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00:00Rising from influences of the American Mafia,
00:03the United Kingdom spawned its own hard men,
00:06still to this day regarded as good-natured villains.
00:09The swinging 60s in Britain was darkened by death and extortion,
00:13from the Kray Twins to the Great Train Riders.
00:16But do these old dogs learn new tricks
00:18as the wave once again rises in a new style
00:21of organized crime in Britain?
00:30One of the remarkable things about organized crime
00:55and the way it operates is how closely it mirrors
00:57a corporate world.
00:59It seems only a thin line separates legitimate business
01:02and the business of the underworld.
01:05After watching its enterprises prosper for 30 years,
01:08the mob in America by the early 1960s
01:10had to face a problem that confronts
01:12many legitimate businesses, the pressing need
01:15to expand their markets to ensure economic survival.
01:19In fact, it could be said the Mafia was one of the first
01:22American enterprises to go global,
01:24a trend that has brought together criminal groups
01:26from all corners of the earth.
01:29As the 1950s came to a close, the Mafia began for the first time
01:34to really feel the heat of law enforcement.
01:37The code of silence began to crack, and increasingly,
01:40American lawmakers and the American public began to peel away
01:43the mask that had long hidden a mob from scrutiny.
01:47With the election of John F. Kennedy as president,
01:49and his brother Robert as attorney general,
01:52the winds of change were blowing through America.
01:57Under increasing public scrutiny and increasing economic pressure
02:00to find new customers for criminal activities,
02:03the hunt was on to find new territories.
02:06This uncertainty at home, coupled with the loss of lucrative crime markets
02:10in nearby Cuba after the leftist revolution led by Fidel Castro,
02:14forced some Mafia bosses to think beyond the boundaries of America.
02:20They turned their gaze across the Atlantic to the green fields of England,
02:24a country that seemed naive by American standards and ripe for the picking.
02:30Meyer Lansky, the Mafia's financial brain trust,
02:33was a man heading the mob's push to set up business offshore.
02:37One of Lansky's most trusted deputies, Dino Cellini,
02:40who'd been banned from the Bahamas, was sent off to England.
02:45In London, Cellini ran a croupier school,
02:48cashing in on the boom in Britain,
02:50which followed the legalizing of gambling clubs.
02:54At the same time, one-time Hollywood motion picture star,
02:58George Raft, with longtime Mafia connections,
03:01also moved to Britain to run the Colony Club,
03:04and act as an ambassador at large for the Mafia.
03:07The Americans had much to offer their English-speaking cousins across the Atlantic,
03:12especially when it came to the fine points of exploiting gambling,
03:15which had just been made legal in Britain.
03:17But the British authorities had other ideas
03:20and most surely did not put out the welcome mat.
03:23After an initial slowness to act,
03:25authorities suddenly moved in the mid-1960s
03:27to deport both Dino Cellini and George Raft.
03:31The stately Dorchester Hotel in central London
03:34was a setting for an international crime convention in 1966.
03:39It was a meeting of the kings of crime,
03:41called to carve up the spoils in Europe and Britain.
03:46But the meeting had a downside, too,
03:48eventually leading to the deportation of Mafia members
03:51who'd been operating unhindered in Britain for some years.
03:54The Dorchester Hotel meeting brought together representatives
04:06of the Mafia in the United States, the French Mafia,
04:09the heads of British crime firms,
04:11and representatives of the Bali Corporation,
04:13which operated poker machines in both America and Britain.
04:16in Britain.
04:27Gentlemen.
04:37Firstly, I'd like to say a fine welcome to our colleagues
04:39from France and Germany,
04:43members of our local firm in the Cray Lads,
04:46and a very special welcome to our friends
04:48from across the Atlantic, the Cosa Nostra.
04:52Now, gentlemen, we all know why we're here.
04:57So as to prevent any squabblings and bad feelings,
04:59we've all come around the table, the civilized gentlemen,
05:02to see who gets what.
05:04And believe me, there is plenty to go around.
05:07The task was to work out how best each could exploit gambling,
05:16which had recently become legit in Britain,
05:19and how organized crime could gain control
05:21of gambling in Spain.
05:23What the crime bosses didn't know
05:25was that there was a spy in their midst.
05:27American lawyer Herbert Eitken had infiltrated the mob
05:30several years earlier, and Routini reported back to the FBI.
05:38The intelligence gathered by Herbert Eitken
05:40at the Dorchester Hotel Convention of Crime
05:42led to pressure on the British government
05:44to deport mafia figure Dino Cellini
05:47and American actor George Raft.
05:50Their forced departure left British authorities
05:52convinced the American menace had been driven off.
05:55The mafia had not gained a foothold on British soil.
05:59Organized crime, however, was not dead.
06:02Britain's homegrown gang simply stepped
06:04into the mafia's shoes, claiming the fields of crime
06:07and corruption all to themselves.
06:11By the early 1960s, Great Britain was awakening
06:14from the conservatism that had followed World War II.
06:18These were the swinging 60s, a time of sex, drugs, rock and roll.
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06:42sort of stand for number two hours
06:43in theiving of the British Elder World
06:45and the public alike called the Terrible Twins,
06:48Ronald and Reginald Cray.
06:50The Crays control half of the crime
06:52in London, but the Richardson Gang mastered the rest.
06:55Ronnie and Reggie Cray were truly typical of criminals
06:58who grew up in post-war London.
07:00Tough, self-assured, resourceful, sometimes dangerous,
07:03and always able to exploit human weakness.
07:07Back then, Larry Pope was a raw recruit
07:09who'd just joined the police force.
07:12Now retired, he recalls how much of an impact
07:14the craze had on London and police officers like himself.
07:19The United Kingdom organized crime back in the 70s was.
07:23The face of it was the Cray Twins type of crime.
07:29When it wasn't the violence amongst themselves,
07:32one of the most violent crimes we had in the 60s and 70s
07:35was bank robberies.
07:37There were other gangs around at the time.
