Tuesday 29 January 2013

Bronsons` "Top Legend"

Today boys and girls, let us have another look at the man that Bronson, or Michael Peterson, to give his proper name, called a "Top legend."  You will also see just what lengths the Ellesmere Port Police will go to , to protect their top man.  This happened in 1985, a year after the "Top Legend" sneakily glassed a hard man and how he received a ridiculously short sentence, despite his appalling history of violence committed with weapons.  To this end, you must really applaud the Ellesmere Port Police, as they have no hesitation lying and covering up for him.

    How it started was that the "Legend" had apparently been wound up by a man who had delusions that he was the "Godfather" of the area we lived in.  In reality, he was shit scared of one of my elder brothers`. This "Legend" then tried to kick the door in but it was too well locked.  My father called the cowards in uniform who responded with "Why is he trying to kick your door in?"  My fathers` response was, "I have an axe.  If he comes in, I am putting it through his head!"  Did that stir these yellowbacks into action!  Before long, there were many Police outside the house, but unbelievably, they refused to arrest him.  According to the yellowbacks, he had NOT committed any crime.  Members of my family turned up but when one brother in particular, plus, my brother-in-law, turned up, that was when the cowards in uniform, sprang into action.  Both of them were repeatedly threatened with arrest and charge with everything under the sun, whilst they turned a blind eye to the "Top Legend."  This happened not once, but twice.  Both times they were threatened and had numerous uniforms around them, whilst they provided protection for the "Top Legend."  My mother ended up screaming at the Police to "Piss off and one of the lads will sort him out."  Did this spur a gutless yellowback or what?  Indeed it did.  One went over and threatened my mother whilst they made sure nobody could get to the "Top Legend."

    The next day, a council official came to the house to inspect the damage done, had workmen come out and do repairs, and was told the full story by my parents.  He went straight down to the Police station.  When he came back, with the Police "Version" of events, they realised that this was a blatant cover-up, with many Police officers ready to lie through their teeth if an official complaint was made.   Why would the Police go to these lengths?

    Two years later, in 1987, I was talking to Mick, elder brother of my brother-in-law.  He was surprised that I did not know.  "Don`t you know?  He`s a Police nark!  He has been for a long time.  He`s well known for it.  In fact, he`s notorious for it."
"Hold on, Mick" I said, "If he`s well known for it, then why hasn`t anybody done him?"
"Simple" he said, "Fear!"
"Fear of what?" I asked.  
"Fear of the Police" he said.  "After that do with ******  ****, if anybody touches him, then ****** will be fitted up for it.  He has been warned.  No reprisals or else.  If anybody touches ******** (The Legend) then he will go down for it."

    However, the "Legend" has had numerous hammerings over the years, off the real hard boys, but the Police are more concerned about very serious violence to their top man.  As I have related, Mick had a confrontation or two with this "Top Legend" in which he begged Mick not to beat him up, how Mick dropped him twice with just two punches, how Micks` elder brother has hammered this "Legend" many times over the years, and once, he growled at him in a chip shop and this "Legend" ran out in fear!  Mick also threatened to put the "Legend" into the ground if he ever tried to attack my father again.  One night, the "Godfather" had wound him up again, and so the "legend" was shouting threats, but my dad was out walking the dog.  The "Legend" saw him and thought "Here`s my chance now" but then he saw my brother who is a tough nut.  Oh dear, no weapons, no Police buddies.  What was Petersons` "Top Legend" going to do now?  

He did nothing.  He kept his mouth shut.  In short, HIS BOTTLE HAD GONE!!!!!  Not long afterwards, my brother-in-law, stopped his truck, got out and confronted the "Legend."  Oh dear, no weapons, no Police buddies, what was this hero going to do?  His response was to COWER in fear!  My father once stated that if anybody wiped this bastard off the face of the Earth, the Ellesmere Port Police would tear the town apart.  It is remarkable what you can discover about somebody when you strip away the bullshit and bollocks.

Sunday 27 January 2013

Supergrasses PT4

Continuing on with the theme of "Supergrasses" and that being an informer is not always an automatic death sentence, here are some examples to ponder.  After the trial of the Krays, one main witness, Albert Donoghue, never went into hiding.  He continued to live in the East End, and seemingly never had any problems.  This was probably down to the fact that Donoghue was a very tough and dangerous man.  He never shied away from the fact that he could easily kill some person if he had to.  It was said in a book involving Fred Foreman and Tony "Gang Boss" Lambrianou, that Donoghue had been beaten up.  If so, then obviously, members of the fan club or whoever, had to wait until he had really aged, and as you get older, you are slower and more infirm. 

    However, we must not forget the actions of the "Gang Boss" and the image of the staunch hardman he has presented, over the years.  It was revealed years later, that AFTER the trial the "Gang Boss" and his brother had made statements to the authorities over the murder of Jack McVitie.  In this statement, Lambrianou said that he had only became closely involved with the Krays recently, and that after the murder, he and his brother were threatened by the Krays.  This flies in the face of his claim of how deeply involved he and his brother were for a few years, and the impression given that they were key players.  Not surprisingly, he continued on with his "tough guy" image until his death.  A point to ponder on is that Ronnie Kray hated him later on, calling him a "Lackey and a grass" obviously referring to his statement he made whilst in jail.  

