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Liverpool
#830122
02/24/15 03:19 AM
02/24/15 03:19 AM
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Joined: Feb 2015
Posts: 34
LouDiMagio
OP
Wiseguy
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OP
Wiseguy
Joined: Feb 2015
Posts: 34
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Re: Liverpool
[Re: LouDiMagio]
#830214
02/24/15 02:00 PM
02/24/15 02:00 PM
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Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 68
Jimmythepen
Button
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Button
Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 68
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I'm from Liverpool so I like to think I can speak a bit of truth about it. For Curtis Warren see Joey Merlino: he'll never be left alone. Once he gets released again they'll give him 10 years for dropping litter. He got off a case in the 90's, and I can't think of the specifics as I haven't got time to look it up. But basically I think a shipment of drugs was confiscated and they thought (knew, probably) that he did it. He got off with it in court and said something like "I'm off to spend the other £90 million you didn't get and there's fuck all you can do about it."
He's a smart guy. Well, maybe not that smart as he's been locked up for a lot of his life. But I believe he was stitched up on the last thing. £1m worth of weed into Jersey? With a bunch of two-bit gangsters who he hardly knew? I'm not buying it. But that's the thing, the police illegally bugged his car and nothing came of it. The judge didn't care. He'll get out again and be inside within 6 months no matter what.
People are stupid here when it comes to guns. A kid, 17, was shot dead a couple of weeks ago. I don't know why or what for, it could have been anything. But in the past 7 or 8 years about 30 people have been shot dead. I'd wager a lot of those would have been over stupid shit. A lot of young people my age (I'm 22).
I know a lot of people say this about their city but it's a great place. Brilliant architecture, restaurants, museums, natural beauty. Most people here are decent, caring, hard-working people with a wicked sense of humour. But the lunatics running around with guns get the headlines.
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Re: Liverpool
[Re: LouDiMagio]
#830291
02/25/15 06:06 AM
02/25/15 06:06 AM
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Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 23,296 Throggs Neck
pizzaboy
The Fuckin Doctor
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The Fuckin Doctor
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 23,296
Throggs Neck
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Is anyone interested in the Liverpool crime scene? Outside of John Lennon's murder, which took place here anyway, I can't think of a single American who gives a shit. And I don't mean that disrespectfully. But I think it speaks to the fact that many of us Americans are baffled by the British fascination with American organized crime. Because I have ho be honest, if Jack the Ripper came back from the dead, I don't think I'd even pick up a newspaper. But in all fairness, it's probably because we're too self-absorbed over here.
"I got news for you. If it wasn't for the toilet, there would be no books." --- George Costanza.
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Re: Liverpool
[Re: LouDiMagio]
#830344
02/25/15 12:16 PM
02/25/15 12:16 PM
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Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 2,194
TheKillingJoke
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Underboss
Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 2,194
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I've visited Liverpool once. True, Liverpool gangsters have a notorious reputation across Europe. But they really do represent a small amount of the population -which in all honesty is the case with any community. Warren was a very serious guy, but there were and are others around from the city that are just as serious. But as Jimmythepen said, the police were out to nail this guy and they will probably keep nailing him till the end of his days. The fact that he was the boss of a black criminal organization from the Toxteth area, in an underworld of mostly white crime bosses, also made him stand out. And when it comes to the underworld, both media and law enforcement have their own scapegoats. After Warren, you had James "Pancake" Taylor and his nameless partner who's dubbed "The Bird of Prey" (media is fond for inventing nicknames of almost Keyser Soze-like proportions) at the center of the attention, even though I do not know how powerful they actually were/are. In general, Liverpool has an infamous reputation for its own breed of organized crime, going back decades. And it's a reputation that has been sticking to the city ever since.
But to be honest it really is a great city. It has an undeserved reputation with people who have never even been to the city describing it as "run down", "ugly", "dangerous",...which is complete bullshit. There are a few not so nice areas of course, but the good areas far outweigh the bad ones. I was surprised at how much I liked the city when I went there. And the people are very friendly and welcoming.
There's a possibility I will be living in London next year for a couple of months. If that's the case I will surely visit the city again if I have the chance.