07:40The names that come up are the Richesons,
07:42pretty well known and recorded.
07:44There was other ones, the Tips Brothers, I seem to recall,
07:47with a scrap metal yard.
07:49There were various ones on the, on the ascent.
07:54And then things would happen and they would either be neutralized
07:59by a police effort or, or, or neutralized
08:01by some other internal problem.
08:05Professor of sociology at Durham University in England,
08:08Dick Hobbs, who's made a detailed study of British villains,
08:12says the Cray Twins were heavily influenced by movies
08:14of American gangsters of the 1930s.
08:18In many ways, what has to be remembered about the Cray Twins
08:20is that they operated in the shadow of the Mafia.
08:22They liked the Mafia.
08:23They dressed like Chicago gangsters.
08:26Sometimes they talked like Chicago gangsters.
08:29They drove American cars.
08:31They, the, the, the American gangster model was been,
08:35was a, was a, was an ideal type for people like the Cray Twins
08:38to actually copy.
08:40And in many ways, if you look at them now,
08:41it makes them look absolutely ridiculous.
08:44So I think the, the, the influence of, of the American Mafia
08:48on the British crime scene is, is, is mainly in terms of imagery
08:52rather than, rather than structure.
08:56Dick Hobbs, who is the author of a book called Bad Business,
08:59which examines English criminals and their money-making rackets,
09:03believes the American Mafia never intended to directly control
09:06organized crime in the United Kingdom.
09:09The American Mafia, American organized crime,
09:11has always had a presence in Britain.
09:13Certainly in 1960s, it had a presence in Europe, in London,
09:17rather, as regards to gambling.
09:20And they were welcomed by the, they were welcomed by the,
09:24by the local villains because they brought with them
09:25a great deal of clout, they brought with them money,
09:28and also they brought with them a glamour
09:29that British organized crime has never had.
09:32So, for instance, in the Colony Club in, in, in London's,
09:35in London's West End, you, you, you, you had a situation there
09:39where George Raft, the American film star, who was closely connected
09:43to the, to the American mob, was almost resident there.
09:46Um, a lot of money, a lot of mafia money passed through the Colony Club.
09:51Um, and I think that really, that was, that was a, uh, an introduction
09:55to the way in which, um, global organized crime was going to go in the future,
10:02in that you could have a presence, you could have a commercial presence,
10:05and you would have, uh, formal, but mainly informal, collaborations
10:09would be set up with local villains.
10:13Even if the mafia had wanted full control of Britain's underworld,
10:16it was unlikely they would have achieved that goal,
10:18according to investigative journalist and author on organized crime, Bob Bottom.
10:24It really epitomizes a, a sort of, um, a syndrome that's peculiar to the UK,
10:31and that is that the UK, uh, as an old imperial power,
10:36may have sent people all over the, the world, but, uh, they don't take too kindly,
10:41whether it's the triads, American mafia, or, uh, you know, Australian,
10:46or, what am I called, down under, you know, uh, gangsters, uh, coming in,
10:51and, uh, that protects the patch of the organized type group.
11:01To understand the workings of British organized crime,
11:15we have to go back to the docklands of London before World War II,
11:19when a man with the unlikely name of Billy Hill was the name in organized crime.
11:24Billy Hill was probably the best organized criminal Britain has ever had,
11:27maintaining a firm grip on illegal gambling dens and nightclubs in London
11:31by out-thinking would-be rivals,
11:34and, when necessary, using his not inconsiderable body bulk to instill fear.
11:40Hill, who died a millionaire at the age of 73,
11:43was a role model for a whole generation of villains,
11:46including Ronnie and Reggie Cray.
11:50Years later, in a book titled Villains We Have Known,
11:53Reggie Cray wrote that when he was 20,
11:55the man he most wanted to emulate was a former gang boss of London's underworld,
11:59Billy Hill.
12:01Billy Hill was probably as near as we've got him, Britain,
12:03to a godfather of the British crime.
12:06This guy was very, very clever,
12:08uh, involved in burglary, involved in receiving,
12:12uh, involved in illegal drinking clubs,
12:15and, and he also involved in gambling.
12:17And he taught the business of gambling to the Cray Twins.
12:20And this coincided in the early 1960s with the Gambling Act,
12:23which made gambling legal.
12:25So suddenly, these guys with a knowledge of gambling
12:28were able to go legitimate or semi-legitimate.
12:32And the Cray Twins very, very quickly built up this reputation for themselves
12:35of running gambling clubs.
12:37Uh, but they could never let go.
12:39They could never let go of the illegal life.
12:41The illegal life, the life of the villain,
12:43is very attractive to the young men,
12:45and certainly to the Crays,
12:46um, it was far too attractive to go legitimate.
12:50In the 1960s,
12:52the influence of the Cray Twins spread rapidly.
12:55Ronnie Cray was the public front man,
12:57often photographed in nightclubs with entertainers
12:59and leggy showgirls.
13:02But it was all just show.
13:04Ronnie Cray was homosexual.
13:06Ronnie and Reggie Cray had an almost obsessive affection
13:14for their mother, Violet,
13:15a cheerful and strong-minded woman
13:17who largely brought the boys up on her own
13:19with the help from her eldest son, Charlie.
13:22Apart from their mother,
13:24the twins had another passion,
13:25boxing,
13:26something they shared with big brother Charlie.
13:32The twins showed real promise,
13:33and at 17 looked set for careers
13:36as professional fighters.
13:39But they were called up for military service,
13:42and the army refused to let the twins work
13:44as physical fitness instructors.
13:48The pair spent most of the next two years
13:51either in the brig or on the run.
13:53They were now heading towards a life of crime.
13:55Discharged from the army,
14:03the Crays took over a snooker club
14:05that was not only in financial trouble,
14:07but had patrons who did nothing but brawl.
14:17Within months,
14:18the Crays turned it around,
14:20and the rise up the ladder of London's underworld
14:22had begun.
14:23By 1959,
14:27Ronnie Cray's behavior
14:28became more and more bizarre.
