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168-688: Ronald " Ronnie " Kray (24 October 1933 – 20 March 1995) and Reginald " Reggie " Kray (24 October 1933 – 1 October 2000) were English gangsters or organised crime figures and identical twin brothers from Haggerston who were prominent from the late 1950s until their arrest in 1968. Their gang, known as the Firm, was based in Bethnal Green , where the Kray twins lived. They were involved in murder , armed robbery , arson , protection rackets , gambling and assaults . At their peak in
336-711: A Montreal branch of the Royal Bank of Canada was robbed of C$ 50,000 in bearer bonds . Similar robberies in Montreal resulted in a haul totaling C$ 1 million. The Montreal-based Cotroni crime family , the Canadian satellite of New York's Bonanno crime family , decided to sell the stolen bonds in Britain through the Krays. The twins sent over a corrupt businessman, Leslie "the Brain" Payne, to pick up
504-465: A Russian officer who was trying to avoid the Russo-Ukrainian war. In 1919, 616 "hardcore" deserters of the total 837,000 draft dodgers and deserters were executed following People's Commissar Leon Trotsky 's draconian measures. According to Figes, "a majority of deserters (most registered as "weak-willed") were handed back to the military authorities, and formed into units for transfer to one of
672-617: A car bomb. Elvey was a radio engineer who put the pirate radio station Radio Sutch on the air in 1964, later renamed Radio City . After police detained him in Scotland, he confessed to being involved in three murder attempts. The evidence was weakened by Cooper, who claimed that he was an agent for the US Treasury Department investigating links between the American Mafia and the Kray gang. The attempted murders were his attempt to put
840-499: A claim that seems to have been made only to associate the Krays with their supposed familial homelands in Eastern Europe and to distance them from English society. Finally, Jenks and Lorentzen argued that the rareness of identical twins made the brothers seem especially malevolent, giving them the "freak show" image as many found viewing two men who looked and sounded precisely the same to be disturbing and unnerving. The closeness of
1008-414: A credible intent to return may still be considered AWOL. Those who are away for fewer than thirty days but can credibly be shown to have no intent to return (for example, by joining the armed forces of another country) may nevertheless be tried for desertion . On rare occasions, they may be tried for treason if enough evidence is found. There are similar concepts to desertion. Missing movement occurs when
1176-442: A dark psychological analysis of a fictionalized Al Capone . These films chronicle the quick rise, and equally quick downfall, of three young, violent criminals, and represent the genre in its purest form before moral pressure would force it to change and evolve. Though the gangster in each film would face a violent downfall which was designed to remind the viewers of the consequences of crime, audiences were often able to identify with
1344-500: A diverse range of criminal enterprises including drug and arms trafficking . The people of the mountainous country of Albania have always had strong traditions of family and clan loyalty, in some ways similar to that of southern Italy. Ethnic Albanian gangs have grown rapidly since 1992 during the prolonged period of instability in the Balkans after the collapse of Yugoslavia. This coincided with large scale migration throughout Europe and to
1512-514: A latrine bucket over a sergeant , dumped a canteen full of hot tea on another guard, handcuffed yet another guard to their prison bars with a pair of stolen cuffs, and set their bedding on fire. Eventually they were moved to a communal cell where they assaulted their guard with a vase and escaped. After being quickly recaptured, they spent their last night in military custody in Canterbury drinking cider, eating crisps and smoking cigarillos courtesy of
1680-481: A legitimate government. The term " organized crime " is associated with gangs and gangsters, but is not synonymous. A small street gang that engages in sporadic low-level crime would not be seen as "organized". An organization that coordinates gangs in different countries involved in the international trade in drugs or prostitutes may not be considered a "gang". There are several organized crime groups in Italy . Notably,
1848-653: A member of the armed forces fails to arrive at the appointed time and place to deploy (or "move out") with their assigned unit, ship, or aircraft. In the United States Armed Forces , this is a violation of the Article 87 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ). The offense is similar to absence without leave but may draw more severe punishment. Failure to repair consists of missing a formation or failing to appear at an assigned place and time when so ordered. It
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#17328512134672016-668: A nightclub in Catford , involving the Richardsons and Richard Hart, an associate of "the Firm" who was shot dead. The shooting led to the arrest of nearly all the Richardson Gang. Cornell, by chance, was not present at Mr. Smith's and was not arrested. Ronnie was drinking in another pub when he learned of Cornell's whereabouts. He went to the Blind Beggar with his driver, "Scotch Jack" John Dickson, and his assistant, Ian Barrie. Ronnie entered
2184-448: A non-parole period of 30 years for the murders of Cornell and McVitie. Their brother Charlie was imprisoned for ten years for his part in the murders. Ronnie and Reggie Kray were allowed, under a large police guard, to attend the funeral service of their mother Violet on 11 August 1982, following her death from cancer a week earlier. They were not allowed to attend her burial in the Kray family plot at Chingford Mount Cemetery . The funeral
2352-421: A norm according to which anyone who failed to show due respect would be severely punished. Both brothers notoriously laundered money through dog and horse tracks as well as through businesses, which led to several others being investigated during the mid-1960s for their co-operation with the crimes. The twins were assisted by a banker named Alan Cooper who wanted protection against the Krays' South London rivals,
2520-521: A perverse one, of the " meritocracy " that was to replace the traditional class system. Furthermore, the 1960s was a time when many social norms were being questioned, and the Krays were widely seen as "rebels" against what were perceived as sanctimonious and hypocritical traditional British values. The scholars Chris Jenks and Justin Lorentzen wrote that there was "a popular mistrust of the Establishment" in
2688-527: A popular pastime for working-class boys in the East End. Sibling rivalry spurred them on, and each achieved some success. Ronnie was considered to be the more aggressive of the twins, constantly getting into street fights as a teenager. The British scholar Jonathan Raban wrote that he had a "low IQ" but that he was an avid reader who especially liked books about T. E. Lawrence , Orde Wingate , and Al Capone . Raban attributed much of Ronnie's "savage petulance" as
2856-614: A report for the French Ministry of Veteran Affairs recommended that they be pardoned. Conversely, France considered as highly praiseworthy the act of citizens of Alsace-Lorraine who during WWI deserted from the German army . After the war it was decided to award all such deserters the Escapees' Medal ( French : Médaille des Évadés ). During the First Indochina War (1946–54),
3024-420: A reputation for leaving carnage behind him due to his habitual consumption of drugs and heavy drinking, and his having threatened to harm the twins and their family. Tony and Chris Lambrianou and Ronnie Bender helped clear up the evidence of this crime, and attempted to assist in the disposal of the body. With McVitie's corpse being too big to fit in the boot of the car, it was wrapped in an eiderdown and put in
3192-648: A response to the harsh weather conditions of the winter and immense field work required in the summer. A significant jump in desertion in 1989 when the Soviets withdrew from Afghanistan may suggest a higher concern regarding returning home, rather than an overall opposition towards the war itself. In the beginning of the Soviet invasion , the majority of Soviet forces were soldiers of Central Asian republics . The Soviets believed that shared ideologies between Muslim Central Asians and Afghan soldiers would build trust and morale within
3360-608: A rest from your activities". The trial, which lasted from January to March 1969, was a media sensation. Such was the demand to attend the trial that a black market emerged for seats, with the price being £5 a day for a seat in the public gallery section of the courthouse. It was the longest murder hearing in the history of British criminal justice, during which Stevenson stated of the sentences: "I recommend [they] should not be less than thirty years". In March 1969, both were sentenced to life imprisonment (the mandatory sentence for murder, death having been abolished four years earlier ), with
3528-518: A sense there was something unnatural about them. The "sordid facts" that were presented during the Krays' trial for murder led to their "folk hero" image being eclipsed by a "folk villain" image. Tom Driberg , a Labour MP and gossip columnist for the Daily Express , was well acquainted with the Conservative peer Lord Boothby through dinner parties hosted by Lord Beaverbrook , the proprietor of
