“It was always the grunts… who got forensic evidence placed against them in court”

Interesting quote from AP’s veteran in the field, Shawn Pogatchnik, about how Gerry Adams handles accusations that he was directly involved in any action the IRA’s:

He shrugs it off. He has a wonderful Teflon quality about all these things. And the fact is, that when you have been a senior figure in the provisional IRA, or really any sophisticated paramilitary group in Northern Ireland, nothing can be proven because you never got your hands dirty.

It was always the grunts who planted the bombs, who handled the weapons, who got forensic evidence placed against them in court. But if you’re Al Capone, the only way they’ll get you is on not paying your taxes.

Quite. The only time Adams was caught off balance had nothing to with the IRA, and related to personal matters very close to home. It took him nearly three weeks to the get his story straight.

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