14:31He was suffering from paranoid schizophrenia,
14:33something that added
14:34to the Crays' reputation for violence.
14:38Ronnie was put on medication,
14:40which he took all the rest of his life.
14:42Despite his mental illness,
14:44the Cray firm continued to prosper.
14:46They took over nightclubs
14:47and gambling lounges,
14:49largely thanks to the more serious
14:51and sane efforts of Reggie Cray.
14:53In 1963,
14:55the Cray twins,
14:56along with the rest of the nightclub set,
14:58watched the Profumo affair unfold.
15:04John Profumo,
15:05the senior minister
15:06in the Macmillan government,
15:08was exposed for his dalliance
15:09with call girls,
15:10Christine Keeler,
15:11of Blunette Beauty,
15:12and Mandy Rice Davis,
15:13and Blonde Bombshell.
15:14The girls, in turn,
15:17had links to a Soviet diplomat
15:18operating in Britain.
15:21The Profumo scandal
15:22had hardly subsided
15:23when Britain was rocked again,
15:25this time by an audacious
15:26military-style robbery
15:27of a train
15:28carrying millions of pounds' worth
15:30of old notes
15:30which were destined for destruction.
15:34The Cray twins had originally
15:36been offered a part in the robbery,
15:38but for reasons unknown,
15:39declined.
15:39On August 8th, 1963,
15:44in the dead of night,
15:45a dozen villains
15:46held up the London
15:47to Glasgow mail trail
15:48and in just half an hour
15:50unloaded two and a half tons
15:52of used banknotes
15:53worth at least
15:5460 million American dollars
15:55in today's money.
15:57For the Cray's,
15:58it was fortunate
15:58they stayed out of the heist.
16:00Most of the villains
16:01were quickly rounded up
16:02and sent to jail
16:03for 30 years or more.
16:05Today, the gang nicknamed
16:07the Great Train Lovers
16:08are all either still in jail
16:09for other crimes or dead.
16:11All that is except one,
16:13Ronald Biggs,
16:14who still lives in Brazil
16:15after fleeing there
16:16nearly 30 years ago
16:18following a prison breakout.
16:21For the Cray twins,
16:22the next big deal
16:22was involvement
16:23in a dubious housing project
16:25in Nigeria.
16:26That brought Ronnie Cray
16:28into contact
16:28with bisexual labor politician
16:30Lord Boothby.
16:32Ronnie wanted Boothby
16:33to help finance
16:34the unstable Nigerian project.
16:37One of Britain's tabloids
16:39got hold of pictures
16:40of the pair
16:40at a business meeting
16:41and ran the whole story
16:43under the banner
16:43The Pier and The Gangster.
16:47Lord Boothby sued
16:48and got 40,000 pounds damages.
16:51The publicity helped
16:51propel the Cray twins,
16:53especially Ronnie,
16:54to public notoriety.
16:58Despite widespread reportage
17:00of his homosexuality,
17:01Ronnie Cray was nevertheless
17:03touchy about his sexual tendencies.
17:05Bill and George Cornell,
17:09a large bull-neck man
17:10who some described
17:11as a sick, sadistic bastard,
17:13enjoyed taunting Ronnie Cray
17:15about being gay.
17:17The Crays had another reason
17:18to dislike Cornell.
17:20They believed he was responsible
17:22for the earlier shooting death
17:23of their cousin,
17:24Dickie Hart.
17:25And the Cray twins
17:26gradually built up
17:28a certain animosity
17:29to a rival gang
17:30on the south side
17:31of the Thames
17:32called the Richardson Rates.
17:35It was heading for a war,
17:37for an all-out war
17:38between these two groups
17:40and an old enemy
17:43of the Cray twins
17:43called George Cornell
17:44who had allied himself
17:47to the Richardsons
17:49was drinking in a pub
17:51in the East End
17:52called the Blind Beggar.
17:56Reputedly,
17:57George Cornell had said
17:58something to the words of
18:02that Ronnie Cray
18:04was a fat poof.
18:07Ronnie Cray
18:08got a gun,
18:10took his driver
18:12to the Blind Beggar pub.
18:14Oh, hello, Ronnie.
18:22He walked out
18:23to George Cornell.
18:25Cornell turned around
18:25and muttered something
18:28to him.
18:30You cuffed her, Ronnie.
18:37You've had enough of him.
18:40Ronnie Cray
18:41shot him in the head.
18:44And some time later,
18:49he died in hospital.
18:52Police wasted no time
18:54arresting Ronnie and Reggie Cray
18:55over the Cornell killing.
18:57But by now,
19:14the Cray's reputation
19:15both as ruthless men
19:16and celebrities
19:17preceded them.
19:19Witnesses to the slaying
19:20in the Blind Beggar Hotel
19:21either couldn't
19:22or wouldn't identify
19:23the Crays in a lineup.
19:25Authorities are left
19:26with no choice
19:27but to drop the case.
19:29The decision
19:30not to prosecute
19:31seemed to spur
19:31the Cray's on
19:32to new excesses.
19:34I think what's happened
19:35with the Cray twins
19:36in East London
19:37is they've become
19:37quite iconic
19:38films.
19:39I think at last count
19:41there were something
19:41like 15 books
19:42written about
19:43the Cray twins.
19:45There's a film,
19:46a feature film
19:46that's been made
19:47about the Cray's
19:49featuring the Kemp brothers,
19:50a couple of pop stars.
19:51There are endless
19:53TV programs
19:54about the Cray's
19:55and they've become
19:56cult heroes.
19:58They've become
19:58cult heroes
19:58because they seem
19:59to represent some people
20:00a kind of golden age
20:02of East London,
20:03a golden age
20:04of working class society
20:05where villains
20:05were villains,
20:06men were men,
20:07women knew their place
20:08and disputes
20:11were worked out
20:11as men should
20:12work them out.
20:13This actually
20:14isn't true.