    Over the recent years, a major scandal that erupted in Liverpool, over the very early release from prison of Liverpool gangsters John Haase and Paul Bennett.  Haase inexplicably offered to help the authorities recover an arsenal of illegally held weapons, all over Merseyside.  Subsequently, Police raided addresses all over the region and indeed, one was recovered from an address in Ellesmere Port.  Home Secretary Michael Howard authorised the release of both Haase and Bennett, citing their help had taken a huge number of weapons off the streets.  Upon their release, they went back to their usual stock in trade of drug pushing.  They were regarded as some kind of heroes for pulling one over the authorities.  Later, it emerged that the whole scenario was a complete scam.  Haase had paid for a large consignment of guns to be placed around the North West, ready to scam the authorities.  After it broke, Haase and Bennett found themselves back in prison for long sentences, yet again for drugs, and then it was revealed that both Haase and Bennett had been high level informers.  I wonder how the pair are regarded in Liverpool now?

Saturday 26 January 2013

Supergrasses PT3

Nowadays, the Supergrass is so different from previous decades.  They are now known as "Assisting Offenders" and it is not giving up everybody you know.  It is usually a solitary case and the AO gives evidence on that particular crime.  A very noticeable case was the conviction of two men for what became known as "The Range Rover Murders."  Mick Steele and Jack Whomes were convicted for a triple murder, solely on the say-so of supergrass Darren Nicholls.    
There is still a lot of controversy over this case, in which it was NOT revealed in court that Nicholls has struck deals over a book, film and documentary about the case.  The subsequent book, written by Tony Thompson, and Thompson has been said to have admitted embroidering details, shows that Nicholls was a big time villain and everybody else was not in his league.  The usual bigging themselves up that some villains like to portray.

    Over the last six years, there have been 176 supergrass deals, in which the felons have received huge reductions in sentences, even for very serious crimes.  One man served less than five years in prison for a brutal murder, whilst sending his co-conspirators to prison for extremely long sentences.  Four are serving over thirty years.  Yet his evidence is being questioned as he could not give a straight answer during interrogations, whilst minimising his role.  This is a usual occurrence.

    Another "Assisting Offender" helped stop a number of lucrative robberies at Heathrow Airport.  This man was involved in stealing baggage but sought a deal when arrested for theft.  He knew who was planning a major robbery at the cargo company's  warehouse.  The Police found out that a £30 million cargo of cash and gold bullion was to be delivered to the warehouse.  The robbers were caught in the act by the Flying Squad, and received lengthy sentences.

Supergrasses PT2

The role of the Supergrass took off in the seventies, with villains turning on their confederates.  However, after the outcry over the Bert Smalls deal, automatic freedom was no longer an option. The next major villain to turn, was armed robber Maurice O`Mahoney.  He was facing serious charges, but he claimed that his now former friends had threatened his girlfriend, so he decided to take them down.  He was told to expect up to twenty years for his crimes, but in return for his evidence, he was given just five years, and this became the tariff that villains should expect.

    Other villains to follow included Charlie Lowe, Jimmy Trusty & George Du Buriatte.  Later on, the supergrass system was exploited to the maximum by Tony Lundy.  Lundy turned people like Billy Amies, David Smith, Maxie Piggott & George Bradshaw.  These were regarded as extremely unpleasant people.  The judge thought it was nauseating listening to the crimes of these individuals, and then they giving evidence against others.  Lundy turned a great many villains, yet one point that is always ignored by Lundys` detractors, is that nine out of every ten villains prosecuted, put their hands up in court.  Innocent people do not do that.

    Billy Amies was a London blagger, who operated around the country.  He was involved in an extremely nasty home robbery in the North West, where violence was inflicted on a victim and a young girl was stripped and threatened with rape.  Lundy turned Amies, and his appearance in the witness box caused the accused to change their pleas. They claimed that the violence and sexual threats was the work of Amies.  Later, two detectives were assigned to protect Amies, and one was persuaded to venture into Liverpool with him for a drink.  Amies chose to walk into The Crow`s Nest, a major Underworld pub and they were both attacked.  Amies escaped with injuries, but the cop received a very serious beating, which resulted in him being invalided out of the force.  It was unknown why Amies chose to go into that particular pub.  

    Amies was a known homosexual, but he also had a serious reputation for violence.  He was stabbed by Albert Donoghue, after the Kray trial.  Tony "Gang Boss" Lambrianou claimed that Donoghue stabbed Amies in Smithfield Meat Market.  Donoghue said that he was driving a car with Amies in the passenger seat, who produced a potato peeler and Donoghue realised that Amies was up to something and in a struggle, he took the peeler off Amies and stabbed him with it.  It was said that Amies had died, possibly from aids, but he would not be a person missed.

Supergrasses

The high level informer.  The type of criminal that was supposed to be the the lowest of the low.  Yet, incredibly, they are not a recent phenomenon, especially since the 70`s in Britain, but have existed for the last couple of centuries.  The idea that a criminal would rat out all his friends to save himself, is regarded as unthinkable when you read memoirs of criminals, whom would cut off their own arms rather than inform.  This makes them seem absolutely solid and reliable people that all villains can depend on, when the reality is that you just do not know who is working for the Police.  And as for the notion that all grasses are marked for murder, again just does not pan out.

    One of the earliest and most notorious informers was Jonathon Wild.  This man was regarded as the leading and most powerful criminal in London during the early 18th century.  He had many influential friends, and was the leading "fence" in the capital.  What was the most disturbing aspect of Wild was that he was the leading "Thief-taker" or early Policeman.  He helped set up numerous highway robberies, burglaries, etc and had his cut of the proceeds.  He was no stranger to setting up crimes and then arresting the culprits, or having other Thief-takers arrest them.  As many went to the gallows, usually at Tyburn, it bothered him not one iota.  Today, he would be called an "Agent Provocateur."  He eventually, he had his just rewards, and was himself hanged in 1725.

