:00:00. > :00:10.An illegal gangmaster who kept 15 people in what a judge described
:00:11. > :00:12.as degrading and humiliating conditions has been
:00:13. > :00:17.Ioan Lacatus pleaded guilty to six charges of human
:00:18. > :00:23.His wife and her brother also admitted offences,
:00:24. > :00:35.Our south-east reporter Gordon Adair was at Craigavon Crown Court.
:00:36. > :00:37.Cristina Covaci leaves Craigavon court with a suspended sentence
:00:38. > :00:40.for her part in the trafficking and exploitation of migrant workers,
:00:41. > :00:44.but it was her husband Ioan Lacatus who was the driving force
:00:45. > :00:45.by what the police said was an extraordinary
:00:46. > :00:53.Lacatus who was known to be migrant workers only as The Minister
:00:54. > :00:56.housed 15 people in this three-bedroom semi in Portadown.
:00:57. > :01:00.They had only one shower, one toilet and very little to eat.
:01:01. > :01:03.He also pocketed most of their wages.
:01:04. > :01:11.15-20 people living in a house with about as much as toilet roll.
:01:12. > :01:14.When some of them asked for food because they were hungry,
:01:15. > :01:18.That is the mindset of these people involved in modern slavery
:01:19. > :01:24.and they need to be taken before the courts.
:01:25. > :01:26.Sentencing Lacatus, the judge said he was a greedy
:01:27. > :01:28.and manipulative individual who had used his intimidating physical size
:01:29. > :01:31.and threatening language to control vulnerable people.
:01:32. > :01:34.He and his wife set up bank accounts into which they siphoned off over
:01:35. > :01:38.most of the wages that should have been paid to be migrant workers.
:01:39. > :01:41.Also the judge said there was a degree of sophistication
:01:42. > :01:52.to the plan, but also an element of stupidity because he said Lacatus
:01:53. > :01:55.could have made a good living if he had only treated
:01:56. > :01:57.the workers with a degree of decency.
:01:58. > :01:59.Instead he subjected them to degradation and humiliation.
:02:00. > :02:03.The current occupants of this house in Charles Street are not
:02:04. > :02:06.connected to the case, but most of the workers do remain
:02:07. > :02:07.in Northern Ireland in better circumstances.
:02:08. > :02:09.These are hard-working people who came over to Northern Ireland
:02:10. > :02:18.legally to work and had a good work ethic.
:02:19. > :02:19.It was expectation that caused them problems.
:02:20. > :02:22.Thankfully due to the custodial sentences, the expectation has been
:02:23. > :02:25.removed and they are now happily working.
:02:26. > :02:29.Lacatus's brother-in-law pleaded guilty to conspiracy
:02:30. > :02:32.to traffick within the UK, but he was given a conditional
:02:33. > :02:36.discharge due to the amount of time he had spent on remand.
:02:37. > :02:39.A Health Trust says staffing issues and an increase in the number
:02:40. > :02:42.of referrals are among the reasons for almost 1000 people waiting
:02:43. > :02:44.for urgent cardiology appointments in the South Eastern Health Trust
:02:45. > :02:51.That compares to 300 people on the cardiac waiting list
:02:52. > :02:54.in the largest Trust area, Belfast.
:02:55. > :02:56.Earlier our health correspondent Marie-Louise Connolly described
:02:57. > :03:03.They show that there is a really serious situation within
:03:04. > :03:06.the South Eastern Health Trust at the moment for those men
:03:07. > :03:11.and women who urgently require seeing a cardiologist.
:03:12. > :03:13.They potentially could require treatment for heart disease,
:03:14. > :03:20.At the moment in the South Eastern Health Trust there are almost 1000
:03:21. > :03:24.men and women waiting on such an appointment.
:03:25. > :03:26.Other Trusts appear to be coping a little better.
:03:27. > :03:28.In Belfast, the largest of the Trusts, there
:03:29. > :03:36.In the Northern Health Trust it is slightly over 100 people.
:03:37. > :03:40.The South Eastern Health Trust told me that they have recently lost
:03:41. > :03:44.two senior cardiologists who wished to relocate.
:03:45. > :03:48.So far they have been unable to replace those posts, and that,
:03:49. > :03:50.coupled with rising demand, has led to this quite shocking
:03:51. > :03:57.A Dungannon woman who admitted making false statements about DUP
:03:58. > :04:00.Assembly member Jim Wells has had her prison sentence reduced
:04:01. > :04:04.to community service and a probation order.
:04:05. > :04:06.49-year-old Dorothy Gardner was sentenced to three
:04:07. > :04:10.months in jail last August after it was established
:04:11. > :04:12.she wasn't at a hustings event where she alleged Mr Wells
:04:13. > :04:17.Ms Gardner from Killycanavan Road made a public apology in court
:04:18. > :04:25.A new law means anywhere that serves food - be it a takeaway,
:04:26. > :04:28.a restaurant or a supermarket - will have to display
:04:29. > :04:33.The Food Standards Agency scheme had previously been run on a voluntary
:04:34. > :04:45.basis, but, as Ita Dungan reports, that's all set to change.
:04:46. > :04:48.If you want to eat out in this part of East Belfast,
:04:49. > :04:51.You can chose just about any cuisine -
:04:52. > :04:56.Italian, Chinese, Mexican, Indian, fancy, not so fancy.
