Ex-fugitive blows kiss on way to jail for £1m theft

Eddie Maher – known as “Fast Eddie” – had been wanted by Suffolk Police after the Securicor van he was driving disappeared from outside a Lloyds Bank branch in Felixstowe, Suffolk, on January 22, 1993.

As the 57-year-old was jailed for five years at Southwark Crown Court yesterday, prosecutors revealed they were still looking to trace three possible accomplices.

They include Maher’s brother, Michael, and two acquaintances Michael Sulsh and Terrence Bender.

Prosecutor Richard Southern QC said: “We believe the defendant received assistance from people in this country in the months after the offence.”

Maher’s life on the run unravelled when his son Lee King’s disgruntled ex-wife Jessica contacted US authorities to tell them he was a wanted man, the court heard. He was arrested for immigration and firearms offences before being deported to the UK.

Maher, originally from South Woodham Ferrers, Essex, had been due to stand trial for theft but changed his plea to guilty.

His partner Deborah Brett and younger son, Mark, sat in court as he was sentenced. Mark mouthed the words “I love you” as his father was led from the dock.

Lee King sat on a separate row. His family did not acknowledge him. None of the family spoke as they left court.

Jailing him, Mr Justice Nicol said: “You made a very substantial gain even if, as you say, the money has now gone. The temptation to commit the offence must have been too great.

“You told the authorities after your arrest that you only received £40,000. Your wife has said it was about £200,000.”

Maher – who used the false identities of Stephen King and Michael Maher while on the run – had intended to fight the allegation on the grounds he had been forced to commit the crime after wracking up “significant debts”.

But Suffolk Police and the Crown Prosecution Service built up evidence proving the former soldier and firefighter had profited to the tune of hundreds of thousands of pounds.

After his conviction, detectives revealed details of property investments which they say he funded from the proceeds of the crime. These included a house in Colorado bought with $120,000 in cash just six months after the theft.

Later Maher built a ranch on 80 acres of land in Colorado before moving around various US states.

At the time of his arrest on February 9 last year he was working as a cable engineer in Missouri.

David Nathan QC, mitigating, said: “An extraordinary aspect of this case is Mr Maher’s daughter-in-law had originally been the partner of his son Lee’s best friend.

“Lee won a lot of money on the lottery and she left her partner to marry Lee.

“When the money ran out, she did a little research on Google on the name Maher and found out he was wanted for the theft back in 1993.

“She heard that there was a reward and she went to the federal authorities.”

He added that shortly before his arrest Maher had visited a local police station to bail Lee King out after he was arrested for a motoring offence.

“He was told by one of the local officers that there was a rumour he was wanted for an offence in the UK,” Mr Nathan added.

“He took the children and his partner to a hotel, no doubt with the intention of fleeing but thought better of it. He took his younger son to school and then was arrested the following day.”

Maher’s partner Deborah Brett, 47, his sister, Margaret Francis, 64, and Paul Muggleton, 54, from Woodford Green, east London, are all on bail after being arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender and conspiracy to commit theft.