    Joe Valachi was the first Cosa Nostra member to spill the beans.  This was in the early 60`s. Valachi was a soldier in the Genovese Crime Family in New York.  His testimony about the Mob was broadcast on TV, when Senate hearings into Organised Crime were public hearings. Valachi explained how the Families were structured, how you were initiated, and the rules of membership.  Naturally, the Mob put a contract out on him but he was in isolation.  He did hear that a certain prisoner was going to take the hit on him so he acted first.  He received a general description of the man and attacked him with a metal bar.  He pulverised the man`s head in but later he was told that he had killed the wrong man.  The victim bore a slight resemblance to the proposed assailant.  Valachi was convicted of the murder, and remained in jail until his death in  the beginning of the 70`s.

    Here in Britain, the Supergrass truly arrived in the form of Derek Creighton Smalls.  Smalls was a very active armed robber and was part of a particular clique of "Blaggers" hitting banks all over London.  His downfall came over the £138,000 bank robbery in Wembley, around 1972, and to save himself asked for a deal in which he would "Tell all" in return for no charges against him.  The DPP agreed to the deal and many men found themselves in court facing numerous robbery charges.  Smalls was the star witness and was a very poor witness, until one of the accused, Danny Allpress made a nasty remark about Smalls` wife.  This put the impetus into Smalls and he suddenly turned into a strong witness.  Chief Superintendent Jack Slipper remarked that the others must have "Had something to say" to Allpress later on.  Smalls was instrumental in convicting a good number of robbers and naturally, a price was put on his life.  It seemed that Smalls skipped to Spain for a number of years and then drifted back to London.  One of the men Smalls put away, Bobby King, spotted Smalls in a car and followed him but eventually stopped, and let it go.  He thought it was not worth the trouble for him, and it was many years later.  Both King and Smalls have since passed away.  

    There was a natural outcry about the Smalls deal and so it was decided that any future supergrass would have to serve time in prison.  The "get out of jail free" card was gone.  The Roll call of supergrasses continued.

Friday 25 January 2013

The Long Perception of Bikers

How do we remember the old perception of bikers?  The first real public perception that they had become a menace to society was the so-called "pitched battles" with the Mods in the mid 60`s.  There was a couple of confrontations in seaside towns but the whole image of the hostility between Mods, scooter riders, and the Rockers, bike riders, was blown out of proportion by the media, obviously in desperate search for a new "menace."  Before the "Rocker" tag took off, most bikers gathered at all night cafes, and created the cafe racer scene.

   But later in the 60`s, with tales of the Hells Angels crossing the Atlantic, the perceived view as Rockers fighting with Mods and burning up the roads, changed to a much more sinister side with them viewed as violent, raping thugs, that nobody was safe from.  Bike clubs sprang up all over Britain.  Many were simple bike riders, there are many owners clubs, concentrating on specific makes of bikes, and there were the ones trying to ape Marlon Brando.  Soon, all dirty looking or rowdy bikers were referred to as "Hells Angels."

    The truth is that to be called Hells Angels, you have to be ratified by the Angels Head Chapter, and that is the Oakland Chapter, for a long time, headed by Ralph "Sonny" Barger, and each club had to have a set structure of command and rules.  The Angels logo and name is copyrighted worldwide, so no traders can use certain logos or names without their permission.

    I remember many years back in Ellesmere Port, that some bikers were in court a number of times, and when the local paper talked of "Hells Angels" and the trouble they had caused, the usual names popped up. One was a lad called Mike Turner who lived across the road from me. basically, it was a case of them going out and "Raising hell!"  A few years later, around 70/71, a car pulled out in front of him, so he swerved to avoid it but collided with a lamp-post, sustaining very serious injuries.  He died a couple of days later.  His funeral was attended by over forty bikers.

    On the more serious level of outlaw biker, there are a few lads who are members of Satans Slaves.  One lived a couple of streets away from me.  I also came into contact with a guy who was a member of The Outlaws, North Wales Chapter.  This came through my post round, as I delivered to his parents and I spoke to him a number of times when he was there.  A large club was running around the area for some years, and that was the Wheelwrights MCC.  This was centred around the Wheelwrights Arms pub in Elton, just outside the Port.  Two of my brothers were members.  It grew into a huge club, but declined over the years.  They did hold a competition for the best kept bike.  This was in August 76, and the winner was a guy from Wallasey with an immaculate black Matchless 500.  Aaahh, memories!

    

Saturday 19 January 2013

Prostitution - The Oldest Profession

Sex, sex, sex!  Now that I have your attention, what can you say about the "oldest profession.?"  It still brings heated debates on the pros and cons, but here is what I think.  I believe that brothels should be legalised, with the women receiving regular health checks, and registered with local authorities and Police.  The people that have emerged as the force behind prostitution, in this country, are the Albanians.  No longer is pimping seen as the preserve of West Indians, as it varies in some towns and cities.  Around here, the pimps are mainly Asian.  The Albanians stronghold is London.

    But what do the hookers offer that can make it look acceptable from a legal point of view?  First off, if a man can relieve his sexual frustrations with a hooker, at least it makes it safer for other women.  They will not become rape victims.  Another service they provide is to give blowjobs.  It is astounding the amount of women who regard oral sex as disgusting, and not a natural part of lovemaking.  If a man wants to enjoy oral sex, then he has no choice but to find a woman willing to give him it or pay a hooker.  We all know about Hughie getting a blowjob in his car from Divine Brown.  Why did he resort to it?  Being a genius is not required here.

