Boston Detainee Case Settled.

By Tom Deignan

THREE men from Northern Ireland will be deported, and will not spend any more time in jail, as a result of a settlement reached in Boston last week.

Derry natives Donald Oliver Browne, David Carwyn Curtis, and Damien Martin McCafferty initially faced 30 years behind bars, another five on probation and individual fines of $500,000.

But last week, each pleaded guilty to one count of fraudulent use of visa before Senior U.S. District Judge Morris E. Lasker.

Following the pleas, Judge Lasker sentenced the men to time-served and ordered they be deported. Each defendant will also be on “supervised release” in Northern Ireland for three years.

This episode began when the three Irish men arrived in Boston on a British Airways flight from London last month. 

While completing immigration paperwork, Browne, 44, reportedly was asked if he had ever been convicted of two or more crimes which carried a total prison term of five years or more. Browne answered “no.” 

But Browne was, in fact, convicted in 1986 of murder, hijacking, membership in the Provisional IRA and unlawful possession of firearms, federal officials said. 

Browne’s life sentence on the murder conviction was eventually commuted. He was also sentenced to 10 years each on hijacking and IRA membership charges, and 14 years for unlawful firearms possession. 

Curtis, 31, and McCafferty, 35, were charged with conspiracy and with making false statements on immigration documents related to an illegal entry into the U.S.

Some observers were surprised the Irish men were taken into custody and threatened with severe charges. In similar cases in the past, such charges usually result in immediate deportation.