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#17328512134673696-837: A shared criminal subculture or code, include the Camorra in Naples and Campania and the Ndrangheta in Calabria . Organized crime has existed in Russia since the days of Imperial Russia in the form of banditry and thievery. Joseph Stalin , who emerged as the absolute dictator of the Soviet Union had previously founded the Outfit, a criminal gang that were involved with armed robberies , racketeering , assassinations , arms procurement and child couriering . In
3864-500: A six-year-old son, Charles James (1927–2000). A sister, Violet (born 1929), died in infancy. The twins contracted diphtheria when they were three years old. The Kray household was dominated by their mother, who remained the brothers' most important influence during their childhood. Their father was a rag-and-bone man with a fondness for heavy drinking; his work led him to live a semi- nomadic lifestyle as he travelled all over southern England looking for junk to sell, and even when he
4032-462: A style that countless films had associated with gangsters, namely wearing "discreet, dark, double-breasted suits with tight-knotted ties and shoulder-padded overcoats. Combined with garish jewellery such as large gold rings, gold bracelet watches, and diamond cuff links, the Krays conveyed a redoubtable image". The British scholar Ruth Penfold-Mounce described the twins as a classic example of the social bandit , criminals who became folk heroes because of
4200-780: A teenager to his rage over having to hide his bisexual tendencies. As well as this the Kray brothers hung around in the Blind Beggar pub in Whitechapel in East London. The Kray twins were called up to do National Service in the British Army in March 1952. Although the pair reported to the depot of the Royal Fusiliers at the Tower of London , they attempted to leave after only a few minutes. When
4368-424: A teenager. The Krays were not asexual , but the indeterminate nature of their sexuality contributed to their popular image of being in some vague way very perverse. The fact that the twins were successful gangsters while not subscribing to the standard heteronormative "hard men" or "lovable rogue" stereotypes associated with their criminal peers, while also rejecting the popular effeminate stereotype of gay men, led to
4536-412: A term derived from mob and the suffix -ster . Gangs provide a level of organization and resources that support much larger and more complex criminal transactions than an individual criminal could achieve. Gangsters have been active for many years in countries around the world. Gangsters are the subject of many novels, films, television series, and video games. In modern usage, the term " gang "
4704-411: A time when London criminality appeared not only as organised as never before, but also integrated into the Establishment and the vanguard of popular culture". Jenks and Lorentzen further maintained that the Krays' close association with the East End, an area viewed as a centre of "social disorganisation and moral decay", further contributed to the negative picture of the brothers. At least some critics of
4872-464: A valid pass , liberty or leave . The United States Marine Corps , United States Navy , and United States Coast Guard generally refer to this as unauthorized absence. Personnel are dropped from their unit rolls after thirty days and then listed as deserters ; however, as a matter of U.S. military law , desertion is not measured by time away from the unit, but rather: People who are away for more than thirty days but return voluntarily or indicate
5040-559: A witness to the murder he was an accessory, having driven Ronnie Kray and Ian Barrie to the pub. The police still needed a witness to the murder. Frank Mitchell's escape and disappearance were much harder to obtain evidence for, since the majority of those arrested were not involved with his planned escape and disappearance. The twins' defence under their counsel John Platts-Mills consisted of flat denials of all charges and discrediting witnesses by pointing out their criminal past. Justice Melford Stevenson said: "In my view, society has earned
5208-693: Is a lesser offense within Article 86 of the UCMJ. An additional duty status code — absent-unknown, or AUN — was established by the U.S. military in 2020 to prompt unit actions and police investigations during the first 48 hours that a service member is missing. During the First World War , the Australian Government refused to allow members of the First Australian Imperial Force (AIF) to be executed for desertion, despite pressure from
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5376-561: Is generally used for a criminal organization and the term "gangster" invariably describes a criminal. Much has been written on the subject of gangs, although there is no clear consensus about what constitutes a gang or what situations lead to gang formation and evolution. There is agreement that the members of a gang have a sense of common identity and belonging and this is typically reinforced through shared activities and through visual identifications such as special clothing, tattoos, colors, or rings. Some preconceptions may be false. For example,
5544-676: Is liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years or to less punishment". In Colombia , the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Spanish: FARC) insurgency were highly affected by desertion during the armed conflict with the Military Forces of Colombia . The Colombian Ministry of Defense reported 19,504 deserters from the FARC between August 2002 and their collective demobilization in 2017, despite potentially severe punishment, including execution, for attempted desertion in
5712-537: Is presented as a moral outcome, it is usually seen as no more than an accidental failure. The gangster is typically articulate, although at times lonely and depressed, and his worldly wisdom and defiance of social norms has a strong appeal, particularly to adolescents. The years 1931 and 1932 saw the genre produce three classics: Warner Bros. ' Little Caesar and The Public Enemy , which made screen icons out of Edward G. Robinson and James Cagney , and Howard Hughes ' Scarface starring Paul Muni , which offered
5880-625: Is the abandonment of a military duty or post without permission (a pass , liberty or leave ) and is done with the intention of not returning. This contrasts with unauthorized absence ( UA ) or absence without leave ( AWOL / ˈ eɪ w ɒ l / ), which are temporary forms of absence. In the United States Army , United States Air Force , British Armed Forces , Australian Defence Force , New Zealand Defence Force , Singapore Armed Forces and Canadian Armed Forces , military personnel will become AWOL if absent from their post without
6048-512: Is then broken down into smaller loads for smuggling across the U.S.–Mexico border . Arrests of key gang leaders, particularly in the Tijuana and Gulf cartels, have led to increasing drug violence as gangs fight for control of the trafficking routes into the United States. Cocaine traffickers from Colombia, and recently Mexico, have also established a labyrinth of smuggling routes throughout
6216-528: The 2022 Russian mobilization , the Putin-controlled State Duma of Russia adopted amendments to include the concepts of mobilization , martial law and wartime in the Criminal Code , and introduced several articles related to military operations. Desertion during a period of mobilization or wartime will be punished by up to 10 years in jail. In December 2022, Kazakhstan deported back to Russia
6384-516: The Afghan and First and Second Chechen Wars , now unemployed but with experience that could prove useful in crime, joined the increasing crime wave. At first, the Vory v Zakone played a key role in arbitrating the gang wars that erupted in the 1990s. By the mid-1990s it was believed that "Don" Semion Mogilevich had become the "boss of all bosses" of most Russian Mafia syndicates in the world, described by
6552-547: The Canadian Expeditionary Force passed over 200 death sentences on desterters. Only 25 men were actually executed. Per the National Defence Act , "every person who deserts or attempts to desert is guilty of an offence and on conviction, if the person committed the offence on active service or under orders for active service, is liable to imprisonment for life or to less punishment and, in any other case,
6720-629: The Caribbean , the Bahama Island chain, and South Florida. They often hire traffickers from Mexico or the Dominican Republic to transport the drug. The traffickers use a variety of smuggling techniques to transfer their drug to U.S. markets. These include airdrops of 500–700 kg in the Bahama Islands or off the coast of Puerto Rico , mid-ocean boat-to-boat transfers of 500–2,000 kg, and
6888-589: The Cuban Revolution in 1959 led to their closure, the Mafia considered London as an alternative. The belief that the Krays were able to influence the British government by blackmailing political figures such as Boothby made them attractive as prospective partners. Both Lansky and Bruno were considered to be diplomatic figures by the standards of American organised crime, and were felt to be the most qualified to negotiate with
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7056-547: The Five Families founded in the early 20th century, outlasted its founders and have survived into the 21st century. Large and well structured gangs such as the Mafia , drug cartels , Triads , Crips , Bloods , or even outlaw motorcycle gangs can undertake complex transactions that would be far beyond the capability of one individual, and can provide services such as dispute arbitration and contract enforcement that parallel those of
