Faces of the Underworld 2

Cases of young men who are prepared to commit abhorrent crimes simply because they are hungry for power or recognition
are far from rare these days. In fact reputation has become more important to many villains than financial gain. The slightest
perceived snub or insult can often result in the alleged wrong doer suffering very serious injury or death. In Glasgow, thirty-seven
year-old Douglas Tennant was stabbed in the face four times in front of his three-year-old daughter after appealing for calm
when two gangs fought, some armed with samurai swords. Billy Fargher, thirty-eight, was shot dead after parking his van in an
area where three drug dealers were laying in wait to murder a rival. When David Donnell, James Campbell and Colin Garret were
found guilty of the offence, Campbell yelled at the jury foreman, “Hope you sleep tonight. You can’t bring Bill Fargher back” and
Garrett shouted, ”I am proud of it.” Such a callous and total disregard for the life of a fellow human being is unimaginable to any
decent thinking person but sickening verbal abuse and even disrespect for the deceased pales into insignificance when compared
to the behaviour of some. In 2010 twenty-six year-old James Hanlon was driving along Cumbernauld Road, Stepps, near Glasgow.
Without warning a red Ford Focus rammed Hanlon’s vehicle and a blue Audi convertible that had been following him blocked his
escape route. Six men armed with power drills, hammers and chisels piled out of the two cars and chased Hanlon as he ran for his
life. In broad daylight they pinned him down, beat him with hammers and chisels and then drilled a hole in his head before fleeing
the scene. It is believed Hanlon only escaped with his life because passing motorists called the emergency services. Four days
later James’s twin, Bryan Hanlon, was driving on Maryhill Road in Glasgow when he was run off the road by a silver BMW 5 Series
and a dark-coloured 4x4. Up to seven men, armed with chisels and hammers, hacked and beat Bryan until he lost consciousness.
It was reported that his penis was cut off with a chisel; he suffered multiple fractures, severe head injuries and injuries to his anus
which were reported to have been inflicted by a chisel. The Hanlon twins do have gangland connections but claim they have no
idea why they were attacked. The press speculated that they were targeted in revenge for the desecration of a rival’s child’s grave
an allegation that they vehemently deny.

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Bobby Kirkwood and brothers Michael and Charles `Chagga` McCormack stood trial for the attack on James Hanlon. Kirkwood
agreed to plead guilty on the condition that the McCormack brothers would have the charges against them dropped. The Crown
Prosecution Service accepted Kirkwood’s offer and he was sentenced to four and a half years imprisonment. The McCormack
brothers subsequently walked free.



In the East End of Glasgow, veteran villain Ian Blink McDonald
became embroiled in a bitter dispute with millionaire boxing
promoter Barry `Braveheart` Hughes and his right-hand man
Paul Fitzpatrick. The trio had initially fallen out over a proposed
business deal and fought at a city centre cafe. In the months
that followed there were several skirmishes which resulted in
McDonald being banned from the centre of Glasgow by the
courts and Hughes being convicted of carrying a knife. One
evening as Fitzpatrick was walking to his car; an unidentified
man slashed his face with a knife. McDonald was blamed for the
attack but before yet another gang war could break out on the
streets of Glasgow, two very powerful men intervened.





George Redmond and John McGuire, whose nickname was
the Pulp Fiction Crew, used to work for one of Glasgow’s
most infamous families, the McGovern’s. Redmond and
McGuire earned their Pulp Fiction tag because of the
extreme violence they used. During the 2004 funeral
of drug dealer Rab Caruthers Redmond and McGuire
stabbed Marbella-based millionaire Robert Hamilton and
his friend Ronnie Webster for ruffling a man’s hair. As
the men writhed on the floor, Redmond had ordered an
associate to fetch a shotgun from his car as he intended
to shoot the two wounded men. Hamilton’s life was saved
when his wife threw herself on top of him and begged for
his life to be spared. Bobby Dempster, Blink McDonald
and convicted murderer William `Toe` Elliot, successfully
pleaded with Redmond and McGuire not to execute the
men. In another incident a former policeman was mown
down by Redmond’s car. Redmond was incensed about
the damage caused and forced the injured man to pay him
£6,000 to repair the vehicle. When Redmond and McGuire
heard that their old friend Blink McDonald was involved in
a feud with Hughes, they made it known that they were
on his side. This and the fact that Hughes was arrested for
attempted murder and a million pound fraud dampened
the would-be participants’ passion for conflict. The charge
of attempted murder arose after Hughes and Fitzpatrick
attended a 21st birthday party and trouble had broken
out. A young man named Chris Boyle was stabbed in the
stomach and slashed across the face during the melee. The
fraud allegation concerned mortgage applications that had
been made by Hughes.





