Moment serial dine and sprint couple are arrested by police
Dramatic video shows the moment police arrested a husband and wife who carried out a serial ‘dine and dash’ spree targeting at least five different restaurants.
Father-of-six Bernard McDonagh, 41, and 39-year-old Ann McDonagh, have today been jailed for a total of 20 months after skipping almost £1,200 in food bills.
The married fraudsters had 43 fake identities – with 18 dates of birth – to help pull off their scams, it was revealed.
The pair today finally faced justice at Swansea Crown Court Court, where they were condemned for their ‘cynical and brazen’ frauds targeting eateries across a 30-mile radius.
Legal prosecutors declared the couple had been ‘brought to justice’ after they were jailed and ordered to hand restaurants compensation for their unpaid meals.
Dramatic video shows the moment police arrested a husband and wife who carried out a serial ‘dine and dash’ spree
Serial ‘dine and dash’ con artists Bernard and Ann McDonagh, seen arriving today at Swansea Crown Court, have been jailed for a total of 20 months
Ann McDonagh, 39, was described in court as a ‘fluent and practiced liar’
Bernard McDonagh (pictured) was jailed for eight months while his wife got a 12-month term
Their family-of-eight was found to have racked up an unpaid £329 bill when they sat at the Bella Ciao Italian restaurant in Swansea earlier this year
Their eat-and-run efforts cost businesses £1,168.10 – with the couple often ordering ‘large amounts of food’ including huge steaks, double desserts and extra drinks for their entire family.
The couple were ordered to pay compensation amounting to the total of their unpaid restaurant bills within 7 days.
A spokesperson for the Crown Prosecution Service said: ‘The thefts committed by the McDonagh’s have had a devastating impact on local family run restaurants.
‘These businesses, already facing numerous challenges, have suffered financial losses and emotional strain due to the McDonagh’s actions. They have today been brought to justice’.
Ann McDonagh, dressed in a glittery cream jacket, burst into tears as she was jailed for a total of 12 months for her offences, while her husband showed no emotion as he was given an eight-month prison sentence.
The McDonaghs would typically use a payment card they knew would be declined before leaving one of their children in the restaurant to reassure staff they would come back later to hand over cash – only for the youngster to then flee.
A court heard the couple, described as being from a ‘large traveller family’, hit five restaurants across a 30-mile radius in South Wales before they were finally caught after online appeals to track them down.
The brazen pair also ordered a slap-up Chinese takeaway delivery to their home before slamming the door in the courier’s face and refusing to pay.
Ann McDonagh told probation workers she specifically targeted the restaurants for luxury meals because ‘they were not something she could usually afford’.
She also claimed she was nine months’ pregnant and was released from custody on a doctor’s advice – but was not actually expecting at the time, the court heard.
The pair were finally caught after being captured on CCTV leaving a restaurant without paying after gorging themselves on T-bone steak and large helpings of Tiramisu.
Owners of the Italian restaurant they targeted that time posted the video onto social media and it went viral with more than 12million views.
The shameless couple were today put behind bars after admitting five frauds at restaurants and four shoplifting offences.
Judge Paul Thomas said they couple got a ‘buzz’ out of their crimes, having acted out of ‘pure and utter greed’.
He described Mrs McDonagh as ‘the leading figure’ in the criminal enterprise.
The judge said he was jailing them for the way they ‘ruthlessly exploited’ their young children in their dine-and dash swindles.
They targeted restaurants in South Wales where they could not normally afford to eat which made Ann McDonagh ‘feel better about herself’, the court heard.
They ordered large T-bone steaks which the children could not eat – with restaurant staff being baffled by how much food the family wasted.
It was only when staff presented the bill that they realised they were being duped.
Ann McDonagh would attempt to pay using bank cards which were declined before saying she would leave one of her children behind while she fetched another card from the car.
A few minutes later the child would run out and get into the family’s blue van before it was driven off.
They were arrested after running up a £329 bill at the Bella Ciao restaurant in Swansea in April – with four other restaurants then coming forward to say they had also been victims of the same pair.
