New information has been brought to light about the Donegal man who was arrested in the US for living as an undocumented immigrant.
Glencolmcille native John Cunningham (38) was arrested on Friday over immigration offences and is set to be deported back to Ireland. His arrest shocked the Irish community abroad and prompted calls for the Irish Government to come to his aid.
The Irish Independent reports that the prominent Irish man was wanted by US police for alleged larceny charges.
Cunningham faced a court order over the alleged theft of a cheque from a customer of his electrical contracting business. It was alleged that he took and cashed a $1,300 deposit cheque from a man to carry out electrical work at his home and did not perform the job.
The victim, Christopher Waltham, contacted police about the cheque and a warrant was issued for Cunningham’s arrest. The Donegal man allegedly did not show up when he was called to West Roxbury District Court on October 16, 2014. A warrant for Cunningham’s arrest remained in place before he was detained last week.
The former chairman of the Boston Northeast GAA was arrested last Friday for immigration violations and is being held at the South Bay House of Correction in Boston awaiting deportation. It is not yet known how long Cunningham will be detained before being deported.
Cunningham had been living in the city since 1999 as an undocumented immigrant after entering the country on a 90-day visa.
Chris Lavery, Cunningham’s lawyer, told the Boston Globe there was no underlying criminal charge and he was detained for breaching the limits of the Visa Waiver Program. He had overstayed his visa by 18 years.
Lavery said he was investigating the allegations that Cunningham missed a court hearing for cashing a depositing a cheque for work he didn’t perform. This allegation was not linked to Cunningham’s arrest last week, Lavery said.
Cunningham was well known in the Irish community in Boston. He worked in the construction industry when he first moved to the US and ran his own an electrical contracting business in the city since 2005.
He was elected as Chairman of the Northeast Divisional board of the Gaelic Athletic Association North America in 2013 and played a key role in promoting Irish culture through sport.
He also was a member of the Board of Ambassadors of the Irish Network Boston (IN Boston). Cunningham was outspoken in the media about the need for immigration reform, having appeared in an RTE Prime Time programme earlier this year.