7224-696: The French Foreign Legion was deployed to fight the Vietnamese insurgency. Some of the legionnaires, such as Stefan Kubiak , deserted and began fighting for the Việt Minh and People's Army of Vietnam upon witnessing torture of Vietnamese peasants at the hands of French troops. During the First World War, only 18 Germans who deserted were executed. However, the Germans executed 15,000 men who deserted from
7392-637: The Minister for Justice and Equality Alan Shatter issued a pardon and amnesty to all World War II-era deserters from the Irish Defence Forces . During World War I , 15,096 Italians served life sentences and around 750 were executed (391 by firing squad) for deserting from the military; the Roman punishment of decimation was claimed to have been used. In 1918, Italy agreed to pardon all deserters, who, after their conscription in their military , joined
7560-563: The Prohibition era of the 1920s and 1930s. The classic gangster movie ranks with the Western as one of the most successful creations of the American movie industry. The "classic" form of gangster movie, rarely produced in recent years, tells of a gangster working his way up through his enterprise and daring, until his organization collapses while he is at the peak of his powers. Although the ending
7728-585: The Qing dynasty , which were given the triangle as their emblem. The first record of a triad society, Heaven and Earth Gathering , dates to the Lin Shuangwen uprising on Taiwan from 1786 to 1787. The triads evolved into criminal societies. When the Chinese Communist Party came to power in 1949 in mainland China, law enforcement became stricter and tough governmental crackdown on criminal organizations forced
7896-676: The Richardson Gang . Raban called Ronnie the "dimmer" of the two twins, writing that he was "a man whose grasp on reality was so slight and pathologically deranged that he was able to live out a crude, primarily coloured fiction, twisting the city into the shape of a bad thriller". Ronnie quite consciously modelled the style of "the Firm" after what he read about the Chicago underworld in Capone's time, for example having his own personal barber visit his flat to work on his hair because he read somewhere that
8064-725: The Rizzuto crime family . The terms "gangster" and "mobster" are mostly used in the United States to refer to members of criminal organizations associated with Prohibition . In 1920, the Eighteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution banned the sale, manufacture, and transportation of alcohol for consumption. Many gangs sold alcohol illegally for profit, and used acute violence to stake turf and protect their interest. Often, police officers and politicians were paid off or extorted to ensure continued operation. Al Capone
8232-558: The Shot at Dawn Memorial . Of these, 25 were Canadian, 22 Irishmen and five New Zealanders. "During the period between August 1914 and March 1920 more than 20,000 servicemen were convicted by courts-martial of offences which carried the death sentence. Only 3,000 of those men were ordered to be put to death and of those just over 10% were executed." Throughout the Second World War, almost 100,000 British and Commonwealth troops deserted from
8400-522: The Sicilian Mafia , or Cosa Nostra is a criminal syndicate that emerged in the mid-nineteenth century in Sicily, Italy . It is a loose association of criminal groups that share common organizational structure and code of conduct . The origins lie in the upheaval of Sicily's transition out of feudalism in 1812 and its later annexation by mainland Italy in 1860. Under feudalism, the nobility owned most of
8568-497: The Soviet–Afghan War explain their reasons for desertion as political and in response to internal disorganization and disillusionment regarding their position in the war. Analyses of desertion rates argue that motivations were far less ideological than individual accounts claim. Desertion rates increased prior to announcements of upcoming operations, and were highest during the summer and winter. Seasonal desertions were probably
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#17328512134678736-617: The Tower of London before being transferred to Shepton Mallet military prison in Somerset for a month to await court-martial . After they were convicted, both were sent to the Buffs ' Home Counties Brigade Depot jail in Canterbury , Kent . However, when it became clear that they would both be dishonourably discharged from the army, the Krays' behaviour worsened. They dominated the exercise areas outside their one-man cells, threw tantrums, emptied
8904-414: The United States Army , affecting thousands. In total, about 128,000 desertion cases took place due to the First World War in Italy. In Italy during the Napoleonic Wars , about 40,000 soldiers deserted from the military, with Alessandro Trivulzio [fr] [it] , Italy's Ministry of War of the Kingdom, describing desertion as a "destructive worm". To halt desertion, in 1808, the Italian government created
9072-451: The Wehrmacht during the Second World War . In June 1988 the Initiative for the Creation of a Memorial to Deserters who deserted the Wehrmacht came to life in Ulm . Ireland was neutral during the Second World War; the Irish Army expanded to 40,000 men, but they had little to do once it became clear in 1942 that invasion (either by Nazi Germany or by the British Empire) was unlikely. Soldiers were put to work cutting trees and peat; morale
9240-470: The Whyos and the Dead Rabbits . These were followed by the Italian Five Points Gang and later a Jewish gang known as the Eastman Gang . There were also " Nativist " anti-immigration gangs such as the Bowery Boys . The Italian-American Mafia arose from offshoots of the Mafia that emerged in the United States during the late 19th century, following waves of emigration from Sicily. There were similar offshoots in Canada among Italian Canadians , such as
9408-422: The child mortality rate was high among the British working class. In the interwar period , it was normal that one of the twins born into working-class families would die before adulthood, and it was most unusual that both the Kray twins survived, making their mother the object of much admiration in Bethnal Green, perhaps contributing to her perceived inflated ego. There was a feeling within Bethnal Green that there
9576-410: The consigli di guerra speciali , a group of military courts. During the First World War, 28 New Zealand soldiers were sentenced to death for desertion; of these, five were executed. These soldiers were posthumously pardoned in 2000 through the Pardon for Soldiers of the Great War Act . Those who deserted before reaching the front were imprisoned in what were claimed to be harsh conditions. During
9744-412: The corporal in charge tried to stop them, he was seriously injured by Ronnie when he punched him on the jaw. The Krays walked back to their East End home where they were arrested the next morning by police and turned over to the army. In September, while absent without leave (AWOL) again, the twins assaulted a police constable who tried to arrest them. They became among the last prisoners to be held at
9912-424: The 1960s and that as many young people "laughed Prime Minister Macmillan and President Johnson , their teachers and university lecturers and priests and moralists off the stage", the Krays were seen as folk heroes. This was a period of intense debates arising about consumerism , social mobility , sexuality, style, and social tolerance, and the Krays were involved in all of them as symbols, either bad or good, about
10080-422: The 1960s, they gained a certain measure of celebrity status by mixing with prominent members of London society, being photographed by David Bailey and interviewed on television. The Krays were arrested on 8 May 1968 and convicted in 1969 as a result of the efforts of detectives led by Detective Superintendent Leonard "Nipper" Read . Each was sentenced to life imprisonment . Ronnie, upon being certified insane,
10248-435: The 1970s and 1980s. It was founded and run by Ochoa Vázquez brothers with Pablo Escobar . By 1993, the Colombian government, helped by the US, had successfully dismantled the cartel by imprisoning or hunting and gunning down its members. Although Mexican drug cartels, or drug trafficking organizations, have existed for several decades, they have become more powerful since the demise of Colombia's Cali and Medellín cartels in
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#173285121346710416-444: The 1980s. In the late 1980s and early 1990s there was a surge of imports of action movies from Hong Kong. The first of the new wave of important home grown gangster movies was Im Kwon-taek 's General's Son (1990). Although this movie followed the earlier tradition, it was followed by a series of sophisticated gangster noirs set in contemporary urban locations, such as A Bittersweet Life (2005). Desertion Desertion
10584-404: The 1990s. Mexican drug cartels now dominate the wholesale illicit drug market in the United States. Sixty five percent of cocaine enters the United States through Mexico, and the vast majority of the rest enters through Florida. Cocaine shipments from South America transported through Mexico or Central America are generally moved over land or by air to staging sites in northern Mexico. The cocaine
10752-410: The Afghan language and converted to Islam. The criminal code of Ukraine states that "desertion in state of martial law or in a battle, shall be punishable by imprisonment for a term of 5 to 10 years". In early 2023, a new law was signed into the Ukrainian Parliament which stated that desertion or "failure to appear for duty without a valid reason" would result in a 12 year prison sentence. Critics of
