Police Pay Compensation after Planting Evidence in High Profile ‘Informant Exposure’ Case

Police compensation payout

The brother of a police informant, his family and a close friend have received an out-of-court settlement worth a substantial amount from Greater Manchester Police, five years after an armed raid on a family home in Prestwich and Salford led to innocent men facing a number of serious criminal charges, of which they were later acquitted.

The compensation relates to a number of serious allegations against the police - including the planting, withholding and fabrication of evidence, false imprisonment and malicious prosecution - arising from police actions against Steven Genovese and his friend Anthony Evitt, Steven’s estranged wife Tracey, and the couple’s three children aged 3, 11 and 12.

The arrests of both men in January 1998 took place shortly after Steven Genovese and his friend Anthony Evitt, both aged 39 and from Salford, had taped telephone conversations at the home of Steven’s brother Gerald. They wanted to discover if Steven’s sister-in-law was telling his wife Tracey that he was having extra-marital relationships.

Inadvertently taping conversations between Gerald and a police officer, Peter Shaun Monaghan, it transpired that Gerald was a paid police informant and that the officer he passed information to had committed what appeared to be a series of offences such as fabricating evidence, intimidating witnesses and ignoring criminal activity on the part of Gerald Genovese.

One month after making Gerald aware that they knew of his role as informant, both Steven Genovese and Anthony Evitt were arrested in January 1998 in dawn raids on their homes. They were later charged and had to stand trial for a number of serious offences including threats to kill Gerald, robbery, false imprisonment, possession of firearms and various thefts.  They were subsequently acquitted of all these alleged offences.

One of the weapons charges faced by Steven Genovese was possession of a Section 5 firearm discovered during the raid, and which was later alleged to have been planted by the police in an attempt to secure a conviction and to cover up their own discreditable conduct.

Acting for the claimants at national law firm Irwin Mitchell, Iftikhar Manzoor, says:

“The arrests and subsequent detention of my clients were alleged to be unlawful as there were absolutely no grounds for the charges made against either man. The stress and anxiety each had to face as a result is truly appalling. In addition, Steven Genovese’s wife and children, the youngest of whom was three at the time of the raid, were falsely imprisoned and subjected to a terrifying ordeal with armed police officers in the house from which they may never fully recover. The 11 year old boy needed hospital treatment for a shoulder injury as a result of a door being kicked on to him during the police raid.”

Says Steven Genovese: “To this day I believe the police thought they could get rid of me and Anthony by setting us up for a long stretch in prison - just so they could protect what was an obviously ‘bent’ relationship between my brother and his police handler. We simply knew too much and I believe they thought they could get away with it. It was clear that all police officers involved close ranks.”

Speaking of the effects of the ordeal he continues: “Both Anthony and I had to spend 70 hard days in prison as a result of the false and malicious allegations made against us and although we cleared our names in court, the true horror of what might have happened if we had been sent down, still lives with us. The courts made it clear that had we been convicted then we could have been looking at life in prison,” he adds.

“Being awarded this compensation is the end of the matter for us all. We want to put it behind us now and rebuild our lives. At the end of the day, justice was done and I hope this has sent a message to all police officers that no-one is above the law,” says Steven Genovese.

Anthony Evitt quotes, “I believe that the true motive of the search and arrest were to recover tapes. If I had done what was alleged then why did it take over a month for any police action. Any member of the public would have thought that the police would act immediately especially if there was a firearm involved.  Even the police themselves have confirmed that Gerald Genovese was economical with the truth”, says Anthony Evitt.

A number of police officers have been disciplined as a result of this case following a Police Complaints Authority investigation.

Greater Manchester Police have denied liability and have agreed to an out of court settlement.