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Re: Liverpool
[Re: LouDiMagio]
#830540
02/26/15 02:28 PM
02/26/15 02:28 PM
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Joined: May 2014
Posts: 42 Liverpool, England
Don_Squirreleone
Wiseguy
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Wiseguy
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 42
Liverpool, England
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I've lived up here for close to six years now as both a student and now a career academic and there are definitely visible signs of gangsterism in the city if you know where to look for it - a ton of the bars and small cash-only businesses (an interesting feature of Liverpool is the sheer number of pubs/shops/restaurants that still do not accept plastic) close to where I lived as an undergraduate round the Smithdown/Allerton/Wavertree areas were gangster run and shootings were a not infrequent occurrence (in terms of the UK, which has very little gun crime in a global context.) In addition to the more organised drug distribution rings there are also numerous street gangs operating throughout the poorer parts of the city, ultimately it's a story familiar the world over; the poor parts of Liverpool (Norris Green, Anfield, Croxteth, Dingle etc) are essentially as deprived as the UK gets and anywhere there's entrenched poverty and despair with little hope of relief is going to breed crime, organised or otherwise. This is the latest shooting on Smithdown, about 5-10 minutes walk from where I used to live and where I pass en-route to work pretty much everyday: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-31239282Within a couple of days of this a man also got hit and killed by a bus and a driver had a heart-attack and drove into a lamp post all within about 500 yards of each other. Aside from this aspect I would just emphasise what a great place the city is - the negative reputation that still persists is a couple of decades out of date; it has some of the greatest architecture in the country with the highest number of listed buildings outside London as well as the largest collection of internationally acclaimed theatres and galleries aside from the capital, not to mention some of the best and most easily accessible nightlife anywhere in the country, oh and 7 UNESCO world heritage sites!
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Re: Liverpool
[Re: pizzaboy]
#830541
02/26/15 02:41 PM
02/26/15 02:41 PM
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Joined: May 2014
Posts: 42 Liverpool, England
Don_Squirreleone
Wiseguy
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Wiseguy
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 42
Liverpool, England
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Is anyone interested in the Liverpool crime scene? And I don't mean that disrespectfully. But I think it speaks to the fact that many of us Americans are baffled by the British fascination with American organized crime. Because I have ho be honest, if Jack the Ripper came back from the dead, I don't think I'd even pick up a newspaper. But in all fairness, it's probably because we're too self-absorbed over here. I can't speak for anyone else but the reason I've always found the American Mafia fascinating is the way it represents a dark mirror to the American 20th century; within its peaks and troughs, successes and failures can be seen so many aspects of U.S society in microcosm (the oft-discussed assimilation/attrition issue facing the mob is just one example) and indeed in its adoption of an ultra-business like approach can be seen the worst excesses of the American capitalist model taken to their extreme conclusion. Edit: Meant to add I think this is one of the (many) things the Sopranos captured so stunningly.
Last edited by Don_Squirreleone; 02/26/15 02:41 PM.
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Re: Liverpool
[Re: pizzaboy]
#830662
02/27/15 04:54 AM
02/27/15 04:54 AM
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Joined: Feb 2015
Posts: 34
LouDiMagio
OP
Wiseguy
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OP
Wiseguy
Joined: Feb 2015
Posts: 34
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Re: Liverpool
[Re: LouDiMagio]
#830664
02/27/15 05:00 AM
02/27/15 05:00 AM
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Joined: Feb 2015
Posts: 34
LouDiMagio
OP
Wiseguy
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OP
Wiseguy
Joined: Feb 2015
Posts: 34
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It is an interesting story though how a city that was rapidly declining as an old industrial port, has gone on to produce criminals that have dominated the drugs trade not only in Britain but across Europe. They have made contacts in Amsterdam, Colombia, Turkey and Mexico and have made hundreds of millions.
A lot of these men were just typical English criminals but have gone on to create massive empires and many of the original people involved started making contacts while following their football team to games in Europe. They have gone from robbing shops to multi-millionaires in the space of a few years. Curtis Warren was locked up in Switzerland for trying to rob a shop and a few years later was involved in 1000 kilo cocaine importations
Last edited by LouDiMagio; 02/27/15 05:01 AM.
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Re: Liverpool
[Re: pizzaboy]
#830666
02/27/15 05:30 AM
02/27/15 05:30 AM
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Joined: Oct 2012
Posts: 2,028
TommyGambino
Underboss
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Underboss
Joined: Oct 2012
Posts: 2,028
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Is anyone interested in the Liverpool crime scene? Outside of John Lennon's murder, which took place here anyway, I can't think of a single American who gives a shit. And I don't mean that disrespectfully. But I think it speaks to the fact that many of us Americans are baffled by the British fascination with American organized crime. Because I have ho be honest, if Jack the Ripper came back from the dead, I don't think I'd even pick up a newspaper. But in all fairness, it's probably because we're too self-absorbed over here. I've always found it strange that the majority of American's have no idea what's going on outside they're own country. It's like you guys live in a bubble.
