Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION

U2 bassist's aide guilty of $3.6-M embezzlement

DUBLIN, Ireland -- An Irish jury unanimously found a former aide to U2 bassist Adam Clayton guilty of embezzlement Friday after she spent more than 2.8 million euros ($3.6 million) of the musician's savings on 22 thoroughbred horses, pricey plane tickets and other luxuries for her and her family.

Carol Hawkins, 48, sat impassively as each of the 181 guilty verdicts was read in Dublin Criminal Court. She made no comment. Her lawyers, who called no witnesses during the three-week trial, said she was still claiming innocence.

Judge Patrick McCartan granted Hawkins bail pending her sentencing July 6. Outside the courthouse, Clayton, 52, shook jurors' hands and issued a prepared statement thanking the police for their work and his family, friends and U2 colleagues for their support.

Clayton testified he'd known nothing about Hawkins' four-year spending spree and had given her access to his bank accounts purely so she could pay bills related to his Georgian mansion, Danesmoate, in south Dublin.

"The fact is she wrote cheques from my accounts and put them in her accounts," Clayton testified last week.

-- The Associated Press

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition July 1, 2012 A24

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