10920-673: The Boothby connection would again be publicised, and Labour – having gained control of the House of Commons with an extremely thin majority and the prospect of a snap election in the very near future – did not want connections between Ronnie and Driberg to get into the public realm. During the 1960s, the Kray twins formed an alliance with the Commission , the governing body of the American Mafia . The brothers were in contact with Meyer Lansky and Angelo Bruno , two New York mafiosi who were looking to invest in London's nightclubs and casinos to engage in money laundering . Similar establishments in Havana had long served that purpose, but after
11088-414: The British Government and military to do so. The AIF had the highest rate of soldiers going absent without leave of any of the national contingents in the British Expeditionary Force , and the proportion of soldiers who deserted was also higher than that of other forces on the Western Front in France. In 2011, Vienna decided to honour Austrian Wehrmacht deserters. On 24 October 2014, a Memorial for
11256-408: The British government as "one of the most dangerous men in the world". More recently, criminals with stronger ties to big business and the government have displaced the Vory from some of their traditional niches, although the Vory are still strong in gambling and the retail trade. The Albanian Mafia is active in Albania , the United States, and the European Union (EU) countries, participating in
11424-440: The British public did not like men who were disrespectful towards women. One former member of "the Firm", Tony Lambrianou, stated that the positive image of the Krays was a "myth", maintaining that the only people the brothers ever cared about were themselves. Jenks and Lorentzen noted the image of the Krays had little to do with who the brothers actually were, as they described the twins as considerably more vicious and selfish than
11592-422: The Conservative Party on talk shows. For the purposes of blackmail and the sense of power that came from associating with powerful men, Ronnie hosted parties for Boothby and other upper-class gay men where working class " rent boys " were made available for sex. In July 1964, an exposé in the Sunday Mirror insinuated that Ronnie had begun a homosexual relationship with Boothby, at a time when sex between men
11760-405: The FARC. Organizational decline contributed to FARC's high desertion rate which peaked in the year 2008. A later stalemate between the FARC and government forces gave rise to the Colombian peace process . Many individuals who were conscripted by the French First Republic during the French Revolutionary Wars deserted. There were rough estimates to the number of individuals that deserted during
11928-417: The Firm a deal if they testified against the others. Reggie Kray's right-hand man, Albert Donoghue, told the twins directly that he was not prepared to be cajoled into pleading guilty, to the anger of the twins. He then informed Read via his mother that he was ready to cooperate. Ronnie Hart had initially not been arrested, and was not a name initially sought after by the police. With Donoghue's testimony, Hart
12096-691: The Krays and the Richardsons at the Astor Club on Christmas Day 1965. Richardson member Frankie Fraser was tried for the murder of Hart at Mr. Smith's, but was acquitted . Richardson member Ray "the Belgian" Cullinane testified that he saw Cornell kicking Hart. Witnesses would not co-operate with the police due to intimidation, and the trial ended inconclusively without pointing to any suspect in particular. In his 1988 memoir, Ronnie wrote: "I felt fucking marvellous. I have never felt so good, so bloody alive, before or since. Twenty years on and I can recall every second of
12264-462: The Krays had "a sophisticated awareness of the importance of public relations matched only in the image-conscious field of American politics ... As we have seen, certain of the Krays' projects, when closely examined, take on a bizarre aspect more appropriate to the theatre than to the rational pursuit of profit by crime". In 1960, gambling in clubs was legalised in the United Kingdom, which for
12432-546: The Krays heard where they had left McVitie's corpse, the twins were livid and desperately phoned Foreman, who was then running a pub in Southwark , to see if he could dispose of the body. With dawn breaking, Foreman found the car, broke into it and drove the body to Newhaven where, with the help of a trawlerman, the body was bound with chicken wire and dumped in the English Channel . This event started turning many people against
12600-460: The Krays held him at a friend's flat in Barking Road, East Ham . He was a large man with a mental disorder, and he was difficult to control. He disappeared, but the Krays were acquitted of his murder. Freddie Foreman , a friend of the Krays, claimed in his autobiography Respect that he shot Mitchell dead as a favour to the twins and disposed of his body at sea. In October 1967, four months after
12768-540: The Krays helped Frank Mitchell , "the Mad Axeman", to escape from Dartmoor Prison . Ronnie had befriended Mitchell while they served time together in Wandsworth Prison . Mitchell felt that the authorities should review his case for parole, so Ronnie thought that he would be doing him a favour by getting him out of Dartmoor, highlighting his case in the media and forcing the authorities to act. Once Mitchell had escaped,
12936-411: The Krays made xenophobic arguments that the twins were not of English stock but were instead the products of a mixture of Ashkenazi Jewish and Romany descent. In this context, the Krays were presented as typical of the East End, which was viewed in certain quarters as an impoverished and lawless area that attracted many immigrants. There is no evidence of the Krays having any Jewish or Romany origins,
13104-414: The Krays made them seem sinister as Lambrianou recalled in 1995: "You were never, ever on solid ground with them ... They played a little game of their own. There was an unspoken language; it was what they didn't say as much as what they did say. There's a myth that the Krays took care of their own, but I never saw it. The Krays were their own." Alongside this "freak show" image were suggestions of what
13272-405: The Krays took the bulk of the award. One of Boothby's first actions following the suit was to write a cheque for £5,000 to Ronnie. Ronnie had also launched a libel action of his own against Sunday Mirror columnist Cecil Harmsworth King for calling him a "homosexual thug" in one of his columns, but the judge dismissed the suit under the grounds that it was a "fair comment". Ronnie was furious about
13440-510: The Krays' criminal activities. Decades later, Channel 4 established the truth of the allegations and released a documentary on the subject called The Gangster and the Pervert Peer (2009). Boothby called the £40,000 (over £1 million in 2024 values) he was awarded from the Sunday Mirror "tainted money", and though he professed to have donated the majority of the money to charity, it appears
13608-530: The Krays, and some were prepared to testify to Scotland Yard as to what had happened, fearing that what happened to McVitie could easily happen to them. Detective Chief Superintendent Leonard "Nipper" Read of Scotland Yard was promoted to the Murder Squad and his first assignment was to bring down the Kray twins. During the first half of 1964, Read had been investigating their activities but publicity and official denials of Ron's relationship with Boothby made
13776-538: The Krays. Payne charged that since he was the one taking all the risks to smuggle and redeem the bonds, he was entitled to a larger share of the profits. The Krays refused Payne's demand, which caused him to leave "the Firm". Payne did not contact the authorities, but the mere possibility that he might one day become a prosecution witness led the Krays to plot his murder. Payne, who fought in the Battle of Monte Cassino in 1944, ridiculed their threats of violence, which only made
13944-514: The Mafia could turn to in London. Raft and Reggie used the fact that none of the witnesses at the Blind Beggar were willing to testify against Ronnie as evidence of the degree of fear that the Krays inspired. Shortly afterwards, Raft was prevented from returning to the UK when a Home Office order listed him as an "undesirable", thereby costing the Krays their strongest ally within the Mafia. On 12 December 1966,
14112-499: The Soviet army by the elimination of a field commander or officer. Resistance forces were locally based, more ready to address and mobilize the Afghan population for support. The Soviet army was centrally organized; its regime structure emphasized rank and position, paying less attention to the well-being and effectiveness of its army. The initial Soviet plan relied on Afghan troops' support in
14280-589: The Soviet army, serious drug and alcohol problems significantly reduced the effectiveness of soldiers. Resources became further depleted as soldiers pushed into the mountains; drugs were rampantly abused and available, often supplied by Afghans. Supplies of heating fuel, wood, and food ran low at bases. Soviet soldiers often resorted to trading weapons and ammunition in exchange for drugs or food. As morale decreased and infections of hepatitis and typhus spread, soldiers became further disheartened. Interviews with Soviet soldier deserters confirm that much of Soviet desertion