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Re: Liverpool
[Re: TommyGambino]
#830669
02/27/15 05:40 AM
02/27/15 05:40 AM
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Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 23,296 Throggs Neck
pizzaboy
The Fuckin Doctor
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The Fuckin Doctor
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 23,296
Throggs Neck
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Is anyone interested in the Liverpool crime scene? Outside of John Lennon's murder, which took place here anyway, I can't think of a single American who gives a shit. And I don't mean that disrespectfully. But I think it speaks to the fact that many of us Americans are baffled by the British fascination with American organized crime. Because I have ho be honest, if Jack the Ripper came back from the dead, I don't think I'd even pick up a newspaper. But in all fairness, it's probably because we're too self-absorbed over here. I've always found it strange that the majority of American's have no idea what's going on outside they're own country. It's like you guys live in a bubble. I said we're too self-absorbed, didn't I? And outside our own country? More like our own neighborhoods, especially the kinds of guys that we discuss here.
"I got news for you. If it wasn't for the toilet, there would be no books." --- George Costanza.
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Re: Liverpool
[Re: pizzaboy]
#830672
02/27/15 05:48 AM
02/27/15 05:48 AM
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Joined: Oct 2012
Posts: 2,028
TommyGambino
Underboss
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Underboss
Joined: Oct 2012
Posts: 2,028
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Is anyone interested in the Liverpool crime scene? Outside of John Lennon's murder, which took place here anyway, I can't think of a single American who gives a shit. And I don't mean that disrespectfully. But I think it speaks to the fact that many of us Americans are baffled by the British fascination with American organized crime. Because I have ho be honest, if Jack the Ripper came back from the dead, I don't think I'd even pick up a newspaper. But in all fairness, it's probably because we're too self-absorbed over here. I've always found it strange that the majority of American's have no idea what's going on outside they're own country. It's like you guys live in a bubble. I said we're too self-absorbed, didn't I? And outside our own country? More like our own neighborhoods, especially the kinds of guys that we discuss here. Ahh Didn't notice pal.
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Re: Liverpool
[Re: TheKillingJoke]
#830682
02/27/15 06:28 AM
02/27/15 06:28 AM
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Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 23,296 Throggs Neck
pizzaboy
The Fuckin Doctor
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The Fuckin Doctor
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 23,296
Throggs Neck
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Lock Stock and Snatch are by far Guy Ritchie's best works. From there on he quickly went downhill One word: Madonna. That pig has ruined more than one man. It took Sean Penn years to be taken seriously as an actor again. And now he has two Oscars for Best Actor. That no one takes Sean Penn seriously as a human being is on him, though. He's as crazy as a shithouse rat. Point being, Guy Ritchie can make it back. I like him.
"I got news for you. If it wasn't for the toilet, there would be no books." --- George Costanza.
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Re: Liverpool
[Re: pizzaboy]
#830694
02/27/15 07:31 AM
02/27/15 07:31 AM
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Joined: Oct 2012
Posts: 2,028
TommyGambino
Underboss
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Underboss
Joined: Oct 2012
Posts: 2,028
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Lock Stock and Snatch are by far Guy Ritchie's best works. From there on he quickly went downhill One word: Madonna. That pig has ruined more than one man. It took Sean Penn years to be taken seriously as an actor again. And now he has two Oscars for Best Actor. That no one takes Sean Penn seriously as a human being is on him, though. He's as crazy as a shithouse rat. Point being, Guy Ritchie can make it back. I like him. She fell off stage at the Brit awards the other day, fucking crack whore.
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Re: Liverpool
[Re: pizzaboy]
#830719
02/27/15 09:02 AM
02/27/15 09:02 AM
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Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 2,194
TheKillingJoke
Underboss
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Underboss
Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 2,194
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Lock Stock and Snatch are by far Guy Ritchie's best works. From there on he quickly went downhill One word: Madonna. That pig has ruined more than one man. It took Sean Penn years to be taken seriously as an actor again. And now he has two Oscars for Best Actor. That no one takes Sean Penn seriously as a human being is on him, though. He's as crazy as a shithouse rat. Point being, Guy Ritchie can make it back. I like him. All true. I always wonder why men seem to fall for women like Madonna, someone who -despite her succes- is tacky and distasteful. And her post-Ritchie habit of having a new exotic toyboy (each time 30 years her junior a the least) every two years is getting stomach-churning. I don't know if it's right to feel this way, but Penn claiming and winning every humanitarian price in reach annoys me. He's giving Bono from U2 a run for his money I think it wouldn't hurt for Ritchie to go back to his roots. Ditch the gargantuan budgets and make movies with some heart and soul again. In my opinion the same can be said for Tarantino. While his last two movies were far from bad, I liked the style in his first movies way better. And to be honest, for me it doesn't really help that there are truckloads of hipster fanboys drooling over movies like Inglourious Basterds and Django Uchained.
