Dave Rupert is at least six and half foot tall, he was a middle-aged trucker from Chicago and had no Irish links. Incredibly, Rupert was also recruited as an FBI spy at the very heart of dissident republicanism. This episode of The Indo Daily is brought to you by our sister podcast The BelTel. This podcast was first published in December 2025. 




We want to earn your trust and are members of the Trust Project. See our ethics policies at independent.ie/ourjournalism

Dave Rupert is at least six and half foot tall, he was a middle-aged trucker from Chicago and had no Irish links. Incredibly, Rupert was also recruited as an FBI spy at the very heart of dissident republicanism. This episode of The Indo Daily is brought to you by our sister podcast The BelTel. This podcast was first published in December 2025.&nbsp;
 
We want to earn your trust and are members of the Trust Project. See our ethics policies at <a href="https://www.independent.ie/service/our-journalism/a/98708550.html">independent.ie/ourjournalism</a>

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Revisited: The Chicago trucker recruited by the FBI to spy on republicans 

Seven years ago, 41-year-old Icelandic man Jon Jonsson arrived in Dublin ahead of a 10-day trip.




A poker enthusiast, Mr Jonsson was set to take part in a tournament, one that offered illicit sides games, if one were looking to partake.




That first night in Dublin, he bought into one of those illicit games and walked away €4,000 out of pocket.




The next morning, he walked out of the Bonnington Hotel in Dublin, lit a cigarette and rounded the corner, walking towards Whitehall and was never seen again.




Despite years of investigations, extensive searches and appeals, no trace of Mr Jonsson has ever been found.




Now, seven years on, gardaí have identified a person of interest in the case.




However, this individual is refusing to talk.




On today’s Indo Daily, Tessa Fleming is joined by Sunday Independent senior news journalist Ali Bracken to discuss the disappearance of Jon Jonsson and the latest developments in this long-running case.

Seven years ago, 41-year-old Icelandic man Jon Jonsson arrived in Dublin ahead of a 10-day trip.
 
A poker enthusiast, Mr Jonsson was set to take part in a tournament, one that offered illicit sides games, if one were looking to partake.
 
That first night in Dublin, he bought into one of those illicit games and walked away €4,000 out of pocket.
 
The next morning, he walked out of the Bonnington Hotel in Dublin, lit a cigarette and rounded the corner, walking towards Whitehall and was never seen again.
 
Despite years of investigations, extensive searches and appeals, no trace of Mr Jonsson has ever been found.
 
Now, seven years on, gardaí have identified a person of interest in the case.
 
However, this individual is refusing to talk.
 
On today’s Indo Daily, Tessa Fleming is joined by Sunday Independent senior news journalist Ali Bracken to discuss the disappearance of Jon Jonsson and the latest developments in this long-running case.

‘Person of interest’ in missing poker player case refuses to talk to gardaí

At around midnight on August 5 2025, the lifeless body of Irish woman Martha Nolan-O’Slatarra was discovered on a boat docked at a marina in the exclusive Montauk Yacht Club in the US. Originally from Co Carlow, the 33-year-old entrepreneur had moved to New York ten years previously and was forging a successful career in sunglasses and swimwear design.

Earlier that evening, Martha had arranged to meet with millionaire investor Christopher Durnan to discuss how her business was going. In an interview last year, Durnan’s lawyer claimed that his client told police that Martha suddenly went limp between 10.30pm and 11pm and that he thought she was having a heart attack.

According to witnesses, Durnan was seen at around midnight, running naked through the marina, screaming for help. On the first anniversary of Martha’s tragic death, her family filed a wrongful death proceedings for $50 million against Christopher Durnan.

Their lawyers have stated that the results of an independent postmortem examination commissioned by the Nolan family is at odds with the one carried out by the state of New York and their summons is seeking damages for wrongful death and for the personal injuries and conscious pain and suffering that Martha sustained before her death.

On Tuesday, legal filings made on Mr Duran’s behalf revealed that James E Mercante, of New York law firm Gallo Vitucci Klar, will be appearing as his lawyer in the case.

Mr Mercante specialises in commercial and recreational admiralty consultation and litigation, marine insurance coverage, transportation disputes, arbitration and appeals.

The New York City-based maritime lawyer has handled such high-profile cases as the sinking of the Kandi Won in Oyster Bay, New York, on July 4, 2012, in which three children drowned, and the 2014 case in which a powerboat struck a barge moored at the Tappan Zee Bridge on the Hudson River in New York, killing two people.

Lawyers for Ms Nolan-O’Slatarra’s family filed a “Summons with Notice” in New York County on three weeks ago on August 4, seeking damages for “wrongful death” as well as damages for the “personal injuries and conscious pain and suffering” she sustained before her death.

According to court documents, the actions arise from events that took place on August 4 and 5 last year aboard a vessel docked at the Star Island Yacht Club at 32 Star Island Road in Montauk, New York.

Today on The Indo Daily, Catherine Fegan , Special Correspondent for the Irish Independent, joins Tessa Fleming to discuss the latest developments in the case.