    However, many girls must think that there just might be the chance of a "Pretty Woman" situation, in which a wealthy client comes along and takes them off the streets and gives them a great life.  One LA vice cop blamed the film for a great surge in the amount of women that suddenly turned up on the streets turning tricks.  The big downside is that hookers are the favourite target of serial killers, because of the long term attitude of Police towards them, that they are professional victims and therefore not worthy of thorough investigations.  Over here, we have had Sutcliffe, Wright(Suffolk Strangler) Griffiths(The Cannibal) and one in the mid-sixties known as "Jack the Stripper."  In the States, there was Robert Hansen, kidnapper of hookers and then hunting them through a desolate park area, shooting them dead.  His murder tally is a known fifteen.  Arthur Shawcross, killing hookers around the Rochester area of New York state, killing eleven.  Of course you cannot forget Gary Ridgeway with a tally so far of 48 but believed to be around 70.  The Hillside Stranglers, Buono and Bianchi killed a number of them.  The most famous prostitute slayer was our very own Jack.  Arguments rage today still, as to how many victims he did have.  The numbers vary from the known five to at least eight.  

    

The Reality of Law & Order

What I refer to as the reality of Law & Order in Britain today, is the instances of Police indifference to victims and turning a blind eye to the real criminals.  One such incident I came across around five years ago whilst doing my deliveries in Bradford.  Two Police Officers were walking with an ageing man towards some bungalows, and then talking to him and then walking away.  Suddenly, his neighbours appeared, asking him where he had gone to.  He revealed that he had been arrested and spent the night in the cells.  The Police had just brought him home.  What was his heinous crime?  Simple.  He was a victim.  The cowards in uniform had arrested a victim of crime and locked him up for the night.  His neighbours could not believe what had happened to him.  But it was to get much worse.  The perpetrator of the crime, the Police had blatantly turned a blind eye to.  What had happened for the alleged guardians of the Law to arrest the victim? 

     A woman had severely damaged his car, breaking door mirrors off, breaking a window or two and using a sharp blade to cut deep into the bodywork of the car.  I had a look at his car, and it would have been a total respray, and it would have been a huge bill.  But as he had objected very vocally to this vandalism, our heroes in uniform decided to arrest him for threatening behaviour.  They could not have him shouting at the poor bastard smashing his car up.  The woman involved, they simply did not bother and let her go!!  She was related to two families of troublemakers(I have delivered to both families many times) so our heroes told the victim that if he did not want any trouble from these two families, then he should pack his bags and leave town!!  They obviously did not want to know.  This amounted to them saying, "Don`t bother us if they turn up.  We told you what to do.  If they beat you up or even kill you, then it is your own fault because you have not left town.  We do not want to know."  This was what they talking to him about when I walked up.  It was a sickening sight to see an OAP break down in tears, because of the sheer cowardice of the Police and they then telling him that he is on his own if these families caused any trouble. 

   Some time later, I did see the old man and asked if he had had any more problems.  He said that he had not, but he had taken his car off the road as he could not afforded the huge hike he would have suffered on his insurance.  This type of incident unfortunately is never discussed at political party conferences as it would get in the way of the lovefests, and create uncomfortable atmospheres that politicians avoid at all costs.

Friday 18 January 2013

Profiling - Only Another Tool In A Detectives` Bag

Profiling.  That new science that can help Police catch perpetrators.  This new technique developed into the Police consciousness in the late seventies, worked out by a small band of men that examined the characteristics of the crimes, thereby coming up with a profile of what type of person they should be on the look out for.  They did have a great number of successes, along with numerous failures, but it was the film "Silence of The Lambs" that brought it out into the public consciousness.  The TV show "Criminal Minds" has continued this theme.

    But where did this technique actually start from?  The first real profile of an offender was Jack  The Ripper. One of the doctors who carried out a post mortem on one of the Ripper victims, gave his opinion on what he thought of the offender, based on what he discovered during the autopsy.  The first truly accurate profile of an offender, was the New York Bomber.  The offender was caught, thanks to the profile drawn up by Dr James Brussel, and the profile was remarkably accurate.  The bomber was a disgruntled worker named George Metetski.

    A homicide cop called Pierce Brooks pushed the FBI to form a unit using this technique and headed the Behavioural Analysis Unit.  Other top men who went through the ranks included Robert Ressler, John Douglas, Roy Hazelwood and Mark Safarik.  All these men have stressed that profiling is not proof of guilt but what the offender could be.  In short, it is only another investigative tool for the Police.  However, there are always people who attack the system of profiling and the people behind it.  One man who studied at the FBI Academy, home of the profilers, was a South Carolina cop who commented "Who cares which type of profiling is right, as long as we catch the son of a bitch."  Philosophy that is foreign to many people.

    In Britain, it was the case of the Railway Murders committed by John Duffy and Russell Mulcahy.  Psychologist David Canter gave a very accurate profile that led Police to John Duffy.  This started Dr Canter on the path to geographical profiling, basing a lot on the areas that offenders work in.  This type of profiling was developed by detective Kim Rossmo.  Of course this brought people into conflict as just who`s approach was correct.  At the end of the day, it is all educated and inspired guesswork.  I view a lot of it as common sense.