20:15I mean,
20:15the reason that
20:15the 60s were good
20:16for East London
20:17was there was
20:18full employment
20:18and not because
20:20the Cray twins
20:20were walking
20:21the streets
20:21carrying Lugers.
20:23In mid-1967,
20:25Reggie Cray's
20:25estranged wife,
20:26Frances,
20:27killed herself
20:27by overdosing
20:28on pills.
20:30Her death
20:30had a profound
20:31effect on Reggie,
20:32plunging the normally
20:33sensible and placid
20:34Reg into a deep
20:35depression.
20:37That depression
20:38ultimately led
20:39to the self-destruction
20:40of the Cray twins'
20:41crime empire.
20:44Reggie Cray
20:45started drinking heavily
20:46and became morose,
20:47plotting the death
20:48of fellow villain
20:49Jack the Hat McVitie,
20:51was not much more
20:52than a hanger-on
20:53in the Cray gang.
20:55Jack the Hat,
20:56who never took
20:57his hat off
20:57because it hit
20:58a ball patch,
20:59irritated Reggie
21:00because he was
21:01a loudmouth,
21:02a drunk,
21:02a drug taker,
21:03and a woman basher.
21:05In the autumn
21:06of 1967,
21:07Jack the Hat
21:08was invited
21:08to a party
21:09in Stoke Newington.
21:10It was to be
21:11his last.
21:13Waiting for Reggie
21:14Cray,
21:15plunged a knife
21:16deep into the
21:17unsuspecting
21:18Jack McVitie.
21:21The murder
21:22of Jack the Hat
21:22was the last straw
21:23for the British
21:24establishment,
21:25which until now
21:25had put up
21:26with the Cray
21:26brothers' antics.
21:29In the spring
21:29of 1968,
21:30police swooped
21:31and arrested
21:31both Ronnie
21:32and Reggie Cray
21:33for the murders
21:34of Jack McVitie
21:35and George Cornell.
21:37Once it was obvious
21:38that Crays
21:39were in real trouble
21:40with the law
21:40this time,
21:41many of their
21:42criminal cohorts
21:43gave evidence
21:43against them.
21:45If you look
21:45at the organisation
21:46of the Cray twins
21:47that the Cray twins
21:49had back in the 60s
21:50for instance,
21:51you had the twins
21:53at the top,
21:54then there were
21:55two or three
21:55lieutenants
21:56under them
21:57and then after that
21:58it was a completely
21:59disorganised,
22:00mutating group
22:01mainly of hangers-on.
22:03If you look
22:04at the way
22:04that the Crays
22:05were wiped out
22:05or dealt with
22:06by the authorities,
22:09by the police,
22:10that's quite interesting
22:11is that once
22:12they got one
22:12or two informants
22:13within the so-called
22:15structure
22:15of the Cray twins
22:16enterprise,
22:17then the whole structure
22:19collapsed.
22:20It went very,
22:20very quickly.
22:24Ronnie and Reggie Cray
22:26were sentenced
22:26to life imprisonment
22:27with a minimum
22:28of 30 years
22:29to serve.
22:30The twins
22:31were 35 years old
22:32and had no prospect
22:33of being free again
22:34until the turn
22:35of the century.
22:36Walk into the
22:41Blind Beggar pub today
22:42and you'll not only
22:43find the decor
22:44unchanged from the 60s
22:45but also the attitudes
22:47to these local folk heroes
22:48called the Cray twins.
22:50If you're lucky,
22:51you may get
22:52the Ronnie Cray George
22:53Cornell shooting
22:54fully described
22:55or you may get silence.
22:58We found the Blind Beggar
22:59regulars willing
23:00to describe just a little
23:01of that fateful day.
23:03People still do come in.
23:04Just to take pictures
23:07and ask the same
23:08questions you're asking.
23:10Where was
23:10Georgie Cornell shot?
23:13And they still get
23:14the same answer.
23:15He was shot in the air.
23:17But most of us
23:17don't talk about it
23:18because it's a long
23:19time ago
23:19and it was just
23:21one incident.
23:22That's all.
23:23Too much to be made of it.
23:24I didn't know him
23:25personally
23:26but I've been told
23:28that they really
23:30did help out
23:31the elderly people
23:32in East End.
23:33They looked
23:35after him
23:36financially
23:36made sure
23:39that nobody
23:41was bothering them.
23:43I know
23:44they were known
23:45as villains
23:45which they probably
23:46were
23:47but
23:47they looked
23:49after
23:49their own people
23:50and that's what
23:52counts
23:52looking after
23:53your own.
23:54a lot of people
24:02say
24:02it's a pity
24:05that
24:07the Krays
24:09weren't around
24:11now
24:11that they would
24:14certainly stop
24:14a lot of the
24:15violence
24:17that's going on
24:19around here.
24:19I accept the
24:22observation
24:23it was made
24:24and it was made
24:24to me as a police
24:25officer
24:25that the Krays
24:27were good
24:28to their own
24:28community.
24:29People felt
24:30that
24:31whilst the Krays
24:34were running
24:35the show
24:36if you like
24:36in the East End
24:37then others
24:38weren't
24:39and because the Krays
24:41were recognised
24:41as being
24:42in the top echelon
24:44of criminality
24:45then they
24:46wouldn't allow
24:47other persons
24:48to steal
24:49from or
24:50damage or
24:51injure
24:51persons who
24:52lived in
24:52that same
24:52area.
24:54I think
24:54there was
24:54more myth
24:55than reality.
24:56We did
24:56have a lot
24:57of assaults
24:57and ordinary
24:58crime
24:59just not
24:59the same
25:00degree as
25:00we have
25:00today.
25:02It was a
25:02myth
25:02it was a
25:03Robin Hood
25:04myth
25:04or any
25:05other
25:06Dick
25:06Turpin
25:07type thing
25:07as a
25:08police
25:08officer
25:08of course
25:10Robin Hood
25:11Dick
25:11Turpin
25:11and even
25:12the like
25:12they're just
25:13downright
25:14crooks.
