Joey Pyle: Notorious - The Changing Face of Organised Crime

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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. 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. Preferring the climate of California, Pyle left for Palm Springs, where he met Bobby Milano of the Los Angeles crime family on Pagano's recommendation, [49] and later reputed Gambino soldier and music industry figure Joe Isgro, who, via payola, was alleged to control airplay on US radio and thereby the chances a record had of reaching the charts. Pyle hit it off with Isgro, "getting involved with little bits and pieces", and Isgro asked him if he could help provide the same service in Europe regarding airplay that he had going in the States. [50] Pyle also knew Ori Spado, Hollywood fixer and gangster, and associate of Colombo family underboss Sonny Franzese. Spado referred to Pyle as "my best friend". [51] Boxing [ edit ] 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. Occasionally, Pyle's wide circle of acquaintances in the criminal underworld and his power within it had deadly consequences. On one occasion in 1976, Pyle was driven by Terry Marsh to the airport to fly to Monte Carlo to watch the Monzón– Valdez fight. While in Monaco he received a message saying that "Mad" Ronnie Fryer had stabbed and killed Marsh following a bust-up in Tooting. The cause of the argument had been Fryer's jealousy that Pyle had asked Marsh to drive to the airport, not him. Several weeks later, Fryer committed suicide in his Brixton Prison cell. [35]

But it was behind these doors that "Big Joey" Pyle, a major player in the notorious London underworld of the 1960s, had lived until his death a fortnight ago. 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. Bruce Reynolds, the man behind the Great Train Robbery, was there. So too was Charlie Richardson, once the most feared gangster in London.Later, hundreds of mourners made their way to Merton and Sutton Joint Cemetery in Garth Road, where a final ceremony was held in the chapel at the top of the hill. 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 ]

verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ Horsnell, Michael (7 May 1996). "Covert bug exposed film executive's covert trade". The Times . Retrieved 14 October 2023. 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] But there was no mistaking the genuine affection in which he was held by the people who had gathered to grieve.

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. 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 ]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. 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. Thompson, Tony (21 November 2004). "Arch-villains pull off one last heist - stealing the limelight". The Guardian . Retrieved 15 October 2023. Pyle Sr, Joseph; Pyle Jr, Joseph (2018). Like Father Like Son: A Journey of Minds. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. Woodland, David I. (2015). Crime and Corruption at The Yard: Downfall of Scotland Yard. Pen and Sword.