW?
@Thewestisbest: listen to this clueless berserker. We already pay for all our services all of which are in a disgraceful state. This is because of corrupt inept politicians and the like of you who vote for them
@Thewestisbest: so you have difficulty reading basic English? The first thing I said was “we already pay for all our services” what’s difficult for you to understand?
@Thewestisbest: Water charges or not we won’t see a cent of them USC charges…..government will be dreaming lots of ways to pay for the public service pay and pensions bill which is out of control and is totally unsustainable through their filthy greed as usual. This will all come to a head the next meltdown because last time we borrowed tens of billions to keep these over the top payments going…..there is no room left this time to borrow.
@Thewestisbest: theres no left or right sh ite in this argument, any right thinking person can seeit was wrong and an attempt to set up our water and infrastructure to be opened up to private companies. Now if you dont see that youre either stupid or indoctrinated either way there is no point in me explaining or answering anymore
@Tim Pot: IW admitted to that Committee on Future Funding of Water that it would be cheaper for Government to borrow than IW!
On 24/4/14 there were 328 contracts transferred from Local Authorities to IW including no 54,55&55 which were Ringsend WWTW Extension contracts which were initiated in 1999.
Up to January’18 water services and infrastructure were funded through Local Government Funds which comprises mainly of motor tax and a smaller Exchequer funding of 16%.From 2000-2010 over €17B was invested in capital expenditure and operational expenditure but was reduced when FG /Labour Government came into power in 2011.
In January 18 motor tax began been paid directly into Exchequer instead of the LA’s LGF.
Scottish Water mainly uses district meters not individual household meters(only 600 household meters out of 2.4m households).
Sure it’s all grand Phil Hogan did what he was told to do and got rewarded with a nice job in Europe, he’s still there getting rewarded for being told to keep the peasants in their place,some things never change in the Emerald isle.
Put up permanent no bathing signs on the beaches affected by overflows,they actually asked us to believe in Irish Water , no disguising the dishonesty, the s**t has hit the fan.
@Honeybee: the water was always toxic, at least now it’s just pee and poo
@Honeybee:
Well the people decided that they didn’t believe and decided to protest against towards water treatment.
@Wreck Tangle: Never happened,people have always paid for water,you obviously didn’t understand the protests and now their opinion of Irish water is validated, Irish water can not tell the truth.
@Honeybee: you mean the same irish water the general public rebelled against….chickens come home……and all that….but hey all goverments fault… u get what u pay for…and for general taxation , well clearly its not enough…increase general atcation or bring in water charges…rant over..
@Kevin Bury: Irish Water has told the water regulator that the budget for its 2017-2021 investment plan has increased from around €4.4 billion to €5.3 billion – a rise of €987 million
https://www.businesspost.ie/news/irish-waters-budget-increased-nearly-e1-billion-444567
@Honeybee: Nope, our government are not paying nearly enough for our water services because there is not enough tax collected to allocate towards it.
@Honeybee: I have never paid for water. I pay income tax, motor tax, vat and household charge. It all goes into the central kitty… it is not enough because the underfunded health service, water service and public services in general tell me so.
@Thewestisbest: if it “isn’t enough” please explained why pay the private debts of criminal?? Why are we giving failed corrupt developers and other wealthy bums debt write downs in those failed? Why are those banks gifting, and I do mean gifting, our land and property to vulture? Not enough tax you say yet we keep gifting our taxes to the rich. Yeah your point is valid in trump land maybe
@Thewestisbest: Motor tax just started been paid directly into Exchequer in Jan’18, before that it was put directly into LA’s LGF &used as water services and infrastructure funding as per legislation.Funding to water peaked in 2008 @€1.75B but reduced from 2011 including slashing capital expenditure from €973m to €467(€411 in 2013)
@Thewestisbest: so the solution to any right thinking person would be to create a water tax, ring fence it,streamline coco services into a water board and have them manage it, not create a billing company and install metres
Another consequence of our chronic under-investment in infrastructure in Ireland. It is also a consequence of the regrettable fact that when we do engage in some infrastructural investment, we often do it in a very unambitious way, i.e. we don’t build big enough; we under-predict future needs.
Our governments have repeatedly screwed the common man and let this country down to the point its beyond repair within our lifetime. Between banks, bondholders, Irish water, the NCH, Escrows, the role out of broadband the multitude of f-ups to the likes of this. A capital city that can’t handle its own surface water and foul drainage. For over 40 years drainage from buildings has had to be separated up to the site boundary lines. Yet still to this day they haven’t put in separate surface water and foul systems from the site boundary to the treatment plants. It’s a foopin disgrace
I live in Ringsend…it smells, well…like siht most days…the drains outside my place would make you rench.
And today in irishtown…i may as well have been in a toilet
Hate that. It’s a disgrace
@: ..All to save us €4 per week each. Oh well.
@Thewestisbest: if it was going to be €4 each per week, why the need for meters?
@Sean Whelan: To charge the people who engage in wanton waste maybe? You know the ones who take two baths a day or leave the hosepipe on when they are asked not to or wash the car during dry spells. You know the wasteful people.
@Thewestisbest: is that you dennis
@Thewestisbest: Just wondering what your official fraperoom working hours are?
@Thewestisbest: Actually both the Expert Commission on Water& Committee on Future Funding of Water were told that households in Ireland use less water than many European countries!
If some people hadn’t resisted paying modest water charges (the lowest in Europe) there’d be a lot more investment in the water, sewage pipes and wastewater facilities in this country.