25:15I have
25:16no fondness
25:17for them
25:18at all.
25:20In March
25:201995
25:21Ronnie Cray
25:22died of a
25:23heart attack
25:23in Broadmoor
25:24prison
25:24at the age
25:25of 61.
25:27His funeral
25:28turned into
25:29one of the
25:29biggest public
25:30events East
25:30End London
25:31had ever seen.
25:33Thousands
25:34upon thousands
25:34of ordinary
25:35people lined
25:36the streets
25:36to say
25:37farewell to
25:37Ronnie.
25:38When he
25:39was younger
25:40Ronnie told
25:40his twin
25:41brother
25:41when he
25:42died
25:42he wanted
25:42his coffin
25:43drawn by
25:43six black
25:44horses.
25:45Reg Cray
25:46made sure
25:47his brother's
25:48wish came
25:48true.
25:50Ronnie Cray
25:51left this world
25:52a working
25:53class hero.
25:56His brother
25:57laid to rest.
25:58Reggie Cray
25:59was returned
25:59to Maidstone Prison
26:00to see out
26:01the last years
26:01of his 30-year
26:02sentence.
26:06While the
26:07Crays were
26:07on the inside
26:08on the outside
26:09the whole world
26:10had changed
26:10forever.
26:12Very little
26:12remained of what
26:13was London
26:13in the swinging
26:1460s
26:15when Reggie
26:15and Ronnie
26:16Cray
26:16were the
26:16Mr. Biggs
26:17of the underworld.
26:19Even the
26:20dark line
26:20in the heart
26:21of the Cray's
26:21working class
26:22territory
26:23is different.
26:24Smart townhouses
26:25now stand
26:25where run-down
26:26warehouses
26:27once stood.
26:28The personal
26:29computer
26:30that replaced
26:30a shotgun
26:31as a weapon
26:32of choice
26:32for villains
26:33in today's
26:33Britain.
26:35Even
26:35climate
26:35itself
26:36has changed.
26:37It has become
26:37a mega business.
26:39Drugs
26:39are the holy
26:40grave.
26:40The real
26:42difference
26:43between them
26:44and their
26:44is the
26:45marketplace.
26:45The amount
26:46of money
26:46that is to
26:47be made
26:47from crime
26:48now is
26:48absolutely
26:49enormous.
26:50If you look
26:50at the
26:50Cray twins
26:51for instance
26:51in the 1960s
26:53although they
26:55were regarded
26:55as the kings
26:56of the London
26:58underworld,
26:59if you look
26:59at the amount
27:00of money
27:00they actually
27:00made from
27:01it,
27:01it wasn't
27:02very much
27:02at all.
27:03If you look
27:03at the amount
27:04of money
27:04which is
27:05available now
27:05in the criminal
27:06marketplace,
27:07it is fantastic
27:08and that's
27:09mainly due
27:09to the
27:10drugs trade.
27:11From the
27:11mid-1970s
27:13onwards the
27:13drugs trade
27:13expanded at
27:14such a rate
27:15and the
27:15demand for
27:16recreational
27:16drugs expanded
27:18at such a
27:18rate that
27:19there is far
27:20more money
27:20involved.
27:21Now I think
27:21you can compare
27:22it to the
27:22computing industry.
27:23If you go
27:24back to the
27:24early 1970s,
27:26the computing
27:26industry in
27:27Britain was
27:27very, very
27:28small and
27:28there wasn't
27:29that much
27:29money in it.
27:31Now it's
27:31absolutely
27:32enormous.
27:32We've all
27:33got computers
27:33on our
27:33desks,
27:34we've all
27:34got computers
27:34in our
27:35homes.
27:36Similarly
27:36with drugs,
27:37drugs are
27:37everywhere now.
27:39Drugs are
27:39consumed by a
27:40considerable
27:41proportion for
27:42the British
27:42population and
27:44the marketplace
27:45to provide
27:46those drugs is
27:47absolutely huge.
27:48I think drugs
27:48is very big.
27:50Law enforcement
27:51in Britain
27:52couldn't agree
27:52more.
27:54The drug
27:54trade is a
27:54vast moneymaker
27:55and a major
27:56problem.
27:58The director of
27:59Britain's National
28:00Crime Intelligence
28:00Service,
28:01Vincent Harvey.
28:03He's been saying
28:03heroin has become
28:04a much more
28:05fashionable,
28:06a much more
28:06acceptable,
28:07drug over the
28:07last few years.
28:08Cocaine is also
28:09a steady drug.
28:11We have a lot
28:12of that coming
28:12over.
28:13Crack came
28:14over something
28:14like, I would
28:16guess, ten years
28:16ago.
28:17We didn't have
28:18the crack
28:18explosion that
28:19was forecast,
28:20but it has
28:20slowly and
28:21insidiously spread
28:22throughout the
28:23whole of the
28:24United Kingdom.
28:25We can find
28:26pockets of
28:26people taking
28:27crack all the
28:27time.
28:28Of course,
28:29what these
28:29people generally
28:30do is mix
28:31their drugs.
28:32The incredible
28:33high they get
28:34from something
28:34like crack,
28:35a lot of
28:36people will
28:36then take
28:36some heroin
28:37after that
28:37in order to
28:38prolong it.
28:38It gives you
28:39a longer
28:39lasting blast
28:41and escape
28:42from reality.
28:44So we're
28:44quite heavily
28:45users of all
28:46those powder
28:46drugs.
28:47Very worrying
28:48for us in the
28:49UK, of course,
28:50is that we're
28:50probably the
28:51world's largest
28:52market for
28:52synthetic drugs,
28:54the amphetamines
28:54and ecstasy,
28:56LSD,
28:57well, there's a
28:58whole raft of
28:58these, I won't
28:59go through all the
28:59titles, but yes,
29:01for the synthetic
29:02manufactured drugs,
29:03for a very large
29:03market, structured
29:05a lot around
29:06some of the
29:06club and dance
29:07culture for
29:08things like
29:08ecstasy, but
29:09also amphetamines
29:10and the others
29:11have become
29:11very popular.