On Monday 6 October 2008 George Redmond and John McGuire spent the day drinking with a friend in the Waldorf Bar on
Cambridge Street in Glasgow. Shortly before 10.30 p.m. their friend announced that he was going home. A few minutes later
Redmond and McGuire also decided to head for home. As they left the bar a black Porsche Cayenne with false number plates
pulled up and two gunmen opened fire. George Redmond died shortly afterwards in hospital and John McGuire suffered serious
injuries but survived. Redmond’s murder remains unsolved.









Seven months later, an attempt to murder the man Redmond and McGuire had vowed to protect was made. A huge bomb was
planted under Blink McDonald’s Mercedes which had been parked outside his home. Roads were closed and nearby residents
were evacuated as bomb squad officers cordoned off the area during a tense fifteen hour operation. Robots were sent in to
examine the homemade device before specialist officers were allowed to approach the car and make it safe. Had the bomb gone
off, it could not only have killed McDonald, it may have destroyed several homes and killed or injured innocent people.





Four days later, McDonald was out walking his dog when a group of men attacked him. He was struck from behind with a heavy
implement, beaten and an attempt was made to cut his throat. In the struggle McDonald was stabbed and suffered a deep knife
wound across his face which has left him scarred for life. Whilst he was recovering in hospital McDonald’s Mercedes, which had
been returned by the police, was petrol bombed. McDonald has since refused to accept police protection claiming that if people
did have issues with him then he would sort matters out himself.



Away from the madness of the underworld Bernard O’Mahoney wasn’t finding civilian life easy. In May 1999 he was attacked
by John `Gaffer` Rollinson who has been described as the most dangerous man in Britain. Rollinson was in a relationship with
Tony Tucker’s former mistress and had taken offence at comments O’Mahoney had made in his book. Rollinson had squirted
ammonia in O’Mahoney’s eyes and he had responded by brandishing a 12” combat knife. Wisely, Rollinson had fled and
O’Mahoney was arrested. Realising he could never move on from events in Essex whilst continuing to live there, O’Mahoney
moved to Cambridgeshire. His long term partner Debra had also had enough of his Essex Boy label and left him. Within a week
of O’Mahoney’s arrival a local newspaper published five front page stories concerning his past. Potential employers shunned him
and he was forced to commute to London for work. Five years later, O’Mahoney married twenty-six year-old Emma Turner who
died suddenly of flu just nineteen weeks after their wedding. Grief stricken O’Mahoney turned to alcohol for solace. In a confused
state of mind he kicked in the windows of a police car and attacked two officers. In a separate incident he was imprisoned after
making threats to kill a builder who had failed to complete work at his home. Prison turned out to be O’Mahoney’s saviour. Within
the confines of his cell he was able to come to terms with the loss of his wife, plan for the future and concentrate on his writing. In
2006 he moved to Birmingham and began writing a book about the Newcastle underworld titled, Fog on the Tyne.` During a trip
to the north-east to research the book he met a professional singer named Roshea Tierney, they fell in love and married in 2009.

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Public fascination with the Essex Boys case resulted in O’Mahoney being featured on Danny Dyer’s popular television series,
`Danny Dyer’s Deadliest Men.` The programme followed Danny Dyer as he travelled to various locations where he met some of
the most notorious men in the United Kingdom.







O’Mahoney was also commissioned to present `British Gangsters Faces of the Underworld,` a six part television series. In 2010 his
book, `Bonded by Blood` was adapted for a film of the same name starring Tamer Hassan, Kierston Wareing and Vincent Regan.

At the movie premier footballers, musicians and celebrities rubbed shoulders with members of what had become Britain’s most
infamous criminal gang. The underworld it would seem is not the only place where morals are redundant.