Thousands made by Connors set to be clawed back
DETAILS of the profits made by the Connors family during decades of criminal activity in Gloucestershire will not be fully revealed until July next year.
Seizures under the Proceeds of Crime Act have already been made and cash frozen in family bank accounts. A full investigation into family finances is now expected to take place with a court hearing scheduled for July 8.
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to be destroyed: Beggars Roost caravan site. Below, from left; William Connors, 52, his wife Mary, 48, their sons John, 29, and James, 20, and their son-in-law Miles Connors, 24.
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Undated File handout photos issued by Gloucestershire Police of (from left to right) of , who are due to be sentenced today after they were all convicted of conspiracy to require a person to perform forced or compulsory labour between April 2010 and March 2011. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Issue date: Wednesday December 19, 2012. See PA story COURTS Travellers. Photo credit should read: Gloucestershire Police/PA Wire NOTE TO EDITORS: This handout photo may only be used in for editorial reporting purposes for the contemporaneous illustration of events, things or the people in the image or facts mentioned in the caption. Reuse of the picture may require further permission from the copyright holder.
Five members of the Connors family were found guilty of conspiracy to require vulnerable men to perform forced or compulsory labour at Bristol Crown Court last week.
A total sentence of 18 years was handed out to the family.
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Head of the family Billy Connors, 51, is serving six and a half years but his wife Breda, 48, is expected to be released having already served her 27-month term awaiting trial.
Eldest son John, 29, is serving four years while James, 20, will serve three at a young offenders' institution. Son-in-law Miles Connors has also been given a three-year sentence.
The defendants were originally charged with conspiracy to hold a person in slavery, but the charges were dropped at an early stage.
A count of servitude was also dismissed by Judge Michael Longman.
In his summing up of the evidence heard in the three month trial, he questioned the wisdom of homeowners handing over thousands of pounds in cash to strangers to work on their driveways.
"The fact the profits gained completely bypassed the Inland Revenue is an aggravating factor, but does not constitute the essence of the offence of which they have been convicted," he said.
"The work done reaped rich rewards for the Connors family, who lived in luxurious caravans or houses."
The squalid former homes of the workers will be destroyed under a court order.
Comments
by Bellyflop
Saturday, December 22 2012, 7:20PM
“Divide the proceeds and give it to those workers who were exploited.
I would urge all home owners not to deal with contractors that are not registered. Only pay by cheque. Their are too many unscrupulous people out their who do a **** job for cash.”
by Lecorche
Saturday, December 22 2012, 9:00AM
“Yes,Yes,Yes TiG!
You keep telling us about the money and how the Connors are being dealt with.
How about finding out and telling us about the poor sods who now have nowhere to go/live?
Have they no importance to your journalists?”