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Re: Liverpool
[Re: LouDiMagio]
#830722
02/27/15 09:16 AM
02/27/15 09:16 AM
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Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 1,781
Dwalin2011
Underboss
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Underboss
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 1,781
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There are 2 books about organized crime in Liverpool that sound particularly interesting:
The Cartel: The Inside Story of Britain's Biggest Drugs Gang
Young Blood: The Inside Story of How Street Gangs Hijacked Britain's Biggest Drugs Cartel
However, the problem is the criminals are almost all named by nicknames invented by the author, so you can't understand or guess who they really are. I was told that the gangster "Kallas" from the "Young blood" book is James "Pancake" Taylor and the "Baron" from "The Cartel" is Philip Glennon, still no clue about others. For example, who is "Fred the Rat" who is supposed to have created the cartel? I read on some forum his real nickname is "Bob the Dog".
But who is the guy in charge now in Liverpool? In mean, REALLY in charge, not as front boss? Glennon, Taylor or somebody else? And how does Curtis Warren fit in all this? Was he a big player or just somebody who got the headlines?
Willie Marfeo to Henry Tameleo:
1) "You people want a loaf of bread and you throw the crumbs back. Well, fuck you. I ain't closing down."
2) "Get out of here, old man. Go tell Raymond to go shit in his hat. We're not giving you anything."
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Re: Liverpool
[Re: pizzaboy]
#830733
02/27/15 09:43 AM
02/27/15 09:43 AM
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Joined: Jun 2013
Posts: 2,017
SonnyBlackstein
Underboss
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Underboss
Joined: Jun 2013
Posts: 2,017
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Off topic, and it's just a movie. But what did most Brits think of "The Bank Job," with Jason Statham? I LOVED THAT FILM! Two things spring to mind. The female lead. Gorgeous. The torture scene. And the female lead.... Regards Tarantino: the guys a joke living off one half decent film. And even pulp wouldn't have been half as popular if it didn't serve as Travolta's Renaissance. But honestly, Kill Bill? Django unchained? Laughable. The only reason Django unchained isn't panned is because people are afraid to be labeled racist if they dislike a movie about racism. How sad.
MORGAN: Why didn't you fight him at the park if you wanted to? I'm not goin' now, I'm eatin' my snack. CHUCKIE: Morgan, Let's go. MORGAN: I'm serious Chuckie, I ain't goin'. WILL: So don't go.
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Re: Liverpool
[Re: SonnyBlackstein]
#830736
02/27/15 09:58 AM
02/27/15 09:58 AM
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Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 23,296 Throggs Neck
pizzaboy
The Fuckin Doctor
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The Fuckin Doctor
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 23,296
Throggs Neck
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And even pulp wouldn't have been half as popular if it didn't serve as Travolta's Renaissance. "Pulp Fiction" came out in '94, "Get Shorty" in '95. And while the former put Travolta's name on a movie poster for the first time since "Look Who's Talking," it was his latter performance that cemented his "comeback." Entirely different films and characters. But Travolta was able to do something in "Get Shorty" that few actors have been able to pull off. He did justice to an Elmore Leonard character. In my opinion, Leonard was the greatest American crime novelist of all time. But his characters were very difficult to adapt for the big screen. Travolta, quite surprisingly, brought Chili Palmer to life. And in my opinion, that's the role that he owed his mid-'90s comeback to.
"I got news for you. If it wasn't for the toilet, there would be no books." --- George Costanza.
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Re: Liverpool
[Re: SonnyBlackstein]
#830742
02/27/15 10:28 AM
02/27/15 10:28 AM
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Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 23,296 Throggs Neck
pizzaboy
The Fuckin Doctor
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The Fuckin Doctor
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 23,296
Throggs Neck
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Wtf was this thread about? Pete Best.
"I got news for you. If it wasn't for the toilet, there would be no books." --- George Costanza.
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Re: Liverpool
[Re: SonnyBlackstein]
#830748
02/27/15 10:52 AM
02/27/15 10:52 AM
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Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 23,296 Throggs Neck
pizzaboy
The Fuckin Doctor
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The Fuckin Doctor
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 23,296
Throggs Neck
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I'd take Hackman in Get Shorty over Travolta. Blasphemy. I'll take Dennis Farina over both of them. Where's Chili Palmer? Where's Leo DeVoe? Where's my fucking money?
"I got news for you. If it wasn't for the toilet, there would be no books." --- George Costanza.
