Walter Finch
NOTORIOUS Irish crime lord Gerry ‘the Monk’ Hutch has turned over a new leaf and is now running bed and breakfasts in the Canary Islands for local workers priced out of the rental market, the Irish Mirror report.
The 61-year-old former leader of an Irish mafia group known as the Hutch Crime Organisation relocated to Lanzarote permanently after he was dramatically acquitted of murder in April this year.
He was found not guilty by a Dublin court of the murder of gangland rival David Byrne at the Regency Hotel during his group’s feud with the notorious Kinahan cartel.
Since then Hutch has opened a string of bed and breakfasts on the north side of the popular tourist island, according to reports.
But instead of capitalising on Spain’s ongoing tourism boom, he has dedicated himself to helping out those who have been left behind.
The former mafia boss refuses to rent out rooms to tourists and only offers accommodation to around 30 or 40 residents at a ‘fair price’.
He rents out most of the rooms on long-term leases for hard-pressed workers who have found that the rental market has increasingly been transformed into tourist rentals.
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Despite heading up a recognised mafia group, Hutch has always been known for his teetotal lifestyle and embrace of abstinence.
He famously refuses to drink alcohol or take drugs despite reportedly being at one time a major purveyor of the latter.
He’s also reputed to have invested heavily in a number of pubs on the island and has opted against lying low despite his long list of enemies.
These days he is a friendly and recognisable presence, happy to chat in public – although he refuses to take selfies.
The source of his investment funds are unknown.