14448-507: The Soviet intervention as a necessary means of protecting the Communist uprising from outside opposition. Propaganda declared that Soviets were providing aid to villagers and improving Afghanistan by planting trees, improving public buildings and "generally acting as good neighbors". Upon entering Afghanistan, Soviet soldiers became immediately aware of the falsity of the reported situation. In major cities, Afghan youth that originally supported
14616-546: The Soviet invasion, which attracted Central Asian deserters. By March 1980, the Soviet army made an executive decision to replace Central Asian troops with the European sectors of the USSR to avoid further religious and ethnic complications, drastically reducing Soviet forces. Soviet soldiers entered the war under the impression that their roles were primarily related to the organization of Afghan forces and society. Soviet media portrayed
14784-692: The Soviets' atheism, demanding support for the Muslim faith from civilians. The hostility shown towards soldiers, who entered the war believing their assistance was requested, grew defensive. The opposition circulated pamphlets within Soviet camps stationed in cities, calling for Afghan freedom from the aggressive Communist influence and a right to establish their own government. The native Afghan army fell from 90,000 to 30,000 by mid-1980, forcing Soviets into more extreme combative positions. The mujahideen's widespread presence among Afghan civilians in rural regions made it difficult for Soviet soldiers to distinguish between
14952-559: The United States and Canada. Although based in Albania, the gangs often handle international transactions such as trafficking in economic migrants, drugs and other contraband, and weapons. Other criminal organizations that emerged in the Balkans around this time are popularly called the Serbian Mafia , Bosnian Mafia , Bulgarian Mafia , and so on. In China, Triads trace their roots to resistance or rebel groups opposed to Manchu rule during
15120-540: The United States being the world's largest consumer of cocaine. Colombia is the world's leading producer of cocaine , and also produces heroin that is mostly destined for the US market. The Medellín Cartel was an organized network of drug suppliers and smugglers originating in the city of Medellín , Colombia. The gang operated in Colombia, Bolivia , Peru , Central America, the United States, as well as Canada and Europe throughout
15288-457: The United States often joined these tongs. With a new wave of migration in the 1960s, street gangs began to flourish in major cities. The Tongs recruited these gangs to protect their extortion, gambling and narcotics operations. As American society and culture developed, new immigrants were relocating to the United States. The first major gangs in 19th century New York City were the Irish gangs such as
15456-600: The Victims of Nazi Military Justice was inaugurated on Vienna's Ballhausplatz by Austria 's President Heinz Fischer . The monument was created by German artist Olaf Nicolai and is located opposite the President's office and the Austrian Chancellery . The inscription on top of the three step sculpture features a poem by Scottish poet Ian Hamilton Finlay (1924–2006) with just two words: all alone . During World War I ,
15624-483: The acclaimed director Wong Kar-wai was a gangster movie, As Tears Go By . In it the protagonist finds himself torn between his desire for a woman and his loyalty to a fellow gangster. Infernal Affairs (2002) is a thriller about a police officer who infiltrates a triad and a triad member who infiltrates the police department. The film was remade by Martin Scorsese as The Departed . Gangster films make up one of
15792-408: The apparent reinforcement of traditional social order parameters of conservatism and restraint". Within this context, the Krays made a point of stressing that there were limits to the values that they were willing to violate while promoting the image of themselves as the benefactors of society. For example, they made a great point of stressing the image of being respectful towards women as they knew that
15960-527: The armed forces. Capital punishment for desertion was abolished in 1930 so most were imprisoned. On 28 May 2006, the UK military reported over 1,000 absent without leave since the beginning of the Iraq War , with 566 missing from 2005 and that part of 2006. The Ministry of Defence said that levels of absence were fairly constant and "only one person has been found guilty of deserting the Army since 1989". According to
16128-559: The army. However, Central Asians' longstanding historical frustrations with Moscow degraded soldiers' willingness to fight for the Red Army. As Afghan desertion grew and Soviet opposition was strengthened within Afghanistan, the Soviet plan overtly backfired. The personal histories of Central Asian ethnic groups – especially between Pashtuns, Uzbeks, and Tajiks , caused tension within the Soviet military. Non-Russian ethnic groups easily related
16296-522: The attention of British authorities and partly to gain the attention of gamblers. The club was marketed not so much at British gamblers but rather at older, wealthy American tourists. The Krays were hired to provide "protection" at the club, being paid £500 per week to provide thugs from "the Firm" to act as security. An attempted meeting between Ronnie, Lansky, and Bruno in New York was aborted when US immigration authorities denied him entry. The following year,
16464-548: The back seat. Tony Lambrianou drove the car with the body and Chris Lambrianou and Bender followed behind. Crossing the Blackwall tunnel , Chris lost Tony's car and spent up to 15 minutes looking around Rotherhithe area. They found Tony, outside St Mary's Church , where he had run out of fuel, McVitie's body still inside the car. The body was left in the car and the three gangsters returned home. Bender then went on to phone Charlie Kray informing them that it had been dealt with. When
16632-464: The belief that they were standing up to a corrupt Establishment while also paradoxically being seen as upholding the better part of society's values. The twins were viewed in certain quarters as " Robin Hood "-type criminals whose crimes were seen as acceptable. Penfold-Mounce noted they combined an air of menace and violence together with an image of "a romanticised air of heroic gentlemanliness, generosity, and
16800-538: The best years of our lives. They called them the swinging sixties. The Beatles and the Rolling Stones were rulers of pop music, Carnaby Street ruled the fashion world... and me and my brother ruled London. We were fucking untouchable. Part of the Krays' newfound celebrity status was due to the widespread perception that the twins were men who had risen out of poverty into positions of great wealth and power due to their own efforts. They were seen as an example, albeit
16968-423: The blame on the Krays. Eventually Scotland Yard decided to arrest the Krays on the evidence already collected, in the hope that other witnesses would be forthcoming once the Krays were in custody. On 8 May 1968 the Krays and 15 members of the Firm were arrested. Exceptional measures were used to stop collusion between the accused. Nipper Read then secretly interviewed each of the arrested and offered each member of
17136-459: The bonds for transport. Payne was able to cash the stolen bonds at a London brokerage house , netting a handsome profit for "the Firm". The success of the deal made the Krays the preferred British partners of the American Mafia, who used the twins a number of times afterwards in similar arrangements. The business of redeeming the stolen bonds in London ultimately led to a break between Payne and
17304-575: The bosses of the most powerful families would have equal say and vote on important matters and solve disputes between families. This group ruled over the National Crime Syndicate and brought in an era of peace and prosperity for the American Mafia. Most cocaine is grown and processed in South America, particularly in Colombia , Bolivia , Peru , and smuggled into the United States and Europe,
17472-481: The changes taking place in British society. The Kray twins greatly valued their image and cultivated the media by inviting journalists to take photographs of them with other celebrities at nightclubs or in donating to charity. They went about in an obsessive way managing and promoting the image that they wanted, namely as benefactors who gave generously to charity and as men who had risen up from poverty to become rich and powerful. The sociologist Dick Hebdige wrote that
17640-457: The charismatic anti-hero. Those suffering from the Depression were able to relate to the gangster character who worked hard to earn his place and success in the world, only to have it all taken away from him. Latin American gangster movies are known for their gritty realism. Soy un delincuente (English: I Am a Criminal) is a 1976 Venezuelan film by director Clemente de la Cerda. The film tells
17808-468: The civilians they believed they were fighting for and the official opposition. Soldiers who had entered the war with idealistic viewpoints of their roles were quickly disillusioned. The structure of the Soviet army, in comparison to the mujahideen , set the Soviets at a serious fighting disadvantage. While the mujahideen structure was based on kinship and social cohesion, the Soviet army was bureaucratic. Because of this, mujahideen could significantly weaken
17976-468: The commercial shipment of tonnes of cocaine through the port of Miami. Another route of cocaine traffic goes through Chile, this route is primarily used for cocaine produced in Bolivia since the nearest seaports lie in northern Chile. The arid Bolivia-Chile border is easily crossed by 4x4 vehicles that then head to the seaports of Iquique and Antofagasta . Gangs have long been the subject of movies. In fact,
