The separated wife of a man accused of corruption has admitted in court she was "like a woman where hell hath no fury" but denied she went to the gardaí out of revenge.
Jenny Forsey was giving evidence at Waterford Circuit Court at the second day of the trial of her husband, Fred Forsey Jnr.
Mr Forsey, 42, from Abbeyside, Dungarvan, is denying six counts of corruption relating to allegations he received a total of €80,000 in 2006 from a property developer to help get lands rezoned 1.5km from the town.
Mrs Forsey told the court she and Fred were married in 1990 and have three children. They separated in October 2006 after she found out about a text he sent to his 15-year-old child that was intended, she said, for his partner.
Mr Forsey became a town councillor in Dungarvan in 2004 and was a driving instructor.
Mrs Forsey said that on a Friday night in July 2006, she and her husband were in The Moorings pub in Dungarvan where they met a lot of people, including a property developer whom she described as a very wealthy man.
She said her husband was talking with him for maybe 15 minutes and later while walking home she asked her husband about it, to which he replied that he thought he would "get in" with the man.
Mrs Forsey told the court he met the property developer again, after which her husband told her the developer wanted to develop land and possibly bring industry into the area.
She said she did not know if he had mentioned rezoning at that stage. She said her husband had a series of meetings in August that year with council officials and others.
At the end of August, the day after she had told him it would have been lovely to go away on a break, he told her they were going to Rome on 25 August and that at the airport he produced a lot of cash, giving some to her and to the children.
During the three-day break, they went to see the Pope. She asked her husband where he had got the money and he told her the property developer had lodged €30,000 into his account on the morning they left.
The court heard her say that in September her husband arranged a series of meetings with different councillors in Lismore, Tramore and elsewhere to try to convince councillors to extend the Dungarvan Town boundary into the county to include particular lands.
"He was under pressure," said Mrs Forsey, adding he was in pure panic mode as he said it had to succeed and was fearful it would not as many councillors had not turned up for the meetings.
She told the court there were never any questions of repaying the money. The court heard that earlier in the year Mr Forsey had sought and was refused a €1,000 bank overdraft in Dungarvan.
In September they bought new furniture, new windows, new carpets, a new fireplace and a new three-piece suite for their house; spending she said in excess of €10,000 and she assumed it was part of the €30,000 her husband said he had got from the property developer.
Cross-examination
Under cross-examination from Senior Counsel John Phelan, she said as far as she was concerned in July of 2006, her marriage was fine. Mr Phelan said the evidence will be that Mr Forsey went to and received a loan from the property developer.
Mr Phelan said Mr Forsey was having meetings with councillors to try improve the lot of the town and he accused her of never contacting the gardaí until the break-up of their marriage.
Mrs Forsey told the court her husband had a safe upstairs and that she had access to it and used it a number of times to buy groceries and new shoes for her children.
When he asked her when did she discover her husband had another partner, she said she had her suspicions but then he sent a text message in October of that year meant for his partner but it went to their 15-year-old.
She said their entire marriage was breaking down, her son had an intellectual disability, she herself was in the care of a doctor and ended up in hospital for a time.
Mrs Forsey admitted she crashed her car into a wall at the house her husband was renting after they separated, as she was upset and that she did not know what gear it was in.
She said her husband had told her previously the relationship with his partner had ended.
She agreed she had visited the house without invitation and that she had attacked her husband's partner, "but that she attacked me and she gave as good as she got".
Mrs Forsey said it was fury but denied she damaged the partner's car, saying she could hardly stand up with the shock.
She said that on another occasion, 19 December, her husband's birthday, she went over to the house as he had not turned up to bring the children to school as he said he would.
She admitted she ripped up the Christmas cards and presents there which his partner had left. She said her husband was still denying she was living there.
And on cross-examination, she denied she attacked his partner on another occasion, saying she had retreated to the attic before she went into the house.
After they separated, she said her husband asked her for a loan of €10,000 which he knew she had in the credit union as a result of their remortgaging their house. He said his driving instructor car had been repossessed and he needed a new car for work to provide for their children.
He said he would pay it back the following week, she said, but when he did not she admitted she hounded him: "It was all the money I had in the world and it was getting closer to Christmas; I threatened him."
She said that on 22 December she told him she was going to go to the gardaí specifically about the property developer if he did not pay back the money. She got €4,000 back before Christmas and more afterwards.
She said she went to TD John Deasy and gardaí in April 2007.
Mr Forsey went to Australia in June 2007 and returned three years later for a wedding in Waterford.