:04:57. > :04:59.From today, you can get the food hygiene rating on every single
:05:00. > :05:02.restaurant tour. For this restauranteur,
:05:03. > :05:03.a 5-star rating is good It's all about confidence
:05:04. > :05:09.for the customer and yourself. If it has five stars it gives me
:05:10. > :05:14.the confidence to go in. If I say I wasn't feeling well
:05:15. > :05:21.after going to your restaurant. If you have systems in place that
:05:22. > :05:24.you know the temperature of the food when it came into the restaurant,
:05:25. > :05:27.when it was cooked, how it was stored and you know when it
:05:28. > :05:30.goes in the bain marie for service, you know the temperature
:05:31. > :05:33.and how long it was there. Correct storage is just one thing
:05:34. > :05:37.on the check list of Establishments now have a few weeks
:05:38. > :05:40.to get their stickers up. From today the councils are issuing
:05:41. > :05:42.the ratings and stickers and explaining to the businesses
:05:43. > :05:46.where this has to be displayed. By the end of November that the vast
:05:47. > :05:49.majority of businesses should be displaying their stickers
:05:50. > :05:51.and if they are not, they will not Mandatory display is something these
:05:52. > :06:01.locals are very happy with. It is something that has always
:06:02. > :06:03.played on your mind. You don't like turning up anywhere
:06:04. > :06:06.that is either obscuring them We would have looked
:06:07. > :06:14.at the takeaways, or somewhere like there is a five,
:06:15. > :06:16.I would have checked beforehand With less than 50% of restaurants
:06:17. > :06:21.displaying their scores, get ready to see a lot more gold
:06:22. > :06:31.stars gracing our windows and doors. And there is disappointment
:06:32. > :06:33.for Ulster rugby fans this evening after the Pro12 leaders
:06:34. > :06:37.surrendered their 100% record as champions to Connacht
:06:38. > :06:51.in Galway this evening. Ulster lost their unbeaten Pro12
:06:52. > :06:56.record in a pulsating 80 minutes at the sports ground. The defending
:06:57. > :07:01.champions got off to a flying start when Jack Carty went under the post
:07:02. > :07:07.to score the opening try. After a Paddy Jackson penalty Cian Kelleher
:07:08. > :07:11.scored wide on the left to give the hosts a 12-3 lead. Before James
:07:12. > :07:19.Connolly crashed over to extant their advantage. With Ulster against
:07:20. > :07:24.it, Craig Gilroy's try late in the half gave them a lifeline. After the
:07:25. > :07:31.break the visitors came out like a new team. First Ireland captain Rory
:07:32. > :07:35.Best bundled over before Tommy Bowe broke through the Connacht defence
:07:36. > :07:41.to release Jared Payne and the sides were level. The contest turned
:07:42. > :07:48.again. Cian Kelleher's second try of the game was followed by a Jack
:07:49. > :07:52.Carty penalty. Comet held on for a significant 36-25 win. Ulster can
:07:53. > :07:53.bounce back when they begin their European Champions Cup campaign away
:07:54. > :07:56.to Bordeaux on Sunday week. And in football, we have one
:07:57. > :07:58.result this evening. Crusaders played Livingston
:07:59. > :08:01.in the Scottish Challenge Cup at Seaview, and the result
:08:02. > :08:06.was Crusaders 1-2 Livingston. Now finally here's Angie
:08:07. > :08:12.with the weekend weather forecast. It turned out quite wet across some
:08:13. > :08:16.parts of the North and East today. Showers became aligned
:08:17. > :08:18.to the wind flow. But it's not a sign that things
:08:19. > :08:21.are breaking down. And with a ridge of high pressure
:08:22. > :08:26.still the main feature Variable cloud, so some bright
:08:27. > :08:32.and sunny spells, and the winds later than they have been
:08:33. > :08:34.on recent days as well. So, that breeze continues to ease
:08:35. > :08:36.down through tonight. Apart from the odd shower,
:08:37. > :08:39.a lot of dry weather. Some clear spells,
:08:40. > :08:41.and where they linger, parts of the countryside could dip
:08:42. > :08:44.down to eight Celsius, but I think most of the towns
:08:45. > :08:47.and beneath any cloud Variable cloud as we go
:08:48. > :08:52.into tomorrow. Hopefully more brightness
:08:53. > :08:54.than we had today in places, and we are looking at a lot of dry
:08:55. > :08:59.weather, although we could just see the odd light shower starting to pop
:09:00. > :09:02.up as we head towards the afternoon. Across the rest of Ireland
:09:03. > :09:05.and Britain, still a few showers in places, mainly
:09:06. > :09:08.towards the West Coast of Ireland. A few drifting in towards
:09:09. > :09:10.the South East and the south One or two moving
:09:11. > :09:13.into central England. But generally we are looking
:09:14. > :09:16.at a lot of dry weather, apart from those, and some sunshine,
:09:17. > :09:19.lifting temperatures to around 18 Bear in mind in the sunshine,
:09:20. > :09:23.that will feel fairly But the best sunshine really
:09:24. > :09:26.reserved out towards the West, Wales, northern England,
:09:27. > :09:28.West of Scotland and So, hopefully bright enough come
:09:29. > :09:33.the afternoon for Northern Ireland, with highs of 15 Celsius,
:09:34. > :09:36.and just the odd sharp Then as we head into Sunday,
:09:37. > :09:41.it's a mainly dry story. After a cloudy start,
:09:42. > :09:43.I think it will brighten Our next BBC Newsline
:09:44. > :09:50.is at 5:45pm tomorrow evening. You can also keep updated
:09:51. > :09:53.with News Online. From all of us here,
:09:54. > :09:56.good night and have a