    The spectacular failure of profiling in this country, was the Rachel Nickell murder and the subsequent attempt by the Police to convict Colin Stagg for the crime.  The case was thrown out by the Judge who remarked that it was all "reprehensible entrapment" and gave a scathing condemnation of the Police and their profiler, Paul Britton.  Around the time of this horrific murder, was a number of rapes in a small area called Chain Bar, and the even more horrific murder of a young woman and her small child.  Investigating Officer DCS Mick Banks, thought that all three incidents were committed by the same man.  Nickell detectives were not really interested in Banks` theory, as they had their man on remand.  He also asked Britton if he thought that the same man committed all three crimes.  He responded by saying that it was three different offenders.  It was later proved that the same man HAD committed all these crimes, and he was convicted of all of them.  The man was Robert Napper.  DCS Banks was right all along.

    

Thursday 17 January 2013

American Shootings

Recently, we have had two mass shootings incidents in the United States, and already we have the conspiracy theories circulating that both were orchestrated by the US government, in order to push through a gun control bill.  When we strip away all the conspiracy rubbish and focus on what is actually known about the offenders and the way they carried out their atrocities, a much clearer picture emerges.

    The mass shooting at the cinema, where they were showing the new Batman movie, and that the offender was dressed up like the Joker, brought out the old hysteria about violence on TV and films.  Yet it seems that the perpetrator carried it out solely for the infamy!  This is just what the sick obsession with celebrity can turn people to.  "I will commit mass slaughter for the fame. I  want my name to live on forever because my life is so pathetic and empty, and I am incapable of doing anything constructive."

    We await a full investigation into the new school shooting, as we need to sift through all the reports on the perpetrator and his personal life.   But one  horrific school massacre, and that was at Columbine, it has emerged through an exhaustive investigation by author Dave Cullen, that the perceived events were not all as thought.  The two shooters were Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold.  The mastermind of this massacre was Harris, and had been in the planning stages for about two years.  What was not made clear in documentaries, is that Klebold was NOT the proposed partner of Harris.  He came later.  A friend of theirs, Brooks Brown, had a number of disputes with Harris, enough to bring the involvement of local Police.  This deeply upset Harris.  Harris had set up his own website and put on his feelings about everything and everybody.  This included threats to kill Brown.  In a documentary, it stated that Brown found out about these threats, yet did not reveal how Brown found out.  Dave Cullen revealed that Brown had been told by a friend.  That person was Dylan Klebold.

    It was claimed that they were never with girls, and never had any girlfriends.  Harris did have a relationship with a woman about five years his senior.  It was claimed that they suffered bullying and abuse from the "Jocks" on a daily basis.  Cullen showed this to be untrue, and he also discovered that they did have a circle of friends, contrary to the official view, and also the myth of the "Trenchcoat Mafia."  This wearing of trenchcoats, and the coats were actually duster coats, was a fad between Harris and a few of his friends.  Friends he was not supposed to have had.

    What cannot be ignored was the atrocities that Harris and Klebold committed, and as in other spree shootings, the killer(s) always blow their own brains out, as their mission is now finished and they have nothing left to do but take themselves out.  What I find strange is why facts are never made clear.  Must everything be the preconceived notion of what the killer really was.  Can some facts be a little too uncomfortable for the authorities?

Sunday 13 January 2013

Are Armed Robberies The Sole Preserve of London?

Armed robberies.  That bastion of crime that was rampant from the sixties onwards, and was carried out by a select section of the Underworld.  The planning and execution and the fear and adrenalin as they hit banks and security vans, ensured that many of the big villains, by that I mean the Krays and the Richardsons, avoided doing that type of crime.  As one former armed robber commented "They never had the arsehole to rob for themselves."  Their speciality was leaning on those doing the robbing and taking off them.  There we see the time honoured code of "Honour amongst thieves" in action.

    The "hero" of Bradford once claimed to me that armed robberies were "rare" in the north.  Then I wonder what was going on in Liverpool with the likes of Siega, Hughes, Showers, et al were up to?  It seems that they carried out numerous examples of a "rare" event.  What about in Manchester and the Crazy Face Gang with Cook and Pilot and other teams?  The area of "excellence" for armed robbery in Manchester is said to be Salford.  Obviously, they would have had to have brought some Londoners up to "Show them how it is done."

    The biggest load of crap, in my view, came from convicted murderer Norman Parker.  He claimed that all armed robberies outside of London, HAD to have a Londoner on it.  He failed to explain why people outside the Capital were completely incapable of this crime.  What was it about London that made it unique?  Let us look at other types of crimes.  The first use of thermal lances to burn the way into a bank vault was carried out by Liverpool villains.  The first centre of big involvement in drugs was Liverpool, long before major London villains.  So London cannot be the centre and starting point of all crime.

Saturday 12 January 2013

Rubbish Spoken As Excuses

I find it highly amusing the excuses and just plain rubbish spoken by many convicted felons for their crimes.  That all criminals are fitted up by the Police, because they are not smart enough to catch them legitimately, is not the sole preserve of the English villain.  They are at it big time in the States.  Watching some of the interviews given by felons in prison is proof of the true face of many villains.  Yes, people are wrongly convicted, that does happen, but when these people convicted with over whelming evidence, always complain that crooked cops, prosecutors, and the State working with the real culprits, allowing them to go away scot-free whilst using them to put them, the innocent, away for life.

    Wherever you are, you will always have crooked cops, lawyers, etc, that is a reality of life, but there are many, many, great and dedicated cops who will not give up until the guilty are incarcerated.   The many cold case squads in the States, prove this.  One convicted serial killer and serial rapist, tried to come up with a highly elaborate scenarios for his presence at crime scenes, and being with the victims prior to their rape and/or murder.  The prosecutor said it was straight of the film "The Usual Suspects" in which Kevin Spacey gives very dramatic scenarios as to why he was innocent.  Fortunately, the jury did not listen to this, and his total sentences ran to over five hundred years!  His victims were all teenage girls, some as young as thirteen.  At least the Harlem area of New York was free of a serial killer and rapist of teenage girls.