@FactChecker: if there wasnt a billing company set up, if all that money spent installing metres, if the €100 bribe hadnt have been thrown out, if all that money hadnt have been spent on consultants fees “there’d be a lot more investment in the water, sewage pipes and wastewater facilities in this country”
@FactChecker: https://youtu.be/BowD6dAJKvo
Check your facts before sprouting nonsense
@FactChecker: you mean like the investment our health service? Or maybe our housing? Or maybe our naval service? Rape crisis maybe? Oh that’s a right every service decimated to save criminal banks corrupt developers etc You wouldn’t know a fact if you gave birth
@FactChecker: Actually over €17B spent on water services and infrastructure between 2000-2010!
In an Engineer’s Ireland Report in 2013,they stated:”Local Authorities have made SIGNIFICANT progress in the last 15years in improvement of public water and wastewater infrastructure”&”SIGNIFICANT investment in municipal wastewater treatment plants has ensured HUGE PROGRESS has been made I the last decade”.!
Any chance they could develop the system to have rain water not go through the poo filtering system.. it cannot be that hard
@Mick: it’s all the same sewers. They would need to build a new network of sewers to separate them.
Drain pipes on house roofs should just drain out into gardens instead of in the sewers though. I know some cities in the US have a disconnection program where they go door to doo to changing down pipes so they let out into the garden instead of the sewer.
@Mick: lol yeah just build an entire new sewer system using the money tree, its not that hard…..
@Ian McNally: how much money was spent setting up the company that there was absolutely no need or call for?
@John Moloy: Stupid idea.
@Thomas Maher: How much was spent on setting up the esb back in the day?
@Thomas Maher: no need for it? That’s right the local county councils were managing things really well. Always beggars belief for me the ignorance of the general public as to the work irish water is doing every day.
@Leo Erah: Look at my other comments.By the way at end of 2017 there were 4300 water services staff,3,500 of those were Local Authorities staff!
Bet that economic growth is really doing wonders for our country, we are actually blessed, really really blessed we have rain regularly otherwise we would be screwed, I sometimes feel like our government doesn’t really govern and alot of it is down to look and circumstances. I don’t understant why giving a fiver in tax cuts couldn’t be better spent on water infrastructure for example.
Ah yeah got a load more bee’s but forgot about the hive, as far as planning and forwarding thinking is concerned, a pig would would know more about a holiday.
That’s what happens when you don’t have a water charge. Crap water infrastructure. People picked the wrong fight. The bank bailout was the main battle,which is going to cost us for generations, not water charges.
@Kieran O’Donovan: nope. The crap water infrastructure was there long before water charges were considered. Despite being billions in surplus in the good times, we didn’t invest in upgrading our water infrastructure. This is a lack of planning, not a lack of funds.
@Kieran O’Donovan: no. That’s what happens when we have corrupt inept clowns who waste OUR money. We already pay for our services.
@Kevin O’Donnell: Local Authorities had 660 contracts,projects,water conservation projects on the go before contacts,etc transferred to IW plus €11B of water infrastructure assets.
Meanwhile Dara O Brien FF objects to a new waste water plant in Clonsaugh that is critical to prevent raw sewage containing patogens entering the very area he says the outflow pipe from the works (Portmarnock/Irelands Eye). Human health is at risk from untreated sewage and Dublin’s population is expected to grow by 400,000 in the next 20 years.
What will the sewage be like then on Portmarnock beach without a new modern waste water treatment plant.
Sure what eveidence and knowledge does O Brien have objecting to this plant that is needed today but sadly will take years to build.
Al the while yet another treasonous sell out from fgael rewarded for over seeing the rape of our country
@Brian Conway: Brian Hayes off to the banks. Kenny to a vulture fund. wake up sheeple. I guarantee they won’t be swimming in sewage
If the water treatment plant is not big enough for the number of houses using it and needs to be enlarged or replaced then why are we still building more and more houses and apartments before the problem has been corrected? This is shortsighted and very poor management.
@John Hagin Meade: Shortsighted and poor management. By an Irish organisation? Never !
I thought it was seaweed?
Incompetent ass holes the lot of them, it is sparkling concerns among politicians that the water is full of shite for a number of years ,and the numerous diseases that this is causing ,Talk Talk Talk . What are we paying Taxes for, to upgrade systems like this No to keep our Government on big F.N salaries and pensions the majority of those incompetent BASTs should be in Jail .most of them are only concerned about themselves and don’t give One FUC about the citizens of our country.
This has been an ongoing problem for years. It’s another example of the government doing nothing about our water problems. Total lack of interest on their part, and another example of the third world country that we are. If we don’t invest in our basic services this is what we get.
I used to scuba dive regularly around Dublin Bay and the raw sewage floating around was disgusting never mind the smell. No wonder why our Dublin Bay Prawns are so big never mind our lobsters.
Kip. Why doesn’t Kevin Humphrey sort it out.??????
An apt metaphor for the republic of shit. There’s so much shit, it’s flowing over the top. The shit can’t be contained because shit always floats. Why not elect FF or FG next time? It’s bound to work out fine this time
I live in the area and the smell is sickening also, I won’t even walk on the beach ….
@Fiona Power: That is because of overflow from the holding tanks. A new plant will solve this problem but local politicans in North Dublin do not want you to have a quality fo life free from a sewage plant is over capacity now.
Somebody needs to pay for it. And it should be us. It’s our water and it’s our environment.
By wastewater they mean raw stinking Shite.
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