18144-463: The common view that illegal drug distribution in the United States is largely controlled by gangs has been questioned. A gang may be a relatively small group of people who cooperate in criminal acts, as with the Jesse James gang, which ended with the leader's death in 1882. However, a gang may also be a larger group with a formal organization that survives the death of its leader. For example, each of
18312-408: The dismissal, raging to a group of journalists: "Proves what I always said. One law for the fucking rich and another for the poor". Police investigated the Krays on several occasions, but the twins' reputation for violence made witnesses afraid to testify. There was also a problem for both main political parties. The Conservatives were unwilling to press the police to end the Krays' power for fear that
18480-576: The end of the '60s and the beginning of the '80s, with the closure of the film depicting the war between the drug dealer Li'l Zé and criminal Knockout Ned . The film received four Academy Award nominations in 2004. The first yakuza (gangster) film made in Japan was Bakuto (Gambler, 1964). The genre soon became popular, and by the 1970s the Japanese film industry was turning out a hundred mostly low-budget yakuza films each year. The films are descendants of
18648-444: The evidence that he collected useless. Read went after the twins again in 1967 but frequently came up against the East End "wall of silence" which discouraged anyone from providing information to the police. They were represented in court by Nemone Lethbridge . By the end of 1967 Read had built up enough evidence against the Krays. Early in 1968, the Krays employed Alan Bruce Cooper who sent Paul Elvey to Glasgow to buy explosives for
18816-403: The falsity of Soviet propaganda from the beginning. Unable to legitimize the unnecessary killing and mistreatment of the Afghan people, many deserters could not face returning home and justifying their own actions and the unnecessary deaths of comrades. Upon deserting to the mujahideen, soldiers immersed themselves into Afghan culture. Hoping to rectify their position as the enemy, deserters learned
18984-480: The first feature-length movie ever produced was The Story of the Kelly Gang (1906), an Australian production that traced the life of the outlaw Ned Kelly (1855–1880). The United States has profoundly influenced the genre, but other cultures have contributed distinctive and often excellent gangster movies. The stereotypical image and myth of the American gangster is closely associated with organized crime during
19152-440: The first time allowed 'decent' people to gamble openly outside of betting on horse racing. The Krays were the owners of four nightclubs where gambling was permitted, which not only allowed them to be seen as successful businessmen but also to socialise with 'decent' people who would have previously shunned the company of gangsters running a 'gambling den'. The Krays made a point of promoting a "gangster chic" image as both dressed in
19320-556: The first year of the Soviet invasion. In these areas, strong ethnic clashes and cultural factors influenced desertion. As Afghan soldiers continued to desert the Soviet army, a united Islamic Alliance for the Liberation of Afghanistan began to form. Moderates and fundamentalists banded together to oppose Soviet intervention. The Islamic ideology solidified a strong base of opposition by January 1980, overriding ethnic, tribal, geographic and economic differences among Afghans willing to fight
19488-443: The form of the Krays". Conversely, the Krays were seen in other quarters as symbols of moral decay and evil, with the famous photographs of the brothers taken by David Bailey being viewed as "the phrenological archetypes of proletarian villainy". Jenks and Lorentzen wrote the twins became symbols in the public mind of British organised crime itself as the brothers were associated with "tales of excessive and gratuitous violence and to
19656-451: The killing of George Cornell. I have replayed it in my mind millions of times". The Krays' Mafia associates were unhappy about the Cornell murder, feeling that it was reckless on the part of Ronnie to shoot someone in public instead of assigning the task to a junior associate. With the help of Raft, Reggie was able to maintain the alliance, arguing "the Firm" was still the best business partners
19824-446: The land and enforced law and order through their private armies. After 1812, the feudal barons steadily sold off or rented their lands to private citizens. Primogeniture was abolished, land could no longer be seized to settle debts, and one fifth of the land was to become private property of the peasants. Other similarly large and powerful Italian criminal organizations, often composed of smaller gangs or "clans" generally operating under
19992-673: The law argued that the law punishes soldiers more harshly rather than try to deal underlying causes of desertion. Per the Ukrainian Office of the Prosecutor General, more than 60,000 criminal cases have been opened for desertion with almost half occurring between January 2024 and September 2024. This number rose to 80,000 by October 2024. For Ukrainian penal battalions , if a soldier of a penal battalion attempts to desert or retreat without authorisation, an additional 5 to 10 years would be added to their sentence. Historically, one who
20160-421: The leftist movement soon turned to Soviet oppositional forces for patriotic and religious reasons. The opposition built resistance in cities, calling Soviet soldiers infidels that were forcing an imperialist Communist invasive government on Afghanistan's people. As Afghan troops continued to abandon the Soviet army to support the mujahideen, they became anti-Russian and antigovernment. Opposition forces emphasized
20328-480: The mainstream movies in the genre deal with Triad societies portrayed as quasi-benign organizations. The movie gangster applies the Taoist principles of balance and honor to his conduct. The plots are often similar to those of Hollywood gangster movies, often ending with the fall of the subject of the movie at the hands of another gangster, but such a fall is far less important than a fall from honor. The first movie made by
20496-518: The mercurial and irascible Krays. The conduit between Lansky and the Krays was George Raft , a declining Hollywood actor whom the Krays idolised for his performance as the hitman Guino Rinaldo in the film Scarface (1932). With his career essentially over, Raft had moved to London in 1965 with the hope of finding roles in European films. Lansky had opened the Colony Sports Club in London and installed Raft as its nominal owner, partly to avoid
20664-538: The mid- Edo period : tekiya , those who primarily peddled illicit, stolen or shoddy goods; and bakuto , those who were involved in or participated in gambling. In the late 1860s, many Chinese emigrated to the United States, escaping from insecurity and economic hardship at home, at first working on the west coast and later moving east. The new immigrants formed Chinese Benevolent Associations. In some cases these evolved into Tongs , or criminal organizations primarily involved in gambling. Members of Triads who migrated to
20832-496: The morality of their actions was debated; on the one hand, they had illegally abandoned their country's armed forces at a time when it was threatened with invasion — indeed, it was argued that their acts were treasonous at a time when Britain may have been planning to seize control of Ireland's ports (see Plan W ); on the other hand, they chose to leave a safe if tedious posting in order to risk their lives fighting against fascism, and many were motivated by genuine idealism. In 2012,
21000-479: The most profitable segments of the South Korean film industry. Films made in the 1960s were often influenced by Japanese yakuza films, dealing with internal conflict between members of a gang or external conflict with other gangs. The gangsters' code of conduct and loyalty are important elements. Starting in the 1970s, strict censorship caused decline in the number and quality of gangster movies, and none were made in
21168-452: The mountainous regions of Afghanistan. The majority of the Afghan army support crumbled easily as forces lacked strong ideological support for Communism from the beginning. The Afghan army, comprising 100,000 men before 1978, was reduced to 15,000 within the first year of the Soviet invasion. Of the Afghan troops that remained, many were considered untrustworthy to Soviet troops. Afghans that deserted often took artillery with them, supplying
21336-805: The mujahideen. Soviet troops, to fill Afghan soldiers' place, were pushed into mountainous tribal regions of the East. Soviet tanks and modern warfare was ineffective in the rural, mountainous regions of Afghanistan. Mujahideen tactics of ambush prevented Soviets from developing successful counterattacks. In 1980, the Soviet army began to rely on smaller and more cohesive units, a response to mirror mujahideen tactics. A decrease in unit size, while solving organizational issues, promoted field leaders to head more violent and aggressive missions, promoting Soviet desertion. Often, small forces would engage in rapes, looting, and general violence beyond what higher ranks ordered, increasing negative sanctions in undesirable locations. Within
