Joey Pyle: Notorious - The Changing Face of Organised Crime

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In the early 1960s, he went on trial for the murder of a nightclub owner but was acquitted at a second trial after the first had collapsed because of the intimidation of jurors. Pyle was tried at Southwark Crown Court in early 1992, with the jury being given 24-hour protection and an armed guard to court, on the basis of Pyle's extensive connections in the British underworld and his Mafia links. By the time the trial begun, three out of the 12 jurors had been "approached", so Mr Justice Butler, despite being furious with this development, agreed to proceed with nine jurors, saying, "I will not be dictated to by members of the criminal fraternity." [46] When a fourth member of the jury said she had been approached, and that she had told the other jurors, a retrial was held at the Old Bailey. Here the jury were only assigned numbers and hidden from the public gallery, so there was no chance they could be nobbled. Pyle, originally sentenced to fourteen years, was given nine years at his appeal heard at Woolwich Crown Court, and finished his sentence at Coldingley Prison as a Category C prisoner. [44] Mafia connections [ edit ] verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ These adverts enable local businesses to get in front of their target audience – the local community.

Then a lorry drew up and, as rain began to spit on the gathering, the flowers were hammered to the side of its trailer, creating a bright advertising board-style sweep of colour. One of Pyle's gambling scams was to take high-rollers for week-long trips to a Joe Nesline casino in Yugoslavia, and using a number of means – crooked dice, bringing his people along to pose as gamblers, assuring the gamblers that the dealer would feed them chips – by the end of the week the high-rollers had lost everything. To make things look legitimate, there were plenty of winners at the casino among the British visitors, but they were all employed by Pyle. [25] Underworld fixer [ edit ] Thompson, Tony (21 November 2004). "Arch-villains pull off one last heist - stealing the limelight". The Guardian . Retrieved 15 October 2023.

When he turned professional Pyle lost his first fight, but then was unbeaten in his subsequent 23 bouts. "As far as I was concerned," he said, "I was a professional boxer – that was how I was making my living, Everything else was the icing on the cake," [53] although this self-characterisation wasn't to last long. Finally -should I allow my name to be published and run the risk of "the boys" being sent round? I'll let the editor decide on that one.

Then it was time for Joey Pyle to be laid to rest. A select few, family members and close friends, gathered round his graveside and the American soul singer Jocelyn Brown sang as his coffin was lowered into the ground. Talk among mourners, openly at least, was not of gangland exploits but of his generosity over 20 years to children's charities. Hoare, Philip (6 November 1993). "Obituary: John Bindon". The Independent . Retrieved 18 October 2023.But there was no mistaking the genuine affection in which he was held by the people who had gathered to grieve. Bruce Reynolds, the man behind the Great Train Robbery, was there. So too was Charlie Richardson, once the most feared gangster in London. Hoggart, Paul (4 December 2004). "Crime pays, but only on TV". The Times . Retrieved 15 October 2023.

Some of the roads near the church had to be closed and the church and surrounding area was crowded with more than a thousand people for the ceremony. Woodland, David I. (2015). Crime and Corruption at The Yard: Downfall of Scotland Yard. Pen and Sword. Ninety-nine per cent of the people at the Krays' funerals had not met them, but everyone here knew Joey. He connected people up." On 25 April 1960, only four days into the trial, Mr Justice Gorman halted proceedings, saying, "Certain information has been brought to my notice which makes it impossible for this case to be continued for trial before this jury." [18] After a second trial at the Old Bailey, Pyle, along with Nash and Read, was acquitted of murder, [1] but he was given an 18-month sentence for assaulting Cooney before he was shot. [11] Pyle Sr, Joseph; Pyle Jr, Joseph (2018). Like Father Like Son: A Journey of Minds. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform.We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused. The long-awaited bout on the unlicensed scene was between Shaw and London enforcer and bouncer Lenny McLean, represented by his second-cousin Frank Warren, and they contested a famous trilogy of matches, with Shaw winning the first on 23 May 1977 after McLean conceded, and losing the second two, both held the following year. [57] Other interests [ edit ] Their destination was an unremarkable house on a quiet street - the kind of simple, semi-detached home that epitomises the normality of life in the suburbs. Not all were aging criminals however. There were also famous faces who had come to know Joey as a popular local figure. Snooker star Jimmy White, boxer Gary Mason and actor Kenny Lynch were among those paying their respects.

After leaving jail in 1997, he insisted his life of crime was behind him. But this funeral was still considered a fearsome occasion by many, and most of the pubs in the surrounding area remained conspicuously closed throughout the day. Joseph Henry Pyle (2 November 1937 – 17 February 2007), known as Joey Pyle or Joe Pyle, was an English gangland boss, convicted criminal, and pioneer and promoter of unlicensed boxing, who operated in London from the 1950s until his final arrest and conviction in 1992. An associate of the Krays and the Richardsons, and "one of the most feared members of the London underworld", [2] he was known as the "London Don of Dons" by the New York Mafia. [3] Less well known to the general public that many of his contemporaries in the underworld, Pyle was a key police target during his criminal career, but although arrested and charged many times, he seldom served time in prison, unlike many of the gangland figures with whom he was associated.A police helicopter buzzed in the sky above the cemetery to ironic smiles from the shaven-headed men: the police had always found it hard to get close to Joey. Horsnell, Michael (7 May 1996). "Covert bug exposed film executive's covert trade". The Times . Retrieved 14 October 2023. Pyle released a book of poems and other writings – Like Father Like Son: A Journey of Minds – with his son, Joe Pyle Jr. [58] Pyle ran a film company called "Touchdown", [59] which made a number of films, including a music video by Gary Numan [11] and a documentary about politics in the Seychelles, filmed covertly in the country under the pretext of being a nature film. The film was a vehicle for a former president, James Mancham – at the time in exile in London – to attempt to regain power. [60] Touchdown Films was based in Pinewood Studios, and was where "Lucy" placed the bug that helped in Pyle's conviction on the opium and heroin charge in 1992. [45] Retirement [ edit ] With the encouragement of his parents, both keen fans, Pyle joined the Tiverton and Preedy Athletics and Boxing Club as a boy, where world flyweight champion Terry Allen trained. [5] After the family move to Carshalton, he trained there, and reached the quarter-finals of the All England Championships. [52] In his late teens, Pyle faced the choice of being a professional boxer – he paid his dues in boxing booths at travelling fairs, and contested over 20 professional fights – or a career criminal. He chose crime. Pyle's father, a thief as well as a sportsman himself, asked him when he was nineteen whether he wanted to be a boxer or a thief. Pyle replied, "Dad, I think I want to be a thief." [12] Criminal career [ edit ] Armed robbery [ edit ]