Housekeeper to U2 star Adam Clayton on trial for theft

[eddyjedi]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-18346865

[jenniferh aka jen]

From NME: http://www.nme.com/news/u2/64171

U2 bassist Adam Clayton's former personal assistant has gone on trial, accused of stealing almost £2.4 million from the star.
 
Carol Hawkins, pleaded not guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to 181 counts of theft today (June 6), reports BBC News.
 
She is accused of stealing money from two of the bassist's bank accounts over a four year period from 2004 to 2008.

Clayton also attended court, and was joined by U2 manager Paul McGuinness in the public gallery. He is due to give evidence in the trial when it opens tomorrow (June 7).
 
The court heard that on one occasion in 2007, Hawkins made a single withdrawal of 310,000 euros (£250,000). The remainder of the alleged transactions ranged from 1,000 euros (£811) to 36,000 euros (£29,196) over a four-year period.
 
Judge Patrick McCartan swore in a jury of seven men and five women for the trial, which is expected to last six weeks.

Just pathetic

[spooked1oo]

Doesn't that lady realize that every moment that Adam's in court he's not in the studio? Tsk, tsk. Think clearly before you decide to steal 2.4 million euros from someone, folks.

[OnlyU2]

Doesn't that lady realize that every moment that Adam's in court he's not in the studio? Tsk, tsk. Think clearly before you decide to steal 2.4 million euros from someone, folks.

YES, that was my first thought when I read the article.  6 weeks is a long time , a waste of time! She plead not guilty and Adam has evidence, so she will be charged with theft, and charged with holding the band back from working in the studio! (I say life without parole for that crime)

[dougie]

I feel sorry for Adam. This must be real tough.  Someone you let into your personal life and they screw you royal. It must make you run a gambit of emotions about people and society.  Or as Roger Waters would say, 'Just another brick in the wall'.  Sad.

[sw]

I am thinking he must have pretty good evidence if he's willing to sit in court for six weeks (plus time to prepare) and open himself up to scrutiny, etc. I mean it's only day 2 and this has been receiving quite a bit of coverage already. It must feel horrible to be taken advantage of like that.

[Smee]

Probably make it very difficult for Adam to trust outsiders again. Hope she gets put away for a long time

[jenniferh aka jen]

It's been reported that Adam is to give testimony early next week.

[DGordon1]

From what I've heard she sounds guilty, but we should probably wait to see what comes out in trial before making any conclusions. I never realised how much money was stolen!

[trlica]

COURT HEARS HOW CLAYTON'S PA, ON A JOINT SALARY OF (EU)48,000, SPENT (EU)1.5M ON CREDIT


http://www.atu2.com/news/court-hears-how-claytons-pa-on-a-joint-salary-of-eu48000-spent-eu15m-on-credit.html

[singnomore]

Mind must be hard to track your money with all that cash...

[ABloodRedSky]

Wow, just reading all of that - I was getting riled up reading all the charges on the credit card FOR Adam, I can't even imagine how I'd feel if I were actually him. 

[singnomore]

Wow, just reading all of that - I was getting riled up reading all the charges on the credit card FOR Adam, I can't even imagine how I'd feel if I were actually him. 

Agree and i honestly think it must be hard to track his money situation

[sw]

So far I think the worst part was that she had HORSES. Not even one, but more than one.

[philip861]

This comes from an RTE report of Adam taking the stand:

"Mr Clayton said he had never flown Ryanair or Easyjet and if these transactions had been drawn to his attention at the time, his reaction would have been one of horror. He said Mrs Hawkins was not responsible for buying furnishings or artwork. "I would buy the things I wanted around me, she would buy cornflakes", he said." (http://www.rte.ie/news/2012/0621/adam-clayton-takes-stand-in-trial-of-former-pa.html).

I think any chance he had of garnering public support in austerity Ireland just flew out the window with that comment!