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Re: Liverpool
[Re: SonnyBlackstein]
#830758
02/27/15 11:55 AM
02/27/15 11:55 AM
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Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 2,194
TheKillingJoke
Underboss
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Underboss
Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 2,194
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Off topic, and it's just a movie. But what did most Brits think of "The Bank Job," with Jason Statham? I LOVED THAT FILM! Two things spring to mind. The female lead. Gorgeous. The torture scene. And the female lead.... Regards Tarantino: the guys a joke living off one half decent film. And even pulp wouldn't have been half as popular if it didn't serve as Travolta's Renaissance. But honestly, Kill Bill? Django unchained? Laughable. The only reason Django unchained isn't panned is because people are afraid to be labeled racist if they dislike a movie about racism. How sad. Django Unchained is a ridiculous movie, but I enjoyed it more than Kill Bill or Inglourious Basterds. What bothered me more was the invasion of metalheads and hipsters that were almost wanking off with each piece of dialogue Waltz delivered. They were simultaneously applauding the most laughable set pieces, such as the KKK-scene (which in my opinion was one big cringefest) or the hip hop music that out of the blue appeared during a wild west shootout (I was almost expecting 50 Cent to come bouncing into that scene). You won't however hear me say a bad thing about Pulp Fiction. I love that movie to death
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Re: Liverpool
[Re: pizzaboy]
#830760
02/27/15 11:58 AM
02/27/15 11:58 AM
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Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 1,781
Dwalin2011
Underboss
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Underboss
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 1,781
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I'd take Hackman in Get Shorty over Travolta. Blasphemy. I'll take Dennis Farina over both of them. Where's Chili Palmer? Where's Leo DeVoe? Where's my fucking money? I'll take "Pancake" Taylor, Philip Glennon and Curtis Warren over any of them. Let's talk about them instead
Willie Marfeo to Henry Tameleo:
1) "You people want a loaf of bread and you throw the crumbs back. Well, fuck you. I ain't closing down."
2) "Get out of here, old man. Go tell Raymond to go shit in his hat. We're not giving you anything."
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Re: Liverpool
[Re: Dwalin2011]
#830770
02/27/15 12:38 PM
02/27/15 12:38 PM
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Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 2,194
TheKillingJoke
Underboss
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Underboss
Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 2,194
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There are 2 books about organized crime in Liverpool that sound particularly interesting:
The Cartel: The Inside Story of Britain's Biggest Drugs Gang
Young Blood: The Inside Story of How Street Gangs Hijacked Britain's Biggest Drugs Cartel
However, the problem is the criminals are almost all named by nicknames invented by the author, so you can't understand or guess who they really are. I was told that the gangster "Kallas" from the "Young blood" book is James "Pancake" Taylor and the "Baron" from "The Cartel" is Philip Glennon, still no clue about others. For example, who is "Fred the Rat" who is supposed to have created the cartel? I read on some forum his real nickname is "Bob the Dog".
But who is the guy in charge now in Liverpool? In mean, REALLY in charge, not as front boss? Glennon, Taylor or somebody else? And how does Curtis Warren fit in all this? Was he a big player or just somebody who got the headlines? It's hard to determine who's in charge. Liverpool posters may give you an answer to that. But what makes it difficult is that British cities never have an unified crime syndicate. There are various different firms operating in one city. And journalists in Britain rarely use real names of alleged gangsters, in fear of legal persecution. For instance, there's "The Taxman" in Nottingham, "Bird of Prey" in Liverpool,... Let's not forget Davey Hunt from Canning Town, who really had a libel claim running against the Sunday Times for openly calling him a "crime boss". Regarding "Pancake" Taylor, I don't really know if he really was the kingpin the papers made him out to be. He had been connected to numerous criminal activities, but then again, he has also been signalled in ridiculous bar fights. Some of it is even on YouTube.
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Re: Liverpool
[Re: pizzaboy]
#830798
02/27/15 02:34 PM
02/27/15 02:34 PM
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Joined: Jun 2013
Posts: 2,017
SonnyBlackstein
Underboss
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Underboss
Joined: Jun 2013
Posts: 2,017
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I'd take Hackman in Get Shorty over Travolta. Blasphemy. I'll take Dennis Farina over both of them. Where's Chili Palmer? Where's Leo DeVoe? Where's my fucking money? Love Farina. Dennis's greatest ever line, from Snatch, upon his return from England (note thread topic), Farina's character is asked by customs if he has anything to declare? His response "Yeah, don't go to England." Laugh my fucking ass off. Now THAT PB is what you call a Segue-way
MORGAN: Why didn't you fight him at the park if you wanted to? I'm not goin' now, I'm eatin' my snack. CHUCKIE: Morgan, Let's go. MORGAN: I'm serious Chuckie, I ain't goin'. WILL: So don't go.
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Re: Liverpool
[Re: LouDiMagio]
#830810
02/27/15 03:00 PM
02/27/15 03:00 PM
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Joined: Sep 2013
Posts: 719 Great Britain
British
Underboss
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Underboss
Joined: Sep 2013
Posts: 719
Great Britain
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Am in Liverpool a couple of times a year staying in Dingle, Liverpool and Glasgow are pretty much a mirror of each other in every way!
British is best....