29:12Drugs trade in
29:13Britain does
29:14reign supreme
29:15in terms of
29:16organised crime.
29:18It is different
29:19from the US
29:20in the drugs
29:21which are used.
29:23For instance,
29:24in this country,
29:25in Britain,
29:26throughout the
29:261990s, ecstasy
29:28has been a
29:30very, very
29:30important drug
29:31as part of
29:33youth culture
29:33and therefore
29:34as part of
29:35the organised
29:37criminal culture
29:39and the organised
29:40criminal business.
29:41If you look at
29:42the US,
29:42it's nowhere near
29:44as central to
29:45youth culture
29:45or to the
29:46business.
29:47So each
29:48marketplace,
29:51each criminal
29:51marketplace,
29:52does generate
29:53its own kinds
29:54of practices
29:55and it is
29:56different,
29:57not only in
29:58different countries
29:58but in different
29:59parts of the
29:59country.
29:59There are
30:00parts of
30:00Britain,
30:01for instance,
30:01that does
30:02not have a
30:02cocaine culture
30:03where cocaine
30:04isn't popular.
30:05There are
30:06other parts of
30:06Britain where
30:07cocaine is
30:08very popular.
30:09And again,
30:09it's to do
30:10with the
30:10marketplace.
30:11If you look
30:11at the price
30:12of cocaine,
30:13it's the same
30:14price now as it
30:15was 10 years
30:16ago.
30:17In fact,
30:17it's marginally
30:17cheaper.
30:18It was £50
30:1910 years ago,
30:20£50 a gram
30:2110 years ago.
30:21It's now down
30:22to about £40
30:23a gram.
30:24Well,
30:24that's not
30:24expensive.
30:2510 years ago,
30:26it was regarded
30:27as quite expensive.
30:28So you've got
30:28fashion,
30:29you've got prices,
30:31you've got trains
30:32which emerge
30:32in the criminal
30:33marketplace in the
30:34same way that they
30:35do in the legitimate
30:35marketplace.
30:36One of the biggest
30:55single factors
30:55influencing organized
30:57crime in Britain
30:57and the rest of Europe
30:58was the collapse
30:59of communism.
31:01Not only did the
31:01political walls
31:02come tumbling down,
31:04but so too
31:04the economic divide
31:05between East
31:06and West.
31:08With every
31:09symbolic blow
31:10to handle,
31:11Europe began
31:11the process
31:12of unification.
31:13One market,
31:14one currency,
31:15one Europe,
31:16and one large
31:17new target
31:18for organized crime.
31:20The organized
31:20crime market
31:21is like the
31:21legitimate crime
31:22market.
31:23It's gone global
31:24and that's mainly
31:25because of drugs.
31:26So if anyone
31:27wants to be involved
31:28in the drugs trade
31:29in Britain now,
31:30they are going
31:30to have some link
31:31with overseas
31:33crime groups.
31:35That's the way
31:35it is.
31:36And it's certainly
31:37the case that in Britain
31:38we do have
31:39every nationality
31:42has its own
31:44crime group.
31:45Whether you're
31:46talking about
31:46Lebanese,
31:47Russian,
31:47Colombian,
31:48German,
31:50they've all got
31:51their own crime group
31:51and there will be
31:53an influence
31:53upon British society.
31:55However,
31:56it's very important
31:57that we stress
31:58that the majority,
32:00the huge majority
32:01of organized criminals
32:02in Britain
32:03are indigenous,
32:04their own ground.
32:05We haven't got
32:06Russian criminals
32:07on the streets.
32:08There are no burglars
32:09called Boris,
32:10for instance.
32:11We have,
32:11you know,
32:12we've got our own
32:13burglars,
32:13we've got our own
32:14drug dealers.
32:15But certainly,
32:16I think what we have
32:16seen is the influence
32:18of foreign
32:20organized crime
32:22money on the streets.
32:25Countries like
32:26Holland,
32:27Belgium,
32:27Germany,
32:28and France
32:28have all had to adapt
32:29to the new Europe.
32:31That means even
32:31illegitimate business
32:33or organized crime
32:34has faced increased
32:35competition
32:36from what used to be
32:37Eastern Bloc Europe.
32:40Britain's National
32:41Criminal Intelligence
32:42Service believes
32:43that crime
32:44in the United Kingdom
32:45has changed so much
32:46in recent years
32:47that what they're
32:48dealing with now
32:49is essentially
32:50Eurocrime.
32:51Predominantly,
32:52as I say,
32:52it is British criminals
32:53who run the organized
32:55crime within the UK.
32:57We have several
32:57other groups.
32:58the largest groups
33:00are those of the
33:01we refer to them
33:02as Turkish groups
33:03but it's all
33:03from that part
33:04of Europe.
33:05They're responsible
33:06pretty much
33:07for the majority
33:07of something like
33:0890% of the
33:09heroin importations.
33:10Of course,
33:10heroin is the
33:11big trade
33:12at the moment
33:13and the big
33:13profit maker.
33:14And we're seeing
33:15increasing signs
33:16of other nationalities
33:17coming over.
33:19And each ethnic group
33:20is bringing
33:20its own crime.
33:21We're seeing that
33:22on illegal immigration,
33:23for example.
33:23Certain groups
33:24are bringing in
33:25people from
33:25their own area
33:27of the world
33:27where they've come from.
33:28Belgium-based criminologist
33:31Cyril Fienat
33:32says there are signs
33:33that crime
33:34has gone global,
33:35especially the Russians.
33:37But he cautions
33:37against exaggeration
33:39of the threat.
33:40Many people
33:41are talking
33:42about the threat
33:43of the Russian mob,
33:44of the Russian
33:45Red Mafia.
33:47And indeed,
33:48also in
33:49Northwestern Europe,
33:50we see clear signs
33:51of that,
33:52particularly in the
33:53forms of killings
33:54and cases
33:55and cases
33:55of extortion
33:56and to some extent
33:57money laundering
33:58operations,
33:59and particularly
34:00in those cities
34:01or those regions
34:02where you have
34:03already traditionally
34:04a more or less
34:05large Russian community.