Police discovered they had rung up a total bill of £1,168.10 from restaurants and also got away goods worth £1,017.60 on shoplifting sprees at Tommy Hilfiger, Sainsbury and Tesco stores.
Bernard McDonagh made no comment when asked by journalists if he was ‘ashamed’ on his behaviour when previously appearing at Swansea Magistrates’ Court earlier this month
Ann McDonagh, pictured outside Swansea Magistrates’ Court on May 8, was today described as the ‘leading figure’ in the couple’s criminal enterprise
Mrs McDonagh admitted a further offence of obstructing a police officer.
She has 18 convictions from 36 offences including fraud and theft while her husband has previous convictions for theft, the court heard.
In a victim personal statement, Bella Ciao owner Jiovan Cangelo said: ‘I felt robbed and stupid. I was beating myself up over it. I found myself doubting other customers in case they ran away.
‘My father and I even discussed changing the dynamic of the restaurant so people pay first before sitting down to have food, but I did not want to do this.’
The couple dashers also failed to pay a £196 bill at Isabella’s restaurant in Porthcawl on March 27 and a £267 bill at River House restaurant in Swansea last August 9.
Other payments skipped were worth £99.40 bill at Golden Fortune in Port Talbot on January 31 this year and £267.60 at La Casona restaurant in Skewen on February 24.
Ann McDonagh’s thefts included taking £491 worth of clothes in two raids at the Tommy Hilfiger shop at Bridgend Designer Outlet, South Wales.
She also pleaded guilty to obtaining household items to the value of £426.60 from a Tesco Extra store and £400 of goods from a Sainsbury’s.
Giles Hayes, defending Bernard McDonagh, said the travelling community to which he belonged felt ‘deeply ashamed’ of his behaviour.
The couple are seen at the River House Lounge & Restaurant in Swansea last August
One of the suspects was seen at the Mediterranean eatery La Casona in Skewen in February
Mr Hayes said: ‘He and his wife have fallen on their swords and fully accept their behaviour was socially unacceptable.
‘Mr McDonagh recognises his wrongdoing and is remorseful.’
The court heard the couple had to move out of their home in Port Talbot after angry locals smashed all the windows in a revenge attack.
Sentencing them, Judge Thomas told the pair: ‘Over a period of eight months you two set out on a deliberate course of sustained dishonesty.
‘You would go into restaurants with your young family and cynically and brazenly leave without paying.
‘You would order the most expensive items on the menu, even for your children who could not eat them.’
Judge Thomas said the couple used a ‘well rehearsed and tested method’ of avoiding payment, leaving one of their children behind as security.
He said: ‘It exploited them, put them at risk and gave them the example that dishonesty and deception are an acceptable way of living their lives.
‘It was criminality for the sake of criminality. You each got a buzz to see what you could get away with.
Bernard McDonagh, dressed in a salmon-coloured polo shirt and a light grey jacket, put his hand over his face outside Swansea Magistrates’ Court at their previous May 8 hearing
The couple’s house in Port Talbot, about eight miles from Swansea, had its windows smashed in after their names were shared on social media
The vandalism was allegedly committed by a gang of men wearing balaclavas
‘Businesses suffered significant losses. It put people’s livelihoods and jobs at risk.
‘If your community is, as I am told, disgusted with your behaviour, they have every right to be.’
The judge said Mrs McDonagh was the leading figure and a ‘fluent and practiced liar’.
The couple brought money with them to court to compensate the restaurants they stole from but the offers were declined.
David Chapman, executive director for UK Hospitality in Wales, said so-called ‘dining and dashing’ is a ‘constant problem’ the hospitality sector faces.
He said: ‘There are an awful lot of honest people out there that enjoy using our hospitality premises, but it does happen. UK Hospitality estimates that every year this type of behaviour costs businesses as much as £10million in Wales.
‘It’s heartbreaking when people put so much effort and so much of their life into creating the dishes people enjoy.
‘It’s not just stealing food, it’s stealing business sustainability. It’s stealing staff benefits. It’s stealing the enjoyment of others.
‘Because these businesses have to survive, have to grow, have to invest. You may think it’s a small amount of money but even with one dine and dash it can impact on profit margins for a business and cause problems that will impact on other parts of the business.’