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Re: Liverpool
[Re: TheKillingJoke]
#831073
02/28/15 04:40 PM
02/28/15 04:40 PM
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Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 68
Jimmythepen
Button
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Button
Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 68
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There are 2 books about organized crime in Liverpool that sound particularly interesting:
The Cartel: The Inside Story of Britain's Biggest Drugs Gang
Young Blood: The Inside Story of How Street Gangs Hijacked Britain's Biggest Drugs Cartel
However, the problem is the criminals are almost all named by nicknames invented by the author, so you can't understand or guess who they really are. I was told that the gangster "Kallas" from the "Young blood" book is James "Pancake" Taylor and the "Baron" from "The Cartel" is Philip Glennon, still no clue about others. For example, who is "Fred the Rat" who is supposed to have created the cartel? I read on some forum his real nickname is "Bob the Dog".
But who is the guy in charge now in Liverpool? In mean, REALLY in charge, not as front boss? Glennon, Taylor or somebody else? And how does Curtis Warren fit in all this? Was he a big player or just somebody who got the headlines? It's hard to determine who's in charge. Liverpool posters may give you an answer to that. But what makes it difficult is that British cities never have an unified crime syndicate. There are various different firms operating in one city. As for who is in charge? There isn't one guy. There are several people who run things in different areas and with different things. I won't name names, I just don't want to do that. But there are about 3 or 4 who are running things and have been for quite some time. As for Pancake? No, he wasn't anything other than a small-to-medium player with anger problems. Would I want to mess with him? No. But he's not what he's made out to be.
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Re: Liverpool
[Re: Jimmythepen]
#831109
03/01/15 02:02 AM
03/01/15 02:02 AM
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Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 1,781
Dwalin2011
Underboss
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Underboss
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 1,781
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I won't name names, I just don't want to do that. I respect your decision, but still don't you think it would be less boring to discuss the characters under their real names? At least all the forum users interested could follow them in the news, who is jailed, who is free etc. The Italian mafia in USA was always discussed as far as I know, Carlo Gambino, Vito Genovese, Lucky Luciano have always been named openly by the newspapers and they didn't mind if it didn't lead to prosecutions.
Willie Marfeo to Henry Tameleo:
1) "You people want a loaf of bread and you throw the crumbs back. Well, fuck you. I ain't closing down."
2) "Get out of here, old man. Go tell Raymond to go shit in his hat. We're not giving you anything."
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Re: Liverpool
[Re: Dwalin2011]
#831111
03/01/15 03:30 AM
03/01/15 03:30 AM
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Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 2,194
TheKillingJoke
Underboss
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Underboss
Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 2,194
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I won't name names, I just don't want to do that. I respect your decision, but still don't you think it would be less boring to discuss the characters under their real names? At least all the forum users interested could follow them in the news, who is jailed, who is free etc. The Italian mafia in USA was always discussed as far as I know, Carlo Gambino, Vito Genovese, Lucky Luciano have always been named openly by the newspapers and they didn't mind if it didn't lead to prosecutions. Yeah but Gambino, Luciano,...all operated in an era when organized crime was at its strongest. The Mafia was a brand name, one of the US' biggest and most thriving companies. That kind of organized crime is as dead as a dodo.
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Re: Liverpool
[Re: LouDiMagio]
#831339
03/03/15 04:49 AM
03/03/15 04:49 AM
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Joined: Feb 2015
Posts: 34
LouDiMagio
OP
Wiseguy
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OP
Wiseguy
Joined: Feb 2015
Posts: 34
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How Liverpool docks became a hub of Europe's deadly cocaine trade
Mark Townsend A new generation of ruthless gangsters is emerging in the city at the heart of Britain's cocaine trade, and they are talking to the merciless Latin American paymasters of the global business
There is little about Alderwood Avenue to suggest that a new battle to control Europe's cocaine trade began in this grim corner of the tough Liverpool suburb of Speke. Only the most inquisitive visitor might, among the boarded-up windows and steel-shuttered shops, pause to inspect the unprepossessing gymnasium where the local hard-nuts once met. It was here that, just after 8pm on 13 November 2007, local father Colin Smith stepped outside and was executed with a pump-action shotgun. Smith, a balding 40-year-old who drove a Ford Galaxy and wore faded Lacoste shirts, was no ordinary resident of Speke. He was known as the "Cocaine King", the second biggest drug dealer Britain has produced, and an ally of Curtis Warren, the only trafficker to appear in the Sunday Times Rich List and currently behind bars in Jersey.
Smith had amassed a personal fortune of at least £200m as he masterminded the distribution of cocaine across Europe using direct contacts with the South American cartels. His murder triggered shockwaves throughout the international cocaine networks, tremors that continue to destabilise the global narcotics trade.
No one has been charged with Smith's execution, but details of the ongoing murder investigation reveal a narrative of gangland betrayal, retribution and a murderous power-struggle that spans three continents.
In the months before his murder, police and underworld sources say Smith became embroiled in a "disrespect" dispute with prominent figures from the boxing community.
