‘Godfather’ fan Kinahan prepares for final act to play out in mob drama
Daniel Kinahan’s favourite movie of all time is The Godfather, the 1972 epic that tells the grisly story of a fictional New York Mafia family headed by Don Vito Corleone. The most wanted man in Irish criminal history, and the leader of one of the world’s biggest crime cartels, is obsessed by the film.
There is little doubt, judging from his reign as the real-life godfather of a modern mob, that Kinahan was inspired by the Michael Corleone character.
In the delusional world of the psychopathic narcissist there are parallels between his life story and that of Mario Puzo’s legendary anti-hero.
The real and imagined monsters both took the reins of the criminal empires built by their fathers – and then waded through blood to maintain their underworld hegemonies.
As the boss of bosses, Kinahan sought to “sort all family business” when he ordered his “sicarios” to wipe out the Hutch family and in the process murdered all but two of the 18 people killed in the Kinahan-Hutch feud.
For Kinahan, the cold-blooded murder of Eddie Hutch (58) – the older brother and mentor of Gerry ‘The Monk’ Hutch, who was acquitted at the Regency trial last year – was, to paraphrase a famous line from Francis Ford Coppola’s film, more personal that it was business.
The murder took place 72 hours after the killing of cartel member David Byrne during the Regency Hotel attack in February 2016.
Members of the Hutch gang had tried to wipe out Kinahan and his top lieutenants in one blow. Earlier this week, it emerged that gardaí have sent a file to the DPP recommending Kinahan and a number of associates be charged with Eddie Hutch’s murder.
A separate voluminous file has already been submitted by the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau (GNDOCB) recommending that the mob boss also be charged with directing a criminal organisation.
It is understood gardaí also want to charge cousins Gary and Barry Finnegan in relation to the Hutch murder. They are key members of the Kinahan cartel.
At the same time, massive diplomatic and police efforts are continuing to convince the authorities in Dubai to extradite the cartel leadership from its bolthole.
In his public comments to date, Garda Commissioner Drew Harris seems to be growing in confidence that Daniel Kinahan and Co will be brought before the Special Criminal Court.
Gardaí believe they have the evidence to prove Daniel Kinahan not only ordered Eddie Hutch’s murder, but actually took part in the operation because it was “personal” to him.
In January 2016, Dublin’s gangland was like a powder keg as everyone expected an unprecedented conflagration between two of the most powerful gangs in Irish criminal history.
Just over four months earlier in Spain, Gary Hutch was murdered on the orders of Daniel Kinahan, despite having reached an agreement with The Monk that his nephew would not be touched.
Gary Hutch had been one of Kinahan’s closest confidants in the cartel for years, until greed and treachery poisoned the relationships.
In 2014, the simmering tensions came to a head when Gary Hutch tried to have Kinahan killed at his home in Marbella. That led to frantic negotiations to spare Gary Hutch’s life, which were held between Kinahan and Gerry Hutch, who was forced to get involved because the Kinahans would talk only to him.
However, just like his equally treacherous movie hero, Kinahan bided his time and reneged on the deal.
At the same time that Gary Hutch was shot dead in Spain, another hit team had been sent to murder his father, Patsy, in Dublin, but could not find him.
Then, on New Year’s Eve, Kinahan sent two more assassins to Lanzarote to murder Gerry Hutch as he sat in a pub with his wife enjoying the festivities.
However, The Monk’s legendary survival instincts kicked in and he and his wife slipped out of the pub minutes before the two armed and masked men arrived.
Kinahan was deeply concerned that Gerry Hutch had got away: he knew The Monk and his brothers were dangerous enemies.
He was particularly worried that the Hutch mob might try to strike back at a major boxing event Kinahan was promoting, which involved his infamous MGM gym and UK boxing promoter Frank Warren.
The high-profile “Clash of the Clans” was due to take place in the National Stadium on February 6. The weigh-in was to take place the day before at the Regency Hotel in Whitehall on Dublin’s northside.
Kinahan tested the old bonds of friendship when he dispatched the Finnegan cousins to talk with Eddie Hutch two weeks before the boxing tournament was due to take place.
‘Neddie’ had recently returned from a week in Lanzarote with some of his siblings when the emissaries called to his door on a Monday night.
Gary Finnegan first reminisced about his former best friend, Eddie’s son, Christopher ‘Bouncer’ Hutch, who had died from a drug overdose almost 13 years earlier. In a previous life, Eddie had treated Finnegan like a son.
Then Finnegan revealed the real purpose of the visit and what he called the “hassle” over Gary’s death and the attempt on the Monk’s life.
The gang did not deny the killing, but strenuously rejected any involvement in the incident in Lanzarote.
Finnegan put Eddie on the phone to talk separately with Christy Kinahan Sr and Daniel Kinahan. They said they wanted The Monk to talk to them to avoid any more violence.
The interaction, which was recorded on CCTV cameras, lasted around 30 minutes. Eddie said he would talk to Gerry and come back with a reply.
A few days later, he called to Finnegan with a message from his younger sibling: the Kinahans had reneged on their agreement and tried to kill him – he would not talk to people he couldn’t trust.
A week before the Regency attack, Daniel Kinahan returned to Dublin and called in person to Eddie Hutch’s home at Poplar Row in the north inner city. The incident was also captured on CCTV and is believed to be one of the exhibits in the garda murder case.
Eddie could be seen talking to Kinahan from an upstairs window. Kinahan was animated and appeared to be in a rage. The cartel boss was shouting abuse and making threats to The Monk’s brother.
He repeated that the problem could be sorted if Gerry agreed to a sit-down. The footage then showed Kinahan storming off.
After the Regency attack, Eddie Hutch’s was the first name on Kinahan’s revenge list. Three days later, a gunman burst into his home and shot him five times in the head.
Gardaí believe Kinahan was personally involved in the murder and drove the getaway car, a stolen BMW, used by the killers. An adjourned inquest into Eddie Hutch’s murder heard this week that three “persons of interest” fled Ireland after the attack, and gardaí are awaiting a direction from the DPP.
The three are believed to be Kinahan and the Finnegans. The mob boss and his henchman are thought to have made a crucial mistake – the getaway car failed to burn when they tried to set it alight. That simple mishap may ultimately see Michael Corleone’s greatest fan go down in flames.
Story of Ireland’s deadliest criminal feud has parallels with famous film
‘Gardaí believe Daniel Kinahan was personally involved in the murder and drove the getaway car’