We want to earn your trust and are members of the Trust Project. See our ethics policies at independent.ie/ourjournalism

This podcast description was edited on 1pm on Thursday August 27th to include details regarding the boat accident specialist. This is not featured in the podcast discussion, however.

At around midnight on August 5 2025, the lifeless body of Irish woman Martha Nolan-O’Slatarra was discovered on a boat docked at a marina in the exclusive Montauk Yacht Club in the US. Originally from Co Carlow, the 33-year-old entrepreneur had moved to New York ten years previously and was forging a successful career in sunglasses and swimwear design.
Earlier that evening, Martha had arranged to meet with millionaire investor Christopher Durnan to discuss how her business was going. In an interview last year, Durnan’s lawyer claimed that his client told police that Martha suddenly went limp between 10.30pm and 11pm and that he thought she was having a heart attack.
According to witnesses, Durnan was seen at around midnight, running naked through the marina, screaming for help. On the first anniversary of Martha’s tragic death, her family filed a wrongful death proceedings for $50 million against Christopher Durnan.
Their lawyers have stated that the results of an independent postmortem examination commissioned by the Nolan family is at odds with the one carried out by the state of New York and their summons is seeking damages for wrongful death and for the personal injuries and conscious pain and suffering that Martha sustained before her death.
On Tuesday, legal filings made on Mr Duran’s behalf revealed that James E Mercante, of New York law firm Gallo Vitucci Klar, will be appearing as his lawyer in the case.
Mr Mercante specialises in commercial and recreational admiralty consultation and litigation, marine insurance coverage, transportation disputes, arbitration and appeals.
The New York City-based maritime lawyer has handled such high-profile cases as the sinking of the Kandi Won&nbsp;in Oyster Bay, New York, on July 4, 2012, in which three children drowned, and the 2014 case in which a powerboat struck a barge moored at the Tappan Zee Bridge on the Hudson River in New York, killing two people.
Lawyers for Ms Nolan-O’Slatarra’s family filed a “Summons with Notice” in New York County on three weeks ago on August 4, seeking damages for “wrongful death” as well as damages for the “personal injuries and conscious pain and suffering” she sustained before her death.
According to court documents, the actions arise from events that took place on August 4 and 5 last year aboard a vessel docked at the Star Island Yacht Club at 32 Star Island Road in Montauk, New York.
Today on The Indo Daily, Catherine Fegan , Special Correspondent for the Irish Independent, joins Tessa Fleming to discuss the latest developments in the case.
We want to earn your trust and are members of the Trust Project. See our ethics policies at <a href="https://www.independent.ie/service/our-journalism/a/98708550.html">independent.ie/ourjournalism</a>
This podcast description was edited on 1pm on Thursday August 27th&nbsp;to include details regarding the boat accident specialist. This is not featured in the podcast discussion, however.

Martha Nolan-O’Slatarra’s yacht death: The $50m lawsuit and her family’s unanswered questions

They’re coming home.  

Having sent shockwaves through the British royal family and beyond back in 2020 by swapping out gilded titles for the California sunshine, Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle, have once again stolen headlines thanks to their shock imminent return to the UK.  

Why the move? Well, that's the question of the day.  

In the absence of a clarifying statement, speculation about the homecoming is rampant, with the rumour mill grinding together everything from their children's education to potential familial reconciliation to a return to acting.  

One thing is for certain, though: it won't be a quiet, clandestine comeback.  

“I reported [on the royals] all through the Nineties, and that’s when we first started calling the royal family a soap opera, and now we’re kind of back there again,” says former BBC royal correspondent Jennie Bond on the Indo Daily.  

“There are going to be headlines everywhere, as far as I can see, for the next few months about Harry and Meghan and the royal family, but not the kind of headlines that the rest of the royal family would want.”

The Indo Daily is part of the Trust Project. You can see our ethics policies at independent.ie/ourjournalism  

They’re coming home. &nbsp;
Having sent shockwaves through the British royal family and beyond back in 2020 by swapping out gilded titles for the California sunshine, Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle, have once again stolen headlines thanks to their shock imminent return to the UK. &nbsp;
Why the move? Well, that's the question of the day. &nbsp;
In the absence of a clarifying statement, speculation about the homecoming is rampant, with the rumour mill grinding together everything from their children's education to potential familial reconciliation to a return to acting. &nbsp;
One thing is for certain, though: it won't be a quiet, clandestine comeback. &nbsp;
“I reported [on the royals] all through the Nineties, and that’s when we first started calling the royal family a soap opera, and now we’re kind of back there again,” says former BBC royal correspondent Jennie Bond on the Indo Daily. &nbsp;
“There are going to be headlines everywhere, as far as I can see, for the next few months about Harry and Meghan and the royal family, but not the kind of headlines that the rest of the royal family would want.”
The Indo Daily is part of the Trust Project. You can see our ethics policies at independent.ie/ourjournalism &nbsp;

Revisited: The Chicago trucker recruited by the FBI to spy on republicans

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