Gerard Hutch, named in a 2023 trial as the leader of a well-known Irish organized crime family, will run for the Irish parliament in a by-election next month, Reuters reports.
Hutch's name is among the confirmed candidates on the Dublin City Electoral Authority website for the May 22 by-election. He will stand in the Dublin Central constituency for the seat previously held by former Irish finance minister Paschal Donohoe. He resigned to accept a position at the World Bank.
Hutch, better known as 'The Monk', ran for parliament in the same constituency 18 months ago. But he came fifth in the four-seat constituency in Ireland's 2024 national election.
Analysts say they face an even tougher task this time around, with only one seat up for grabs and all parties whose candidates were elected last time re-entering the fray. However, he declared himself optimistic.
What the mobster with political aspirations says
“I think it's great to send someone there with a controversial past. That's what we need in the Dáil (parliament), we need change,” Hutch told the Irish Times in an interview this week. He made the comment after being asked what it would mean to elect someone with his background to parliament.
“There is a need for a man like me there, who can talk to the man on the street,” he added.
Ahead of the 2024 vote, Hutch said he decided to run because he felt the underprivileged inner-city community where he grew up was not properly represented. Rivals interpreted the support for him as a protest vote.
He was identified as the leader of the Hutch family by an Irish court in 2023 when he was acquitted of involvement in a 2016 murder. Hutch denies running an organized crime ring.
But the Hutch drug gang has also been cited by the US State Department as being involved in a turf war with the Kinahan crime group, also from Dublin, which has led to 18 murders between 2016 and 2022.
