The Richardson Gang

Charles William "Charlie" Richardson (18 January 1934 – 19 September 2012)[2] was born in Brentford, Middlesex[3] to Eileen Elizabeth Mary (née Allen) and Charles Frederick Richardson, who had married the previous year in Camberwell, South London.[4][5] The family soon moved back to Camberwell, where younger brother, Edward G. "Eddie" Richardson, was born on 21 January 1935,[6][7] followed by youngest sibling, Elaine (born 1940). Charlie and Eddie turned to a life of crime after their father deserted the family.

An important member of the Richardson gang was George Cornell. Cornell was heavily involved in drug dealing, in purple hearts and dexys, uppers, downers and cannabis. He was also involved in pornography and may have been associated with criminal Jimmy Humphreys, whose arrest led to the exposure of corrupt police officials in 1971, including Commander Ken Drury of the Flying Squad.

Humphreys was under investigation by another squad, and Drury refused to acknowledge his association with Humphreys even after Drury reportedly received a "Wish you were here" holiday postcard from him. Cornell was originally a member of an East End gang called "The Watney Streeters" and later became involved with the Krays. However, he changed sides around 1964 and allied himself with the Richardsons. Cornell was unstable and unpredictable, and nearly caused an all-out war between the two gangs before his death when Ronnie Kray shot and killed him in 1966.

Frankie Fraser teamed up with the Richardson gang in the mid-1960s.[8] His criminal career began at age 13 with theft.[9]

During the Second World War his crimes escalated, including shopbreaking and desertion. He was a known associate of gangster Billy Hill throughout the 1950s. After joining the Richardsons, he served as their enforcer.[9] Reportedly, Fraser's favourite brand of punishment was extracting teeth with pliers.[8]

Over his long criminal career, Fraser spent 40–42[8][10] years in prison. He died in 2014 of complications from surgery.

Other members of the gang included the hitman Jimmy Moody, Roy Hall (who operated the electric generator), Bartholomew (Barry) Harris (who was the getaway driver for the gang), Albert Longman, Grandad Findley (South London Enforcer for the gang), Harry Rawlins, Alan Morse/Rigby, Frank Bailey, Harry Banks, Tommy Clark, Ron Large (Ronnie), Tommy Quinlan, James Kemmery and Mick O'Brien.

Charlie invested in scrap metal, whilst Eddie set up a company selling fruit machines. These businesses were fronts for underworld activities which included fraud, racketeering, usury, theft and stolen goods. Eddie would on occasion "suggest" that a pub landlord should buy one of his slot devices; failure to do so meant running the risk of being beaten and the pub vandalised.

Charlie was at one point arrested for receiving stolen goods, but was acquitted through lack of evidence and, allegedly, with the help of a large "donation" to the Police Fund.

They preferred investing in fraud schemes known as long firms. A company would be set up by an acquaintance, who was well paid for the prison term he might eventually serve. The company would conduct normal business for some months, building lines of credit and winning the trust of suppliers. Eventually after gaining the trust of the suppliers it would order an extra large order and then decamp with both the goods and profits from previous sales. The goods would then be sold without the suppliers getting any of the profits. The company and those involved in running it would suddenly disappear.

The Richardson gang frequently used mock trials to punish transgressors and intimidate others. The accused were hauled in front of Charlie, Fraser and others in a kangaroo court. After the mock trial the punishments were meted out, ranging anything from beatings to more severe forms of torture such as whippings, cigarette-burning, teeth being pulled out with pliers (for which Fraser was especially notorious), nailing to the floor, having toes removed with bolt cutters and giving electric shocks until unconscious. The electric shocks were inflicted by an old Army field telephone, which included a hand-crank-powered generator, much like the notorious Tucker Telephone. The victims were placed in a bath of cold water to enhance the electrical charge and the terminals attached to the victims' nipples and genitalia.

After trial and punishment, victims who were too badly injured would be sent to a doctor who had been struck off the Medical Register. This process of trial and torture was known as "taking a shirt from Charlie", because of Charlie Richardson's habit of giving each victim a clean shirt in which to return home since the victim's original shirt was usually covered in blood.

On one occasion, a collector of "pensions" (protection money from publicans and others), was punished after being twice warned by the Richardsons for pocketing the money and spending it at Catford dog track. He was nailed to the floor of a warehouse near Tower Bridge for nearly two days, during which time gang members (for example, driver Harry Beard) frequently urinated on him.[11]

In his later years, Fraser claimed the facts the jury accepted as proven beyond all reasonable doubt as to torture were exaggerated. He cried "Rubbish!" to stories of electrified genitals.[9] As to foot-nailing and tooth removals, he said that it was "all false... Today, we wouldn't have even been charged, let alone gone to prison."[9]

The downfall of the Richardsons began because of mounting testimony to the police. The incident at Mr Smith's and the later arrests helped seal their fate.

In July 1965, one of the gang's victims reported the crime to the police. The victim told the tale of being severely beaten and bruised after being found guilty of disloyalty by a kangaroo court; he then had to mop up his own blood using his own underpants.[2]

A member of the Richardson gang, Johnny Bradbury, turned Queen's Evidence. Bradbury was convicted of murdering a business associate named Waldeck in South Africa, allegedly on orders from Charlie Richardson. When sentenced to hang, Bradbury offered to inform on the Richardson gang in exchange for a pardon and immunity. This was arranged by a special squad of the CID, led by Inspector Gerald MacArthur.[note 1]

Other victims of the Richardsons were granted immunity from prosecution in other crimes if they turned Queen's Evidence. With the assistance of the Home Office, which arranged different identities and passports, several witnesses fled the country immediately after the trial. A few went to South Africa and others to Spain or Majorca; many did not return to the UK for a considerable time.

Charlie Richardson was arrested for grievous bodily harm on 30 July 1966, the World Cup Final day. Eddie Richardson was sent to prison for five years for affray. There were also stories of Charlie being connected to the South African Bureau of State Security and an attempt to tap then-Prime Minister Harold Wilson's telephone.[2] In July 1966, police arrested the remaining members of the Richardson gang following a series of raids in South London.

Accurately dubbed as to allegations, the "Torture Trial" convened at the Old Bailey at the beginning of April 1967. The Richardsons were found guilty of fraud, extortion, assault and grievous bodily harm. Charlie Richardson was sentenced to 25 years in prison,[1] and Eddie had ten years added to his existing sentence. Charlie Richardson was not freed until July 1984.

There are pictures of the Richardson gang in the White Horse pub (now a community run venture) in Upton, Norfolk. The gang chose this as their rural "bolt hole" whenever they were under investigation in London. It is alleged that a lot of local houses were built with Richardson gang money, all cash-in-hand, and then sold legitimately, thereby laundering the gang's ill-gotten gains.