Gerry Hutch

Gerry Hutch (born 1963) is an Irish criminal. He was the prime suspect for two of the biggest armed robberies in Irish history. Known for leading a "disciplined, ascetic lifestyle" since leaving prison in 1985, he was christened "The Monk" by Veronica Guerin, an investigative journalist who applied nicknames to Ireland's crime bosses before being assassinated in 1996.

Born in central Dublin, his career began at the age of 10 when Hutch joined the Bugsy Malone Gang of inner city youngsters (named after the feature film), which he later led, whose crimes in the 1970s included "jump-overs" - jumping over bank counters, grabbing cash and running.

He was later part of a gang involved in major robberies and received many convictions between 1970 and 1983 intermittently spending time in prison. His gang was said to have amassed an estimated IR£40 million from a series of bank robberies, jewellery heists, and fraud scams spanning almost eight years. Hutch has also been awarded money from legal actions in Irish courts. These included £8,500 won from Securicor Ireland in June 1991, £2,000 from the Sunday Tribune newspaper in a libel action and around £26,000 won in legal actions against the Irish state.

Hutch admitted to being a "convicted criminal" in a 2008 interview with The Independent, but insisted that he made his money through property deals, not crime.

In 1998 he was a founder member of the Corinthians Boxing Club in Dublin and has served as treasurer for the club. The club has a full gym and a boxing ring. The latter was donated by film director Jim Sheridan after making the film The Boxer.

In 1999, in the course of court proceedings brought against Hutch by the Irish state's anti money laundering agency, the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB), Detective Chief Superintendent Felix McKenna stated that Hutch had been involved in the IR£1.7 million robbery of an armoured van at Marino Mart in January 1987 and the IR£3 million armed robbery of a Brinks Allied Security Depot in Clonshaugh, County Dublin, in 1995, which had been the largest cash robbery in the State at the time.

Hutch eventually reached an IR£1.2m settlement with the CAB to "cover back taxes and interest for a nine-year period".

After the CAB settlement, Hutch applied for and was granted a taxi licence, and set up the limousine service Carry Any Body. The name is a humorous reference to the Criminal Assets Bureau.

He has featured in the Irish media as he has driven celebrities including Mike Tyson on their visits to Ireland.

Hutch is depicted in the film Veronica Guerin, played by Alan Devine. It is based on the life of the late Irish journalist Veronica Guerin who had interviewed him.

Hutch appeared on RTÉ's Prime Time programme in March 2008 where he was interviewed about his life and criminal career. Hutch denied any criminal activity, since his last prison sentence, other than tax evasion.

Hutch was the subject of investigation in the Irish TV3 channel's television series, Dirty Money. Episode 5, which aired March 2008 was solely devoted to the assets seized by the CAB from Hutch and the threat to seize assets from his family.

He is an uncle of Gary Hutch, who was shot dead in September 2015 near Marbella. His brother Eddie Hutch Snr. was shot dead in February 2016.