34:08That makes it,
34:08of course,
34:09quite easy
34:10for Russian mobsters
34:11to hide away
34:12and to build up
34:13a foothold
34:15in foreign countries.
34:17But to say
34:18that the Russian
34:18or the Red Mafia
34:19is really a big threat
34:21for Germany
34:22or for Holland
34:23or Belgium,
34:24that would be
34:24an enormous exaggeration.
34:26If you would take
34:27the last analysis
34:28prepared by the
34:29Belgian police authorities
34:30or the Dutch ones
34:31or the German ones,
34:33and then you would come,
34:34I guess,
34:35to the conclusion
34:35that nearly 5, 6,
34:377 percent
34:37of the cases
34:38they have dealt with
34:39are related
34:40to Russian organized crime.
34:42Professor Dick Hobbs
34:44of Durham University
34:45echoes his sentiments
34:46about overemphasizing
34:47the threat from abroad.
34:49You know,
34:49we need to be very wary
34:50of blaming organized crime
34:53on foreign nationals.
34:54And it is a tendency
34:55you can see
34:56in some parts
34:58of the police force,
34:58of the British police force.
35:00If you blame
35:01foreign nationals
35:02for organized crime,
35:03it creates more of a shock,
35:05it creates more of a panic,
35:07and the chances are
35:08that your budgets
35:10are likely to go up
35:11to deal with
35:11this terrible problem
35:12that's coming from overseas,
35:13as opposed to dealing
35:15with quite mundane,
35:16boring, indigenous criminals
35:17who have been around
35:18for an awful long time.
35:19There's not a really
35:20good story there.
35:21So I think we need
35:22to be wary of saying,
35:23of screaming that the aliens
35:24are coming every few weeks
35:26when actually we've got
35:28a good mixture
35:28of villains in this country.
35:30Some of them
35:30happen to be foreign,
35:31but the large bulk
35:32of them are homegrown.
35:33Across the English Channel,
35:35it seems,
35:35homegrown is also
35:36the catch cry
35:37of organized crime,
35:39as author of numerous books
35:40on the underworld,
35:41Bob Bottom explains.
35:44The French underworld,
35:46not the underground,
35:47but the underworld,
35:48is pretty powerful
35:49in its own right,
35:50and I don't think
35:53that there'll be much room
35:54for any other outsiders
35:55to emerge
35:56to any great extent,
35:57except that where appropriate,
35:59you'll find that French criminals
36:00may link up
36:01with some from Italy
36:02or Belgium,
36:04or in particular,
36:05sometimes with those in Britain,
36:06to pull off something.
36:08It may well be sometimes
36:10more in the realm
36:12of a bank heist
36:14or some commercial fraud,
36:17but generally speaking,
36:19in organized crime terms,
36:20they run their own race
36:21on their own soil.
36:23According to Professor Dick Hobbs,
36:25criminals operating
36:26in a Europe with no borders
36:27simply cannot afford
36:28to remain insecure.
36:31So the borders coming down
36:32have had an influence.
36:33It's easier to get around
36:34in Europe now.
36:35It's easier to get stuff
36:36across boulders.
36:38In terms of policing,
36:39however,
36:40there are real problems there
36:42in that the European Union
36:45is trying to adapt
36:46to the new criminal opportunities
36:50which are coming up,
36:51but you've got so many
36:51different jurisdictions there.
36:53We're a long way
36:54from getting to the point
36:55where police in Europe
36:58can cross boulders
37:00and cross jurisdictions
37:01with the same impunity
37:02that organized criminals
37:03can cross jurisdictions
37:04and cross boulders.
37:05when the barriers came down
37:22between East and Western Europe
37:24and signaled the rise
37:25in the fortunes
37:26of extreme right-wing groups.
37:42Behind the facade of racism, though,
37:45often stood good old-fashioned
37:47criminal thugs
37:48taking advantage of people's fears
37:50and frustrations.
37:54Some social scientists
37:55believe Europe today
37:56has all the makings
37:57for a real problem
37:58in the future
37:59with a growing number
38:00of street gangs.
38:01Professor Emeritus
38:10at the University
38:11of Southern California,
38:12Professor Malcolm Klein,
38:13who has spent a lifetime
38:14studying gangs in America
38:16and elsewhere,
38:17says Europe is something
38:18of a paradox.
38:19We've been looking
38:20at the gang situation
38:21in Europe fairly recently
38:22in the last several years.
38:24I've had a chance
38:25to be over there
38:25and visit some of the cities
38:27and see what's going on.
38:29We talk about
38:30the Eurogang paradox,
38:31which really means
38:32that many European cities,
38:34many European officials,
38:36are denying
38:37that they have street gangs
38:38because they say,
38:40well, they don't look like
38:41the Crips and the Bloods
38:42in Los Angeles,
38:43or they don't look like
38:44the Latin kings
38:45and the gangster disciples
38:46in Chicago.
38:47Therefore,
38:48we don't have gangs.
38:49The fact is,
38:50of course,
38:50in America,
38:51most American gangs
38:51don't look like that either.
38:53So when you look
38:54at the real structures
38:55of American gangs,
38:57these informal structures,
38:58these informal youth gatherings,
39:00if you will,
39:01and then you look
39:01at those groups in Europe
39:03that have been developing
39:04over the last 10 years or so,
39:05you find that Europe
39:06does have street gangs
39:07in some of its cities.
39:09We've identified,
39:10I have to count,
39:11but 12 or 15 cities
39:13that have street gang problems
39:14in Europe now,
39:15some of them surprising.
39:16But on the other hand,
39:17there are many, many,
39:18many cities in Europe,
39:19far more than in the U.S.,
39:21that don't have street gangs.
39:23So it's a fairly new phenomenon.
39:25They're not well organized.
