Apartment linked to Aulicete Walsh deemed proceeds of crime

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

The High Court ruled on 17 December 2018 that a Limerick apartment linked to Aulicete Walsh and her son Maicon Morelli was acquired with the proceeds of crime. Ms Justice Carmel Stewart made orders in favour of the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB).

Morelli was the apartment’s registered owner. It was bought by bank draft for approximately €34,000 in 2014. CAB had obtained orders freezing the property following a Garda investigation into brothel keeping and sought orders under Section 3 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 1996.

In 2017, Walsh was convicted of brothel keeping in Ennis and Limerick in May 2015 and received an eight-month prison sentence. She had previously been convicted of brothel keeping and fined €750 at Newcastle West District Court in 2012.

CAB claimed Walsh bought the apartment with crime proceeds and transferred it into her son’s name. Both opposed the application, saying just over €20,000 of the purchase money came from legitimate income. They claimed a percentage of the proceeds if CAB sold the property.

Walsh said she contributed €10,000 earned in cash from jobs including cleaning and childcare. Morelli said he contributed money given to him by his late father and savings from jobs in Ireland. He said he had never been involved in serious criminality and had nothing to do with his mother’s brothel keeping.

The judge dismissed their claims, citing inconsistencies in Walsh’s evidence, attempts to conceal the property’s status from gardaí and a lack of supporting financial records. Although Walsh had some legitimate income, the judge said it would not have been available for the purchase without crime proceeds supporting her daily life and lifestyle.