21504-420: The newspaper. Through his friend, the theatre director Joan Littlewood , Driberg had met Reginald Kray, who in turn introduced Boothby to Ronnie. Ronnie and Boothby entered into a homosexual relationship, in which the masochistic Boothby enjoyed being dominated by Ronnie, a sexual sadist . This aspect of Boothby's life was unknown to the general public, who knew him as a celebrity peer who frequently represented
21672-576: The other by Salvatore Maranzano . This caused the Castellammarese War , which led to Masseria's murder in 1931. Maranzano then divided New York City into five families . Maranzano, the first leader of the American Mafia, established the code of conduct for the organization, set up the "family" divisions and structure, and established procedures for resolving disputes. In an unprecedented move, Maranzano set himself up as boss of all bosses and required all families to pay tribute to him. This new role
21840-442: The period of Soviet Union , Vory v Zakone emerged, a class of criminals that had to abide by certain rules in the prison system. One such rule was that cooperation with the authorities of any kind was forbidden. During World War II some prisoners made a deal with the government to join the armed forces in return for a reduced sentence, but upon their return to prison they were attacked and killed by inmates who remained loyal to
22008-491: The popular "folk hero" image of them would allow. Admirers of the brothers stress their supposed "Robin Hood" characteristics, with the Krays alleged to have given away much of their ill-gotten wealth to the deserving poor of the East End; their respect for women; and as a force for order who engaged in only what were considered socially acceptable crimes such as theft while punishing those who engaged in what were considered socially unacceptable crimes such as rape . The East End at
22176-403: The premises, he saw Ronnie seated in the front room. Ronnie approached, letting loose a barrage of verbal abuse and cutting McVitie below his eye with a piece of broken glass. It is believed that an argument then broke out between the twins and McVitie. As the argument got more heated, Reggie pointed a handgun at McVitie's head and pulled the trigger twice, but the gun failed to discharge. McVitie
22344-417: The pub with Barrie, walked straight to Cornell and shot him in the head in public view. Barrie, confused by what happened, fired five shots in the air warning onlookers not to report what had happened to police. Cornell died at 3:30 a.m. in hospital. According to some sources, Ronnie killed Cornell because he referred to him as a "fat poof" (a derogatory term for a gay man) during a confrontation between
22512-403: The rear armies or directly to the front". Even those registered as "malicious" deserters were returned to the ranks when the demand for reinforcements became desperate". Forges also noted that the Red Army instituted amnesty weeks to prohibit punitive measures against desertion which encouraged the voluntary return of 98,000-132,000 deserters to the army. Order No. 270 , dated 16 August 1941,
22680-680: The rules of the thieves. In 1988, the Soviet Union legalized private enterprise but did not provide regulations to ensure the security of market economy. Crude markets emerged, the most notorious being the Rizhsky market where prostitution rings were run next to the Rizhsky Railway Station in Moscow. As the Soviet Union headed for collapse many former government workers turned to crime, while others moved overseas. Former KGB agents and veterans of
22848-430: The samurai epics, and are closer to Westerns than to Hollywood gangster movies. The hero is typically torn between compassion for the oppressed and his sense of duty to the gang. The plots are generally highly stylized, starting with the protagonist being released from prison and ending in a gory sword fight in which he dies an honorable death. Although some Hong Kong gangster movies are simply vehicles for violent action,
23016-570: The seeds of the malignant narcissism that the twins would display as adults by encouraging her sons to think of themselves as being extraordinary while spoiling their every whim. During the Second World War , Mr. Kray deserted from the British Army , having been conscripted in September 1939. He spent the next 15 years living as a fugitive, being finally arrested in 1954. During this period, he
23184-570: The situation in Afghanistan to Communist takeover of their own states' forced induction into the USSR. Ethnic Russians suspected Central Asians of opposition, and fighting within the army was prevalent. Upon entering Afghanistan, many Central Asians were exposed to the Qur’an for the first time uninfluenced by Soviet propagandist versions , and felt a stronger connection towards the opposition than their own comrades. The highest rates of desertion were found among border troops, ranging from 60 to 80% during
23352-407: The story of Ramón Antonio Brizuela, a real-life individual, who since childhood has to deal with rampant violence and the drugs, sex and petty thievery of a Caracas slum. Starting with delinquency, Ramón moves on to serious gang activity and robberies. He grows into a tough, self-confident young man who is hardened to violence. His views change when his fiancée's brother is killed in a robbery. The film
23520-473: The subtitle "Peer and Gangster: Yard Inquiry". Although no names were printed in the piece, the Krays threatened the journalists involved and Boothby threatened to sue the newspaper with the help of Labour leader Harold Wilson 's solicitor, Arnold Goodman . In the face of this, the Sunday Mirror backed down, sacking its editor, printing an apology and paying Boothby £ 40,000 in an out-of-court settlement. Because of this, other newspapers were unwilling to expose
23688-509: The suicide of his wife Frances, Reggie was allegedly encouraged by his brother to kill Jack "the Hat" McVitie , a minor member of the Kray gang who had failed to fulfill a £1,000 contract, £500 of which had been paid to him in advance, to kill their former financial adviser , Leslie Payne. McVitie was lured to a basement flat in Evering Road, Stoke Newington , on the pretence of a party. Upon entering
23856-593: The time had its own informal rules, such as a deep distrust of the Metropolitan Police as exemplified by the popular saying "thou shalt not grass", which led to police complaining of a "wall of silence". Within the East End, where "roguery" was widely admired, Jenks and Lorentzen noted "symbolic heroes are elected through excess. The most audacious thefts, the most sadistic violence and an almost philosophical quest for glory in infamy are topmost in people's minds. An elision of style and brutality can emerge, as it did in
24024-524: The time of the Levée en masse , but due to many factors, like the inability to manage and keep track of all the armies or differentiating between men with similar names, the exact number is unclear. In 1800, the Minister of War (Carnot) reported that there were 175,000 deserters based on the number of individuals that sought the benefits following the amnesty put in place. From 1914 to 1918 between 600 and 650 French soldiers were executed for desertion. In 2013,
24192-668: The triads to migrate to Hong Kong, then a British colony, and other cities around the world. Triads today are highly organized, with departments responsible for functions such as accounting, recruiting, communications, training and welfare in addition to the operational arms. They engage in a variety of crimes including extortion, money laundering, smuggling, trafficking and prostitution. Yakuza are members of traditional organized crime syndicates in Japan. They are notorious for their strict codes of conduct and very organized nature. As of 2009 they had an estimated 80,900 members. Most modern yakuza derive from two classifications which emerged in
24360-505: The twins angrier. Lacking the necessary connections with the City to keep redeeming the stolen bonds on their own, the Krays turned to Alan Bruce Cooper, a disreputable American businessman living in London. Ronnie shot and killed George Cornell , a member of the Richardson Gang, at the Blind Beggar pub in Whitechapel on 9 March 1966. The day before, there had been a shoot-out at Mr. Smith's,
24528-419: The twins' first time in the countryside, recalling that both were attracted to the "quietness, the peacefulness of it, the fresh air, nice scenery, nice countryside – different from London. We used to go to a big 'ill called Constitution Hill and used to go sledging there in the winter-time." The influence of their maternal grandfather, Jimmy "Cannonball" Lee, caused the brothers to take up amateur boxing , then
24696-566: The young national servicemen acting as their guards. The next day the Krays were transferred to a civilian prison to serve sentences for the crimes they committed while AWOL. Raban wrote that prison psychiatrists who examined Ronnie found him to be "educationally subnormal, psychopathic , schizophrenic and insane". Despite a less than stellar military career, upon release the Krays adopted an extremely militaristic style as Ronnie took to calling himself "the Colonel" while their home at 178 Vallance Road
24864-487: Was Frank Sinatra , who hired 18 bodyguards from Krayleigh Enterprises on his visit to the 1985 Wimbledon Championships . Documents released under freedom of information laws revealed that although officials were concerned about this operation, they believed that there was no legal basis to shut it down. Gangsters A gangster is a criminal who is a member of a gang . Most gangs are considered to be part of organized crime . Gangsters are also called mobsters ,
