Joey Pyle: Notorious - The Changing Face of Organised Crime

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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.

What can I say about the man?" said his adopted son, Mitch, clearly moved. "He was a legend. Everybody loved him and he will be very sadly missed." Connett, David (31 October 1992). "Job descriptions that hid brutal life of a criminal". The Independent . Retrieved 10 October 2023. 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 ] Woodland, David I. (2015). Crime and Corruption at The Yard: Downfall of Scotland Yard. Pen and Sword.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 ]

These adverts enable local businesses to get in front of their target audience – the local community. 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. 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.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]