39:27They're not involved
39:27in the drug trade.
39:29They have very few firearms,
39:31and that's a major difference
39:32in America.
39:34We've been talking
39:35with European researchers
39:36and, in fact,
39:37trying to get more of them
39:38involved in looking
39:39at the street gang situation
39:40in order to get a sense
39:42for what the European gang
39:44looks like,
39:45never mind whether or not
39:46it fits the American tradition,
39:49but to take advantage
39:50of American data
39:51to start the north.
39:52There is a growing problem
39:54in Europe,
39:54and if European cities
39:57continue to develop
39:58urban underclass problems
40:01with their refugee
40:01and immigrant groups,
40:03they will continue
40:04to increase their gang problems.
40:06However, European crime expert
40:08Professor Cyril Fimo
40:10feels Europe does not yet
40:11have a problem
40:12of America's magnitude.
40:14We are not confronted
40:15with such gang problems
40:17here in Western Europe,
40:18neither in Amsterdam,
40:20neither in Paris,
40:21nor in Berlin
40:22or in Brussels
40:23or anywhere.
40:25That doesn't mean
40:27that we don't have
40:27gangs here.
40:28Have we seen
40:29the last 10, 15 years,
40:31have we seen,
40:32let's say,
40:32the beginning
40:33of such a development?
40:34And not only
40:35in immigrant communities,
40:37but also in the domestic population.
40:42We see indeed
40:43that in some quarters
40:44of big cities,
40:45we see indeed
40:46that boys,
40:47sometimes girls,
40:48grouped together,
40:49try to build up
40:50something like a gang,
40:52commit crimes
40:53in such a context.
40:56But this large gang problem
40:58linked to organized crime,
41:00to established
41:01organized crime families,
41:03like, for example,
41:04in the Chinese community
41:05in the United States
41:06or in the Vietnamese community,
41:07that is a thing
41:08we don't see here
41:09up to this moment.
41:11European authorities
41:12are taking what may be
41:13a more conservatory attitude
41:14than that shown
41:15by law enforcement
41:16in the United States.
41:19Most European countries
41:20have taken
41:21a different approach
41:21to delinquency
41:23and crime generally
41:23than we have.
41:24They're much less punitive
41:26than we have.
41:27They're much more concerned
41:28with social service aspects.
41:30For instance,
41:31in several European countries,
41:33kids don't get turned over
41:34to law enforcement
41:35until they're at least
41:3516 years old.
41:37The police simply
41:37cannot handle them.
41:38They have to turn them over
41:39to social service agencies
41:41and community committees.
41:43So their whole approach
41:44to working with young people
41:45is somewhat different
41:46from ours,
41:47and this will affect the way
41:48in which they're going
41:49to handle their gang problems.
41:53street gangs are one
42:01of the very public faces
42:02of organized crime,
42:04doing deals openly
42:05on the streets,
42:06drugs, counterfeiting,
42:07and strong-arm tactics.
42:09But there is also
42:10a quiet face
42:11to crime in Britain
42:12and Europe.
42:13So important financially
42:14is that gray zone
42:16of business
42:16where the illegal
42:17and legal meet
42:18is that whole communities
42:19thrive only because
42:21of what's called
42:21a night economy.
42:24What we've seen
42:25since the late 1980s
42:27is a real revolution,
42:28I think,
42:29in organized crime
42:30in Britain,
42:30and that is
42:31the emergence
42:33of a nighttime economy
42:34in cities in Britain
42:36which were basically
42:37shut down
42:38after 6 o'clock
42:39at night,
42:40cities which were built
42:41upon a Victorian
42:42industrial past,
42:44and that industry
42:45is now gone.
42:45We live in a post-industrial age.
42:47The only way
42:48in which they can
42:49attract money,
42:49attract inward investment,
42:51is by developing
42:53a nighttime economy.
42:55Now, that nighttime economy
42:57is now riddled
42:58with organized crime.
43:00Whether it's
43:01bouncers running the door,
43:02whether it's
43:03the provision of drugs,
43:06whether it's the provision
43:08of criminal services generally,
43:10or whether it's
43:10as an outlet
43:11to launder
43:12illegal money through,
43:15the nighttime economy
43:16clubs,
43:18pubs,
43:19and bars
43:19has become
43:20a very important outlet
43:22for organized crime
43:24to develop.
43:25And I think
43:25we're going to see
43:26that that's going to go on
43:27in years to come.
43:29But Professor Cyril Finant
43:30feels that the so-called
43:31underground economy
43:32is somewhat overestimated
43:34and overemphasized.
43:36Never dare to support
43:38this thesis.
43:39And even in Italy
43:40where you have
43:41a dominant,
43:42where the mafia groupings,
43:44particularly in the
43:44southern part of Italy,
43:46to some extent,
43:47really control
43:47the economic activities
43:49in cities,
43:51there, of course,
43:51you have a big problem.
43:54Like in the big cities
43:54in the United States
43:55where Cosa Nostra
43:56families control
43:58the transport sector
44:00or the waste disposal sector
44:02or the construction industry.
44:04There, of course,
44:05you have a huge problem.
44:06But that is not a problem
44:07that is common
44:08in Western Europe
44:09these days.
44:11Organized crime
44:11has always had
44:12a sinister ability
44:13to feed off
44:14human weakness.
44:17As long as people
44:19have unfulfilled needs
44:20then it seems
44:21organized crime
44:22will always be close by,
44:24motivated by greed,
44:25ready to make
44:26desire reality
44:27at a price.
44:30British and European
44:31crime firms
44:32have, like old dogs,
44:33learned new tricks
44:34to meet new customer demands
44:36in a changing world.
44:38A world where crime
44:39knows no boundaries,
44:40where crime truly
44:41is big global business.
44:43I'm Robert Stack.
44:45Thanks for joining us.
45:11Thanks for joining us.
45:17Thanks for joining us.
45:22Thanks for joining us.
45:24Thanks for joining us.
45:24The latest
45:24...
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45:26here.
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