25032-537: Was a blockbuster hit in Venezuela. City of God ( Portuguese : Cidade de Deus ) is a 2002 Brazilian crime drama film directed by Fernando Meirelles and co-directed by Kátia Lund , released in its home country in 2002 and worldwide in 2003. All the characters existed in reality, and the story is based on real events. It depicts the growth of organized crime in the Cidade de Deus suburb of Rio de Janeiro , between
25200-466: Was an almost unnatural emotional closeness between the twins and their mother, who shunned the company of others. Ronnie later stated about his childhood: "We had our mother, and we had each other, so we never needed no one else". One of the Krays' cousins who attended school with them, Billy Wilshire, recalled: "It's hard to say exactly what it was, but they weren't like other children". The Krays' biographer, John Pearson , argued that their mother planted
25368-504: Was arrested. Offered the same terms as the others, Hart then told Read everything that had happened during McVitie's murder, although he did not know anything about what happened to the body. Although Read knew for certain that Ronnie Kray had murdered George Cornell in the Blind Beggar pub, no one had been prepared to testify against the twins out of fear. Upon finding out the twins intended to cajole him, 'Scotch Jack' Dickson also turned in everything he knew about Cornell's murder. Although not
25536-478: Was attended by celebrities including Diana Dors and underworld figures known to the Krays. To avoid the publicity that had surrounded their mother's funeral, the twins did not ask for permission to attend their father's funeral in March 1983. Ronnie Kray was a Category A prisoner, denied almost all liberties and not allowed to mix with other prisoners. He was eventually certified insane, his paranoid schizophrenia being tempered with constant medication; in 1979 he
25704-836: Was committed and lived the remainder of his life in Broadmoor Hospital in Crowthorne , Berkshire . Reggie Kray was locked up in Maidstone Prison for eight years (Category B). In 1997, he was transferred to Wayland Prison , a Category C prison , in Norfolk . In 1985 officials at Broadmoor Hospital discovered a business card of Ronnie's that led to evidence that the twins, from separate institutions, were operating Krayleigh Enterprises (a "lucrative bodyguard and 'protection' business for Hollywood stars") together with their older brother Charlie Kray and an accomplice at large. Among their clients
25872-807: Was committed to Broadmoor Hospital in 1979 and remained there until his death on 17 March 1995 from a heart attack ; Reggie was released from prison on compassionate grounds in August 2000, five weeks before he died of cancer . Ronald and Reginald Kray were born on 24 October 1933 in Haggerston , East London , to Charles David Kray (1907–1983) and Violet Annie Lee (1909–1982). The Krays were thorough Eastenders – Charles from Shoreditch and Violet from Bethnal Green – and were apparently of mixed Irish , Austrian Jewish and Romanichal descent, although this has been disputed. The brothers were identical twins , with Reggie born 10 minutes before Ronnie. Their parents already had
26040-537: Was dubbed "Fort Vallance". The Krays twins' criminal records and dishonourable discharges ended their boxing careers, and the brothers turned to crime full-time. They bought a run-down snooker club in Mile End where they started several protection rackets . By the end of the 1950s, the Krays were working for Jay Murray from Liverpool and were involved in truck hijacking , armed robbery , and arson , through which they acquired other clubs and properties. In 1960, Ronnie
26208-535: Was imprisoned for 18 months for running a protection racket. While he was in prison, Peter Rachman , head of a landlord operation, sold Reggie a nightclub called Esmeralda's Barn to ward off threats of further extortion . The location is where the Berkeley Hotel now stands. Ownership of Esmeralda's Barn increased the Krays' influence in the West End by making them celebrities as well as criminals. The twins adopted
26376-613: Was in London he frequented pubs more often than his home. The Kray twins first attended Wood Close School in Brick Lane and then Daniel Street School , Bethnal Green. In 1938 the family moved from Stean Street in Haggerston to 178 Vallance Road in Bethnal Green . Mrs. Kray was regarded as a minor celebrity in Bethnal Green for giving birth to and raising a healthy pair of twins at a time when
26544-429: Was in response to widespread Afghan opposition rather than personal aggravation towards the Soviet army. Armed with modern artillery against ill-equipped villagers, Soviet soldiers developed a sense of guilt for the widespread killing of innocent civilians and their unfair artillery advantage. Soviet deserters found support and acceptance within Afghan villages. After entering the mujahideen, many deserters came to recognize
26712-440: Was issued by Joseph Stalin. The order required superiors to shoot deserters on the spot. Their family members were subjected to arrest. Order No. 227 , dated 28 July 1942, directed that each Army must create "blocking detachments" ( barrier troops ) which would shoot "cowards" and fleeing panicked troops at the rear. Over the course of the war, the Soviets executed 158,000 troops for desertion. Many Soviet soldier deserters of
26880-622: Was low and pay was bad. Of the 60,000 men who passed through the army in 1940–45, about 7,000 men deserted, about half of them deciding to fight on the Allied side , most joining the British Army . Once the war was over, the EPO 362 order meant deserters were allowed to return to Ireland; they were not imprisoned, but lost rights to an army pension and could not work for the state or claim unemployment benefits for seven years. They were also seen as traitors by some Irish people in their homes. Decades after,
27048-574: Was one of these notorious gangsters during the Depression era for the Chicago Outfit . Capone would rise to control a major portion of illicit activity such as gambling, prostitution, and bootlegging in Chicago during the early 20th century. In New York City, by the end of the 1920s, two factions of organized crime had emerged to fight for control of the criminal underworld, one led by Joe Masseria and
27216-525: Was only irregularly involved in raising his family. Meanwhile, the twins were evacuated to East House in Hadleigh, Suffolk , with their mother and their older brother. The family remained in Hadleigh for about one year before moving back to London, as Mrs. Kray missed her friends and family. While they were in Hadleigh, the twins attended Bridge Street Boys' School. In a 1989 interview, Ronnie described Hadleigh as
27384-582: Was paid to enlist and then deserted could be arrested under a type of writ known as arrestando ipsum qui pecuniam recepit , or "for arresting one who received money". During the Napoleonic Wars desertion was a massive drain on British army resources, despite the threat of court martial and the possibility of capital punishment for the crime. Many deserters were harboured by citizens who were sympathetic to them. "306 British and Commonwealth soldiers were executed for...desertion during World War I," records
27552-421: Was received negatively, and Maranzano was murdered within six months on the orders of Charles "Lucky" Luciano . Luciano was a former Masseria underling who had switched sides to Maranzano and orchestrated the killing of Masseria. As an alternative to the previous despotic Mafia practice of naming a single Mafia boss as capo di tutti capi , or "boss of all bosses," Luciano created The Commission in 1931, where
27720-415: Was still a criminal offence in the United Kingdom. Police had leaked to the Sunday Mirror several photographs featuring Ronnie and Boothby posing together, along with photographs of them with Boothby's chauffeur Leslie Holt and Teddy Smith, a member of "the Firm" who was also the lover of Driberg. The photographs were not printed, but were alluded to in the headline "The Pictures We Must Not Print" along with
27888-806: Was the normal practice with Chicago gangsters in the 1920s. In the 1960s, the Kray twins were widely seen as prosperous and charming celebrity nightclub owners and were part of the Swinging London scene. A large part of their fame was due to their non-criminal activities as popular figures on the celebrity circuit, being photographed by David Bailey on more than one occasion and socialising with lords , MPs , socialites and show business characters, including Frank Sinatra , Peter Sellers , Joan Collins , Judy Garland , Diana Dors , George Raft , Sammy Davis Jr. , Shirley Bassey , Liza Minnelli , Cliff Richard , Dusty Springfield , Jayne Mansfield , Richard Harris , Danny La Rue , and Barbara Windsor . They were
28056-477: Was then held in a bear hug by the twins' cousin, Ronnie Hart, and Reggie was handed a carving knife. He then stabbed McVitie in the face and stomach, driving the blade into his neck while twisting the knife, not stopping even as McVitie lay on the floor dying. Reggie had committed a very public murder, against someone who many members of the Firm felt did not deserve to die. In an interview in 2000, shortly after Reggie's death, Freddie Foreman revealed that McVitie had
28224-447: Was viewed at the time as perverted sexuality. At a time when homosexuality was widely considered abnormal – especially in the underworld of the East End – Ronnie made a point of flaunting his relationships with men, which was considered to be quite shocking during the period. Reggie was ostensibly heterosexual, but he had only one known relationship with a woman and was only briefly married; there were also rumours that he had boyfriends as
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