Friday 11 January 2013

Russia

Since the collapse of the Berlin Wall and the general fall of communism throughout the Eastern Bloc, Russia has come to the fore as real heavyweight criminal nation.  From one astronomically sized nation to now, fifteen states that are now recognised countries.  Yet it is still such a huge and forbidding place.  The Russian Mafia has expanded around the world, and their strong point in the USA is in the Brighton Beach area of New York.

    However, the Judicial System throughout the fifteen states is slow and thoroughly corrupt.  There are an estimated 6000 gangs operating throughout the nations, and many have former KGB men as leaders and/or killers.  Kidnapping and murder are just a few of the pies they have their fingers in.  During the first number of years that the borders were finally opened, the influx of western businesses provided them with a great income from extortion.  In Moscow, it was  said that no business could operate without a licence from one of the gangs, and western businessmen were targeted for kidnap and ransom.

    What is very worrying for the authorities of every country, is that many former KGB agents had access to any type of military weapon.  One former Columbian drugs smuggler asked a former agent with such connections, if he could purchase a submarine, as he thought he could load up with huge amounts of cocaine, and have a great method of avoiding detection.  The agent asked if he wanted missiles with it!

    The jails have to be the worst in the world.  An American businessman, wrongly and falsely accused of embezzlement, spent some months in a jail in Siberia.  Here, the temperature plummeted to 40 to 50 degrees below zero, and the cells were so freezing, they had to keep filling bottles with hot water, to use as a water bottle  at least three times a night, just to get six hours sleep.  As to be expected, many guards were violent and sadistic, and were permanently armed and not afraid to shoot anybody dead in an instant.  Escape from this place was impossible.  High fences with barbed wire, thick snow, armed guards, and in the middle of nowhere.  What chance did anybody seriously have?  There was a happy ending to this story.  The businessman was cleared by an honest woman judge, because his accuser, who was simply a gangster, refused to turn up in court, and she showed that there were honest people in the Judicial System of the former Soviet States.

    Makes you wonder how that "Hero" of our prison system, Bronson, would cope there?  The guards would not put up with him, and what would he do without a captive audience?  And if he tried his antics, how long would the other inmates put up with him?

    One thing that has emerged is that Russian criminals have tattoos that signify their importance in the criminal hierarchy or the crimes that they have been convicted for.  There are two books out called the "Russian Criminal Tattoo Encyclopaedia" compiled by a long time guard with an interest in the markings inmates had on them.

Events From My Round

Whilst I stroll around doing my post round, I do come across certain events that at times show that Law Enforcement are still doing their bit against law breakers.  One street has had it`s share of "goings on."  Two houses were raided as they had cannabis farms set up in the loft.  With astronomical electricity bills and heat being detected on the helicopter infra red system, it was only a matter of time before the Old Bill came a-knocking.

    Another house had the dubious distinction of an attempt to burn it down with the occupants inside.  It transpired that the woman occupant had ditched a boyfriend, whom not surprisingly, took it very badly.  He hit upon a course of action that was going to be a spectacular send off for the two of them.  He barricaded parts of the house with wood and set it alight.  He was hoping for the house, with his now former girlfriend and her small child inside, to up completely in flames.  If he achieved this successfully, then in a grand finale, he was going to take his own life, whilst she died.  However, he had a dampener, the fire did not go up as well as he expected, and to top off his misery, the Fire Brigade arrived to dash his hopes.  On top of that, the Police came and locked him up.  He ended up, months later, in court, and he went down.

    To finish off on this street, it emerged that a woman, as a young teenage girl, she had been repeatedly raped by her two elder brothers.  This was many years in the past, but obviously there was sufficient supporting evidence, as they were both convicted.  But to ruin her delight at their punishment, they appealed their sentences and incredibly, had them reduced.  She waived her anonymity and publicly hit out at the Appeal Court.  It is something I have never, and will never, ask her about.

    Further down the road, I was delivering near Asda, and as I approached, I seen a Police van and car.  Two guys were bringing bags with plants in and putting them in the van.  I had a parcel for the house next door.  "Where are you going with that parcel, lad?" asked one uniform.  "Not to the house you`ve hit" I replied.  "What is it?" I asked knowing full well but at least getting it from the horses` mouth.  "Cannabis factory" was the obvious response.

    Another drugs bust was a bungalow down in Bierley.  There was ten Police coming and going from this house, and I thought I would be a bit of a clever sod.   "This is a bit heavy handed for a parking ticket" I said to the officer in charge.  "Cannabis factory lad.  Can`t you smell it?"  The front door was on the side of the house, and about twenty yards down a drive way.  I moved closer to the drive way, and the stench nearly blew me off my feet!  "Stinks does n `t it?" he said.  Suffice to say, the smell was so overpowering, you could not enter the house without a mask on!  And the smell in the street was bad enough!  The other week, I went into a sandwich shop on my round, and a uniform was sat there, eating a butty and reading the paper.  "Hello Wendy" I said to the owner, "Can you hide some money for me?  I have just done a security van."  The copper did not look up but just said, "Throw a bag of it into my car boot."  I then went into comedy mode, paraphrasing the exchange between Richard Attenborough and Hywel Bennett, in the film "Loot" based on the Joe Orton play.
"Don`t attempt to bribe me.  You know every copper has his price."
"Why?  What is yours?" asked Bennett.
"I was wondering when you were going to ask"
Laughter from all in the shop.