Usually, when things "got hot" Smith sought refuge in the gym on Alderwood Avenue. It was no ordinary gym. Police believe that, at the time, it was the HQ of the Liverpool mafia, the operations room for Britain's biggest international cocaine smuggling ring. Its location in the bleak Speke backstreets was no coincidence either. John Lennon Airport is five minutes walk away. Smith's footsoldiers were constantly riding the budget carriers that roar overhead as they passed orders across the continent without ever needing to phone. "It's called Easygraft," said one gangland member.
A police source said: "The gym was their controlled talking shop, run by their security. It served the same function as the boardroom of a multinational company with Smith its chief exec."
When Smith arrived at the safe house that November night, he had no idea that close associates, including one gangland figure known only as "the Bird of Prey", had decided the Cocaine King's reign was over. His murder, according to police, was a "hostile takeover". The consequences of that takeover are now causing consternation among police and drug enforcement agencies: a new generation of Liverpool gangsters – ruthless, brazen and extremely violent – had spied a business opportunity in Mexico.
Over the past 12 months, the brutal, macabre methods of the Mexican drugs cartels have made regular headlines. In cities like Ciudad Juárez, even the arrival of the army has failed to halt the relentless expansionism of groups such as the Sinaloa cartel and Los Zetas, which have now achieved a dark hegemony over the Latin American illegal drugs trade.
According to Neil Giles, deputy director of the Serious Organised Crime Agency (Soca), "the Mexicans are now so violent, so scary, that the Colombians are literally in thrall. They have to continue to supply the Mexicans any way they can." But the cartels appear to be looking for new routes.
Mexican counter-narcotics officials say recent offensives by the army to crack down on the influx of cocaine north into the US have prompted the Sinaloa cartel and Los Zetas to seek fresh markets, scouring Europe for like-minded individuals willing to assist a global expansion. According to intelligence reports on both sides of the Atlantic, Liverpool may be target number one. The huge volume of container shipping that makes the Mersey one of the busiest thoroughfares in the world is a gift to a sophisticated drug-smuggling organisation.
"The Mexicans are shifting their operations. Mainly the cartels are beginning to traffic to the UK, but also Spain. The cocaine is in containers and the main port of entry is Liverpool," said one Mexican official.
The dialogue with Smith's killers has already started, police believe. Liverpool gangsters, including the Bird of Prey and an accomplice, James Taylor, known as "Pancake", are "certainly talking" to the Sinaloa, along with Los Zetas, classified by the US Drug Enforcement Administration as Mexico's most dangerous trafficking organisation. Los Zetas control access to the Venezuelan ports from where cocaine almost certainly has already been dispatched direct to Liverpool. With menacing understatement, Liverpool police told the Observer that the issue of Mexican cartels targeting the largest enclosed dock system in the world is a "highly evolving" situation.
For the Bird of Prey, Pancake and their associates, the emerging Mexican connection follows a calamitous Spanish failure. In the aftermath of Colin Smith's murder, the new leaders of the Liverpool mafia flew to the Costa del Sol with the intention of laying down the law and inheriting one of the most lucrative cocaine-smuggling operations in the world. In Marbella, the successors to the Cocaine King were not welcomed.
Attempts to wrest control of Smith's connections in Spain ran up against a wall of silence and disdain. The newcomers were ostracised by the country's well-established nexus of cocaine brokers and middlemen – Colombian, Spanish and Scouse.
Smith's middlemen, it was clear, were not interested. And there was open conflict with a shadowy group of former IRA paramilitaries turned contract-killers called the "Cleaners", believed to be responsible for more than 20 drug-related assassinations around Merseyside. In a summer-long feud in 2008, several members of the Cleaners were murdered.
One spat with the Irish took place in the Nikki Beach Bar in Marbella when drinkers hurled themselves to the floor at the sound of breaking glass, followed by gunshots. A leaked report to a Spanish judge later claimed the Bird of Prey and Pancake belonged to a "worldwide organisation that is dedicated mainly to drug trafficking and targeted assassinations."
It was becoming clear that the Spanish route, gaining access to the influx of South American cocaine that came via west Africa, had been closed off. Or at least it could only be reopened at prohibitive cost.
Giles, of Soca, said: "As a cocaine trafficker, you get most money if you control the consignment from production to market. If you go through a lot of middlemen, the take goes down"
The old routes were, in any case, becoming hugely more difficult to smuggle through. The Spanish police and the growing success of Soca in interdicting cocaine shipments moving through Iberia was already causing alarm and rethinking in Bogotá and Caracas.
Soca is still upgrading its anti-narcotics efforts throughout Africa. Giles spent last week in Ghana telling authorities to "beware of Latin Americans bearing gifts".
