Mick Wallace on 'hitman' scandal

The past few days have found Wexford TD Mick Wallace in hot water after an appearance on Marian Finucane's RTE Radio 1 show on Saturday. Already facing a motion of censure over unpaid VAT, Wallace provoked political outrage when he spoke about toying with the idea of hiring a hitman to recover money owed to him from a building firm.

But it's old news to Hot Press. Speaking to Olaf Tyaransen in March of last year, the politician candidly talked about the event.

When Tyaransen brought up the then 'rumour' about threatening to hire a hitman, Wallace had this to say:

"Yeah… (laughs). It was a big contractor and he owed me money and didn’t want to pay me. I discovered then when I looked into it – I tried to get my money legally – and I discovered that this was a commonplace thing. That this company was used to shafting sub-contractors and that they generally got away with it. They had a legal team in place for dealing with it and my solicitor eventually told me that I’d be doing well to get my money within two-and-a-half years and I’d be doing well to get two-thirds of it. So that was fine.
"And just by accident I happened to meet this guy who was involved in the security business and I found out that he started off making his living with a gun, and actually still did it. So I decided I’d go back and have a chat with him and discussed it with him. He told me that he could get my money, that it would cost me four thousand. He says, 'I’ll be going out to his house at eight or nine o’clock at night. You just have to give me the name of the contracts manager you’re dealing with and the name of the company and I’ll find out the rest. I’ll find out where he lives, I’ll go to his house when he’s at home with the wife and kids. I’ll be putting my foot in the door, I’ll be putting a gun down his neck and I’ll give him seven days to pay.' And he says, 'Now there’s one snag. I have my reputation to look after. If by chance he doesn’t pay, you realise I’ll have no choice only shoot him.' 'Oh I see, right,' says I, 'that sounds fair enough.' 'So if you like,' he says, 'this is serious business, we don’t mess around, do you want to try and get your money the more normal route for a couple of weeks? Give it another three or four weeks and see can you get it? If you’ve no luck, sure come back to me again and we’ll set up the plan.'
"Now obviously I wasn’t going to hire anyone to shoot anybody but I decided, 'Well, sure I might as well just put the rumour out.' I decided to meet a guy for a drink the next evening who was working for the company and I told him, 'Oh, by the way,” I said, “I’m going to get my money from the company.” And he said, “My god, how did you manage that?” and I said, “Well I haven’t got it yet but I’m going to get it.' And he said, 'I don’t believe you, how are you getting it?' and I said “I hired a hit man.' 'I don’t believe you’, he says, ‘Wallace you’re making it up.’ ‘I’m not, I’m going getting one. You keep your mouth shut now,' I said. The next day I got a phone call from the managing director of that company – who I’d never spoken to in my life – he wanted to meet me. And I went to meet him and got paid."

Click here for the full interview.