February 16, 2011
By Staff Reporter
Larry Zaitschek, who faces a possible British extradition warrant, accused Northern Irish police authorities of using his 4-year-old son as a bargaining chip in a case that has yet to see charges filed against anyone.
Zaitschek, a New York native who first traveled to Northern Ireland with idea of setting up his own restaurant, worked in the canteen at Castlereagh and was on first-name terms with Special Branch and MI5 officers based there.
A police officer was gagged and bound while documents were stolen during the raid at the police Special Branch offices at Castlereagh on St. Patrick’s Day 2002. Although the police subsequently said they were investigating “other possibilities,” their main line of inquiry has been consistently directed at the IRA.
The IRA has denied any involvement and republicans have insisted that one of the secret British intelligence services was involved.
Zaitschek, who works in a New York restaurant as has been referred to as “Larry the Chef” in the Castlereagh aftermath, said on Tuesday that he had been charged with nothing and had nothing to do with the break-in.
“They have no evidence to connect me to Castlereagh,” he said. “They could have a thousand pages in a file, but it would be a thousand pages of nonsense. They have to provide some form of evidence, but they have not.”
Zaitschek, who returned to New York after the break-in and now lives in Manhattan, accused investigators in Northern Ireland of using his ex-wife, Lisa, against him.
Lisa, who is a Northern Irish native, had been separated from Zaitschek for three years at the time of the Castlereagh break-in. Zaitschek said he had returned to his wife’s home the morning after the break-in in order to hand over his son Pearse, who had spent several days with him.
“She knew I had no clue [about the break-in],” Zaitschek said. “She’d heard radio reports. She knew I had nothing to do with it.”
He said that his wife and son were being held in a “phony” form of a witness protection program.
“My ex-wife is being held in protective custody for a case that does not exist,” he said.
He has not been able to speak to his son since June of last year.
“They are using Pearse for barter,” he said. “They have made me offers,” he added, referring to investigators. “They have said, ‘You tell us who did Castlereagh and we’ll let you have a conversation with your son.’ “
Growing emotional, Zaitschek said his son is both an Irish and an American citizen who has been to America and had family in America “who miss him very much.”
Zaitschek said that his mother, who is Irish American (his father’s roots are Austrian) had separately pleaded to speak with Pearse but was told she could not.
“I don’t know where he is,” Zaitschek said.
Zaitschek said that he had been interviewed twice by police in Northern Ireland following the Castlereagh break-in and then again in New York by two senior PSNI officers in a coffee shop.
Zaitschek said that at first the officers said that they knew he was involved but that he had been a “victim” in the entire operation. He said that it had been subsequently indicated to him that they did not consider him to be involved but that they wanted him to testify anyway. And he said that his own lawyer in New York had told him that he [Zaitschek] would be put in a witness protection program if he gave information on Castlereagh.
“But I have no clue,” he said.
Zaitschek said he believed if he went back to Belfast he would be arrested and held in remand “for as long as they chose.”
“The better option is to stay in the U.S. and to fight for my son,” he said. “That seems a lot more sensible.”
Zaitschek said that on the night of the break-in he had been in the gym at Castlereagh with his son, who was a familiar figure to police officers and civilians working in the facility.
After the gym, he said he had returned home with Pearse where they had watched Scooby Doo videos.
“The cops saw me with Pearse as I left,” he said.
The next morning he returned Pearse to his mother and at that point he found out about the break-in.
Zaitschek said that later that evening police had contacted him and he had gone to meet with officers. He gave two interviews.
He said that he and his lawyer were ready for any extradition warrant. Meanwhile, he was not living in hiding, although he said that this had resulted in disturbing events.
He said that he had been subject to death threats by a man with a Belfast accent on the telephone, he had been followed into restaurants in New York and he had been photographed on the street outside his Manhattan apartment. He said a friend had witnessed some of these incidents.
“I didn’t do it and I don’t know who did,” he said. “I just want them to let me have my son back and my son to have me back. I just want to be a daddy. They have taken the one thing in the world most important to me, it’s not fair to deny a 4-year old his father.”
For over a year now, police in Northern Ireland have been expected to seek Zaitschek’s extradition from the U.S.
A file is in the possession of the Northern Ireland Director of Public Prosecutions and reportedly contains evidence linking Zaitschek with the IRA.
According to police sources, a report on Zaitschek deals not just with the break-in at Castlereagh, but all of Zaitschek’s activities during his time in Northern Ireland.
Senior police sources have previously stated that they are confident they have enough evidence to charge Zaitschek with the Special Branch robbery.
A decision on whether to proceed with the extradition case is be a matter for the DPP and the attorney general once they have assessed the police evidence.
Among the documents taken in the security breach was an index book listing the names, ranks, and telephone numbers of Special Branch officers. However, the information taken did not include their addresses.