Irish journalists probe FBI fugitive Mick O'Shea's death in Andorra care home

A team of Irish journalists investigating the fate of longtime FBI fugitive Joseph Michael Maloney, known for decades as Michael “Mick” O’Shea, will visit Andorra next week to check whether he died in the Principality and to locate any possible burial site.

The probe, tied to the RTÉ project Runaway Joe—a nine-part 2024 podcast later adapted into a book—will bring the group to Andorra from Wednesday, September 9, to Friday, September 11. They aim to confirm a lead that Maloney lived out his final years here under his alias around two decades ago, possibly in an elderly care home such as the now-closed Solà d’Enclar. The team plans to review records, interview former staff and residents about any American or Irish man named Joe or Mick, and verify the tip relayed through a friend’s brother.

Journalists Pavel Barter and Tim Desmond fronted the RTÉ Documentary On One series, with Richard Fitzpatrick and two producers now assisting the family’s search. Public responses have fueled further leads since the podcast called the case an open investigation.

Maloney, born in 1935 in Rochester, New York, stood accused of poisoning his first wife, June Fisk, with a toxic substance obtained through an acquaintance during their son’s fifth birthday party in June 1967. He fled US custody during a pretrial psychiatric evaluation. By 1969, he had settled in Ireland as O’Shea, purchasing Capard House in Rosenallis, County Laois, alongside his second wife, Irish national Sheila Chandler-O’Shea. They wed in the early 1970s. Irish police identified him via fingerprints in 1973 through Interpol, but without an extradition treaty, he remained free. US confirmation in 1985 prompted detention at Mountjoy and Portlaoise prisons, only for Ireland’s Supreme Court to void the process in July 1986 over a treaty issue. The couple then vanished; investigators believe Chandler-O’Shea used the name Maria while living with him in Cyprus before a potential move to Andorra.

No firm evidence backs the Andorra link. The journalists seek tips at pavelbarter@gmail.com or +353 87 247 3579, stressing their commitment to facts regardless of the outcome. Maloney was never convicted, though the FBI long suspected him.