Thursday 10 January 2013

The Ballarat Bandit

The Ballarat Bandit was a mystery man hunted throughout the Nevada desert by County and State Police, but continually frustrated the authorities by always being one step ahead of his pursuers.  The name was coined by somebody on the internet, as numerous surfers were following developments on the web news.  No matter how close they were to him, he had vanished when they hit his hideouts..

    He was sustaining himself by stealing from vehicles parked up on roads.  He also raided small shacks, and always found enough to keep him going.  For some time, he had managed to steal a quad bike and was able to cover large areas of the desert.  One day, he was seen by four men on a vacation and going through part of the desert.  They were LAPD men.  They spotted a rifle and thought something was not right, so one took a snapshot and later sent the photo to the local Police, just in case.  This was the only picture they had of the suspect, though you could not see him clearly.

    Opinions varied as to just who he was.  Some of the camps he had set up, had protective positions around them, where he could open fire and remain concealed.  This brought up the theory that he was ex-military.  Another was that he could have been a spy, as the desert was home to a number of military installations.  He was a man constantly on the move.  One day, two troopers latched onto him, and gave chase on foot across the desert.  However, he was far too quick for them, and ran up a hill like a sprinter, causing them to completely lose him.  

    However, his luck ran out, when a camp was spotted, and numerous Law Enforcement people moved in on him.  Suddenly, a shot rang out, and the body of the bandit was found in a tent.  Now began the task of identifying him.  His fingerprints were distributed to all Police agencies throughout the country, but months dragged by with nothing.  They decided to expand the search to Canada, and there his identity was established.  The Ballarat Bandit was none other than George Johnson, a husband and father.  His family said that he went off and they had no idea where he was.  It seemed that he wanted space or time to himself.  He made his way from Canada into the States and eventually drifted into Nevada.  He had only committed minor crimes, but what worried the Police was the rifle he always carried, and could he have been capable of gunning anybody in his way, down.

    Why he had to take his own life was a mystery.  He would not have faced serious charges, but perhaps he enjoyed his freedom in the desert too much and the prospect of being incarcerated was too much for him.

Wednesday 9 January 2013

What`s The Roughest Pub You have Been In

I came across this thread on a forum called "The Liverpool Way"  and members were asked what was the roughest pub you have ever been in.  There came stories from all over Liverpool, and also comprised of tales of rough boozers around Britain and the world.  There were some familiar names and the odd places that I have been in.  The Dock Hotel aka "The Bloodtub" gets a mention, along with The Norseman, a Liverpool nightclub owned by a Little Sutton businessman.  At one time, this man bought, refurbished and opened the "One O`Clock Gun" on the Ford Estate in Birkenhead, after it had been trashed and shut down by the local hordes.  I did hear that they received a shock to see the door manned by very tough men.

    In Ellesmere Port, there are only a couple of places that were rough.  The Viscount was situated across the road from the Port Police Station, and was where "The Boys" drank.  The former owner of The Norseman took over The Viscount and was soon publicly praised by the Police for having "A calming effect on the place."  Not hard to fathom out why.

    The Knot Hotel is situated in the town centre and has had a long reputation as a "hole" and my former immediate boss, who went to Stanney school in the Port(His parents still live there), told me that on a visit to see his parents, he and some friends popped into the Knot.  He claimed that some Russian sailors were in there offering Kalashnikovs to the locals!  Considering what it can be like in there, a blind eye had to have been turned to this event.

    The usual trouble spot was The Wheatsheaf, a pub I only ever went into to play a darts match.  For years the atmosphere was appalling, and as it was the place where the troublemakers and dickheads went, I always avoided it.  However, twice this atmosphere of violence and aggression disappeared when it was ran by Terry "Bomber" Swan.  Simple enough, all the arsehole rowdies were shit scared of him.  They certainly had the courage with booze inside them and mates to back them up, but when it came to a real hard nut like Swanny, their bottle went.  Check out this forum because some stories are funny.

Correction To A Post

I have to put a correction to my post on the so-called "Video Nasties."  When I wrote about the film "I Spit on Your Grave" aka "Day of The Woman" I read in a book that the director was a woman.  This is not correct.  The director in question, Meir Zarachi (I Think)was married to his leading lady, Camille Keaton.  Camille was born in 1947 and had her first roles in some Italian films, and then she ended up being a centrefold for a girly magazine.  After "Day of the Woman" which incidentally had a sequel to it entitled "Savage Vengeance" in which she reprised her role as victim Jennifer Hills.  She married a couple of times, even being at one point, stepmother to Lorna Luft, daughter of Judy Garland.

Manchester Pt 2

Continuing my theme on Manchester, do you remember when David Cameron, before he became Prime Minister, had a walkabout areas of Manchester, and a press photographer caught a hoodie making gun gestures at his back?  Wow, the bleeding hearts & do-gooders must have had a field day with that, spouting all kinds of bollocks, simply to excuse his actions. Two words that really get my back up are "Disenfranchised" & "Marginalised."  Let us strip away the bullshit and take a cold hard look at him.  Did  he look like the person some employer would rush out to hire?  Pause for laughter.  From the apologists you would get, "What prospects does he have?"  Certainly none.  And that is of his own making.  During my spells of unemployment, I was out every day looking for work.  No problem to it, you just get your fucking bone idle arse out of bed and out the front door.