Police believe the Bird of Prey and Taylor eventually returned to Merseyside last year, convinced their plan must somehow circumvent Spain and determined to explore a possibility that, before he was murdered, Smith himself had started to contemplate. The idea was to open up a direct connection with the Mexicans.
Underworld sources confirmed to the Observer that, shortly before he was murdered, Smith was holding high-level talks with the Sinaloa and Zeta cartels. He had encountered difficulties with Colombia's Cali-based cartel and had begun to woo new clients in the lawless north of Mexico. Chastened by the experience in Spain, his successors decided to pursue the same connections.
"Smith's partner [the Bird of Prey] is the only person who has the money and know-how to work with them," said a gangland source.
Proposals were hatched earlier this year to bring cocaine direct into Liverpool. According to sources in both the police and the Liverpool underworld, the Bird of Prey, Taylor and their associates have the audacity, cunning and determination to forge an entirely new departure in the European cocaine business: one which will be far more violent than previous generations of gangs.
Pancake is described as a fearsome individual, typifying a new generation of thug who has made the big time, and operates in a fashion poles apart from the methodical dealings of Smith. His emerging position in the city's cocaine trade is the first time one of the so-called "Soljas" – the hooded scallies of the sink estates – has reached the summit of the Liverpool mafia food-chain.
According to one former Liverpool gangster, "Smith was old-school. His word mattered, payments were upfront and on time. The Pancake has no social skills, he is seen as violent and unpredictable, more interested in shooting than making serious money.
"They are heavily armed, they plant homemade bombs outside pubs. If the Mexicans are doing business in Liverpool, they have met their match."
Liverpool is a place where all roads feel like they head to the banks of the Mersey, the brown plume of water that is the city's lifeblood. From the waterfront, Merseyside's famous docks stretch north for 10 kilometres, eventually swallowed by the haze above Crosby.
Perhaps it is no surprise that the river that shaped a city should also mould its criminality. One police source said: "Dockers walked off with whatever came in on the ships and this evolved in the 1970s and 1980s."
In 1983, heroin began flooding Britain through Merseyside's vast dockside. Now, only the product changes. The Port of Liverpool handles 623,380 containers a year. Around 171,000 – 468 a day – of the 20ft units hail from destinations such as South America, China and india. Security is provided by a 30-strong team of port police supplemented with around 15 customs officers, all of whom are security vetted.
Futile, according to one Mexican counter-narcotics official, who said simply: "The Sinaloa and Zeta cartel are using containers and you have no solution for that. Either you go through every container or you deal with the UK demand for cocaine." Giles confirms that storing cocaine in shipping containers is the cartels' favoured method of "bulk imports".
Their favoured method, he said, was intercepting target containers and "pulling out" the cocaine before they reached their legitimate destination. Amounts of between 250kg to 500kg were used to reduce risk in case they lost track of the cargo. A senior Merseyside Police source said: "Containers can just disappear – certainly it's easier than bringing it in on the coast using a speedboat".
So far, there have been no cocaine seizures in the Mersey docklands. But recently, Spanish authorities at the port of Valencia found 2,513kg of cocaine from Mexico inside containers. Police sources say its is highly possible the haul had a Liverpool connection.
In gangland Liverpool, the new edge of violence is widely acknowledged. CCTV footage taken from a Liverpool nightclub, Palm Sugar, reveals Pancake's penchant for aggression. Denied entry by a bouncer, images show him hurling a right-handed punch at the doorman's jaw. During the ensuing chaos, Taylor is seen hurling chairs at the nightclub's security as revellers scream in fear.
Within weeks of his return from Spain, Pancake was squabbling with Nicky Ayers, 46, a convicted Liverpudlian drug dealer. Two weeks ago Ayers, a well-known hardman, was assassinated outside his daughter's home in the West Derby district of Liverpool. Pancake was questioned by Merseyside Police, but not charged. The fallout of Smith's murder still hangs over Liverpool, most profoundly among the deprived streets that straddle the city's airport.
But the head of Merseyside Police's intelligence and security bureau, Detective Chief Superintendent Steve Naylor, who has charted the shifting loyalties in Liverpool's drugs gangs, is adamant they will snare Smith's killers.
Naylor said: "We have identified a number of disputes. Loyalties have changed. Any information will be treated with the strictest confidence."
In the meantime, the one certainty is that the cycle of killing will continue. The Mexicans are coming.
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Re: Liverpool
[Re: LouDiMagio]
#962124
01/22/19 06:54 AM
01/22/19 06:54 AM
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Joined: Aug 2014
Posts: 579
rickydelta
Underboss
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Underboss
Joined: Aug 2014
Posts: 579
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The Guy Who Killed Paul Massey And the other Guy . Mark Felllows Who They call Ice Man .Who Got Life could be that Hitman In the Book Cartel .Who They say Killed 8 more Men .
Last edited by rickydelta; 01/22/19 06:57 AM.
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