A 73-year-old American man made applications for passports in the names of two dead babies after he ran in to “visa difficulties” whilst doing business in Europe, a court has heard.
Cork Circuit Criminal Court heard evidence from Det Garda Padraig Hanley, of the Garda National Bureau of Criminal Investigation, who said that reports relating to Randolph Kirk Parker first came to their attention in 2017.
In 2022, Mr Parker made an application from Amsterdam in Holland to renew an Irish passport in the name of Geoffrey Warbrook.
Det Garda Hanley said this application sparked an investigation as Geoffrey Warbrook was the name of a child who died in 1953 in Ireland when he was an infant.
Mr Parker was subsequently arrested on the 14th of September 2023 at the passport office in Cork where he appeared in person to renew a passport in the name of Philip Frank Morris.
Dt Garda Hanley said that Mr Parker had applied for a “fast track passport” in the name of Mr Morris in order to leave the country. At that time, gardaí believed that the name of Mr Morris was his real identity.
However, gardaí subsequently established that Philip Morris was an Irish born infant who died in 1952.
“We had two identities for this person and four passports were applied for. Two applications in the name of Philip Morris and two in the name of Geoffrey Warbrook. He had falsely obtained genuine Irish passports.
We had no idea who this person was. Numerous inquiries were carried out with the assistance of Interpol and the assistance of the US Embassy and Irish and international agencies.
He had an (US) arrest record from 1970 in Michigan and was identified as Randolph Parker.”
Parker has a date of birth of March 7th, 1951 and is a US national. His fingerprints were widely circulated following his arrest and he was identified with the assistance of the FBI and the US Embassy.
Interpol had also liaised with their 195 member countries in a bid to help gardai identify him.
Gardaí had also been in touch with agencies in Ireland such as the RSA, the Residential Tenancies Board, the ESB and the VHI as they tried to establish the identity of the man.
Mr Parker held an Irish passport for three decades but only recently obtained a PPS number.
Dt Garda Hanley said that the charge sheet was amended to reflect the true identity of the man. Mr Parker was remanded in custody and appeared before the district court on several occasions.
During one court appearance, he came into the dock with a Lee child thriller in his hand. No bail applications were made.
In February of this year Mr Parker was sent forward for sentence at Cork Circuit Criminal Court after he pleaded guilty to four counts of using false information to obtain passports and one count of possessing a false instrument.
Det Garda Hanley said that the false instrument referred to was an Irish drivers licence issued in 2011 in the name of Philip Morris.
A charge relating to giving a false name to a member of An Garda Siochana following his arrest was struck out.
Det Garda Hanley told Judge Jonathan Dunphy that he interviewed Mr Parker on two occasions. He said that it was an ‘unusual’ experience as whilst the pensioner did not co operate and refused to answer any queries he was not obstructive.
“He was affable and articulate but refused to engage with the investigation.”
Det Garda Hanley said that Mr Parker has “no previous convictions that we are aware of.”
“We have very little (in the way of information.) He did previously hold a US passport in 1999. We believed he first entered Ireland in 1988 through Shannon Airport then travelled over Europe and lived in Amsterdam.
He had VHI here and a post office box at an address in Dublin and numerous friends all over Ireland who knew him by a different name entirely.”
Det Garda Hanley previously told the court that they had spoken to the brother of the late Philip Morris who died at the age of four months in 1953.
He said that they also engaged with relatives of Mr Warbrook who also confirmed that he died as a young baby in the early 1950’s.
Prosecuting barrister, Emmet Boyle, said that Mr Parker was anxious to have the matter dealt with and signed a plea of guilty at the earliest opportunity.
Defence barrister, Brendan Kelly, said that his client was a “very affable, articulate intelligent man” who was “pleasant to deal with” during the course of their consultations.
“He has no familial connections in the jurisdiction. Friends knew him by an other identity. He (Parker) came to Europe in the 1980’s for business activities and met a man who facilitated him (with the Irish passports).
He said that since he was remanded in custody, Parker has worked on his computer skills and in the library in Cork Prison. Det Garda Hanley said that he wasn’t surprised to hear this as Parker was clearly a “man of books.”
Mr Kelly asked that a deduction be taken from the headline sentence for his client arising out of his signed plea.
“He was also at all stages pleasant and co operated. His signed plea was of significant assistance and short circuited the entire proceeds. An enhanced deduction should be afforded. He entered a plea at the first opportunity.”
Mr Kelly respectfully said that his client’s sentence should be backdated to when he first entered custody on the 15th of September 2023.
“He (Parker) has lived in the EU for some time but he is (still) effectively a foreign national with no familial connection. His time in custody will be difficult and egregious for him.”
He said that his had applied for false passports after he encountered “visa difficulties” in the course of his business activities. Parker met a man with a “knowledge of the Irish passport system” who gave him certain advice the court heard.
Mr Parker was not required to speak during the short hearing. He was wearing a white shirt and a grey pants and grey hair tied back in a ponytail.
Judge Dunphy remanded Mr Parker in continuing custody to appear before Cork Circuit Criminal Court for sentencing on the 22nd of April next at 10.30am.