    Diversifying slightly, a couple of years ago, there was a problem of fire crews coming under attack from gangs of yobs.  On the Jeremy Vine show on Radio 2, there was a Fire Chief and an apologist debating it.  The apologist was spouting the usual crap "We must try and discover why these disenfranchised and marginalised youths are behaving like this?"  He did not have the courage to stand up and say that it was mindless hooliganism solely for the sake of it.  Obviously he was too afraid of upsetting people with the truth.  The Fire Chief, you could tell what he really wanted to say, but if he spoke the truth, then all the apologists would have been screaming at the Fire Brigade bosses to sack him for being honest, and no doubt, they would have.  You must not hurt the feelings of the "marginalised."

Manchester

Today, let us have a wander back a few years to what happened in Manchester and the activities of one "hero", namely Ken Keating.  This self-proclaimed "vigilante" used the episode of a son of a leading politician being arrested for conspiring to supply drugs.  This was the son of Jack Straw.  Naturally, he walked with a caution, but Keating cynically used this a basis for nothing else than out and out intimidation.  Patrolling the streets in a van with all this about Straw on the side and he was the self-styled protector of the community from "grasses."
    
    So everything he was doing, he would always hark back to Straw as an excuse.  When you strip away all the bullshit and bollocks, what was Keating doing?  Simple.  he was being the eyes and ears for all the lowlife scumbags, pushers, gangsters, killers, et al.  Obviously, Keating thought the world of them than any honest hard working people who do anything they can for their families and communities.  In short, he is an apologist for criminals.  What would this "hero" have done after going to somebody`s door and trying to intimidate them, only to sent away with a warning?  After all, there are people everywhere that you can simply not push about.  No doubt this "hero" would have returned team-handed or all of a sudden, these honest people would have received threatening phone calls, letters, windows put through or cars vandalised, or assaulted by gangs of yobs.   And if all this failed, his last resort would have been to inform all the area scumbags about them.  Hold on! What do we call this?  Oh yes, that is correct, we call it GRASSING!!!!!!

    I have no doubt that this slug had protection from the area scum, as somebody operating like that would have had some retaliation.  You cannot go about like that without the backing of some dangerous elements to go out and maim and even kill, simply for standing up to a bullying apologist for criminals.

Tuesday 8 January 2013

Biker Wars

A new warning has been issued by European Law Agency, Europol, about a possible wave of violence by biker gangs from the USA, Canada & Australia.  The news in the paper was nothing new, if you keep up with what is going on.  The Hells Angels have warred with just about everybody.  In the States, they had conflicts with the Outlaws, Bandidos, Mongols, Pagans, etc. The Outlaws have warred with the Warlocks.  In Canada, Angels had bloody fights with the Rock Machine, Outlaws & Bandidos.

    Over on the continent, Angels fought with the Bandidos, using rockets and machine guns, this being in France.  However, it was in Scandinavia that a huge war that rivalled the Canadian one, occurred.  This was between the Angels and the Bandidos, resulting in deaths, maimings,    explosions.  Finally, a truce was called and a meeting was held by Angels European President Blondie Neilsen & Bandidos European president Jim Tinndahl.

    In Australia, the biggest club is the home grown club The Rebels.  The Angels, Outlaws, Bandidos, Gypsy Jokers, have a number of chapters there.  The other club mentioned in the news is The Commancheros.  The report said that all members must ride Harley Davidsons.  Well, slap my forehead in surprise.  Here I am thinking that all back patch clubs ride Harleys, even those who say they are not involved in crime.  I used to deliver to a guy who was in a back patch club, and all his club had Harleys, and he said that they spent a lot of their time on runs.  He thought the TV show "Sons of Anarchy" a bit over the top.   "Life is a bit boring for us" he commented in comparison to the show.
    
    Way back in the 60`s & 70`s a lot of British Bikers in Outlaw clubs rode many home grown machines, Triumphs, BSA`s, Nortons.  Do any of you out there remember the big posters you could get of dirty, hairy guys on Bonnevilles, Commandos, Lightnings etc?  Some wearing German helmets.  I still have a poster of a skeleton on a customised BSA Rocket 3.  I have had it for about 36 years.  Aah nostalgia.

Drugs Legalisation

Recently, some local MPs called for the legalisation of drugs, proclaiming that prohibition does not work.  i can imagine this exchange NOT taking place in schools with these fucknuts in attendance.  

   "Now children, when you reach the age of 18, you can legally go to a government approved pusher and purchase any drug you desire."

    "Mr MP, how do I get the money for my drugs?"

    "Simple enough children, you steal it from your parents, or you commit burglaries, car thefts, muggings.  As long as you can get money for the approved pusher, and therefore for the Exchequer, why should we care."

    But Mr MP, are you just changing the face of the pusher?"

   "Yes, we are.  However, we are firmly in control.  The underworld are losing out."

    "Why are you doing this?  Has it not sparked a surge in crime?  Are you saying that drug addiction is okay?  What about the damage caused to families and the destruction of communities that we have seen?   Does none of this matter?  Are you only interested in getting money?"

    "Young man, look at what happened in the United States with prohibition.  This was a huge failure that spawned the Mafia."

    "Mr MP, why don`t you take off the rose tinted glasses.  Have you not taken into account the astronomical amounts of money paid out in bribes to Police, politicians, judges, local judicial people, etc.  If they had not been so corrupt, and they carried the duties of the law,then just how successful would they have been?"

    "Young man, you are too young to understand."

     Absolutely.  Absolutely!!!!