The Curse of Brink's-Mat


Book Description

'It wasn't only Britain's biggest heist, it became the bloodiest' Mail on Sunday The inside story of the 20th century's most lucrative armed robbery. On 26 November 1983 six armed robbers escaped with £28 million worth of gold bullion from a Brink's-Mat warehouse at London's Heathrow Airport. The Curse of Brink's-Mat reveals the pulse-racing full story of the crime itself before moving to its chilling aftermath, which still reverberates to this day. The heist made the careers of many of the underworld's biggest names, and changed the face of British crime forever but in the years that followed the robbery, many of those involved, innocent and guilty alike have been sent to an early grave. Two decades on, the death toll is still rising. Nobody knows more about that extraordinary morning's events than Wensley Clarkson, whose early career was spent as a reporter for Britain's biggest-selling newspapers, providing him with a wealth of insider contacts. From small-time crime in south-east London, to 'the heist of the century' and its bloody consequences, Wensley Clarkson's The Curse of Brink's-Mat is an epic tale of villainy, gold and revenge.




The Curse of Brink's-Mat


Book Description

'It wasn't only Britain's biggest heist, it became the bloodiest' Mail on Sunday The inside story of the 20th century's most lucrative armed robbery. On 26 November 1983 six armed robbers escaped with £28 million worth of gold bullion from a Brink's-Mat warehouse at London's Heathrow Airport. The heist made the careers of many of the underworld's biggest names, and changed the face of British crime for ever. In the years following the robbery, many of those involved, innocent and guilty alike, have been sent to an early grave. Two decades on, the death toll is still rising. Nobody knows more about that extraordinary morning's events than Wensley Clarkson. Nobody is better placed to track the vicious, violent and unexpected waves that followed in its wake, or bring to life its cast of larger-than-life characters. From small-time crime in south-east London, to 'the heist of the century' and its bloody consequences, Wensley Clarkson's The Curse of Brink's-Mat is an epic tale of villainy, gold and revenge.




Killing Goldfinger


Book Description

KILLING GOLDFINGER charts the extraordinary rise and spectacular bullet-riddled fall of John Palmer, the richest, most powerful criminal ever to have emerged from the modern British underworld. During the late 1990s, Palmer was rated as rich as The Queen by the Sunday Times Rich List. Palmer earned his nickname Goldfinger after smelting (in his back garden) tens of millions of pounds worth of stolen gold bullion from the 20th century's most lucrative heist; the Brink's-Mat robbery. Palmer then used his share of the millions to become the vicious overlord of a vast illegal timeshare property empire in Tenerife. At the same time, Goldfinger financed huge international drugs shipments as well as some of the most notorious UK robberies of the past 30 years, including the £50m Securitas heist in Kent in 2006 and, many believe, the Hatton Garden heist in 2015. Palmer vowed to hunt down all his underworld enemies. But in the end it was those same criminals who decided to bring his life to an end. Murdered in June 2015, with charges of fraud, money laundering and worse pending, this book tells his murky story for the first time. As outrageous and bullet-riddled as the hit Netflix series Narcos, Killing Goldfinger tells the true story of Britain's underworld kingpin, who turned the sunshine holiday island of Tenerife into his very own Crime Incorporated and then paid the ultimate price.




Death Warrant


Book Description

First account of the most valuable haul in British criminal history, the Brinks Mat robbery of 1983




Heist


Book Description

A detail-driven account of how a gang of criminal misfits pulled off the world’s biggest cash robbery, from the bestselling author of true crime classic Fred & Rose. The target was a regional counting house for the Bank of England, a fortified concrete bunker located within a triangle of police stations, one only three hundred yards away. When former UFC cage fighter Lightning Lee Murray discovered that this cash centre held hundreds of millions of pounds, he assembled a team of mates including a mechanic, a roofer, and a used car dealer. A hairdresser made disguises for the men so they could pass off as police officers. In an Ocean’s Eleven–style robbery, the gang succeeded in hauling away a lorry-load of cash—a staggering £53 million (worth $87 million at the time)—a world-record sum. That’s when their problems began. By turns thrilling and hilarious, Heist is the compelling true story of this mind-blowing crime, including background on Lee Murray, the build-up to the heist, the robbery itself, and its aftermath. The subject of Catching Lightning, as seen on SHOWTIME.




Gold


Book Description

From the award-winning author of Diamond: A blazing exploration of the human love affair with gold that “combines the engaging style of a travel narrative with sharp-eyed journalistic exposé” (Publishers Weekly, starred review). In the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, the price of gold skyrocketed—in three years more than doubling from $800 an ounce to $1900. This massive spike drove an unprecedented global gold-mining and exploration boom, much bigger than the gold rush of the 1800s. In Gold, acclaimed author Matthew Hart takes you on an unforgettable journey around the world and through history to tell the extraordinary story of how gold became the world’s most precious commodity. Beginning with a page-turning report from the crime-ridden inferno of the world’s deepest mine, Hart traveled around the world to the sites of the hottest action in gold today, from the biggest new mine in China, to the highly secretive London gold exchange, and the lair of the world’s most powerful gold trader in Geneva, Switzerland. He profiles the leaders of the gold market today, the nature of the current boom, and the likely prospects for the future. From the earliest civilizations, when gold was an icon of sacred and kingly power, Hart tracks its evolution, through conquest, murder, and international mayhem, into the speculative casino-chip that the metal has become. He ends by telling the story of the massive flows of gold that have occurred in the wake of the financial crisis and what the world’s leading experts are saying about the profound changes underway in the gold market and the prospects for the future. “Compelling, stylish, and impressively researched” (The Boston Globe), Gold is a wonderful historical odyssey with important implications for today’s global economy.




The Great Diamond Heist - The Incredible True Story of the Hatton Garden Diamond Geezers


Book Description

Over the Easter weekend in 2015, an audacious gang of criminals robbed a safe depository in London's Hatton Garden, the centre of the UK's diamond trade. Shortly before, electrical cables under nearby Kingsway had caught on fire, disrupting the emergency services in the area. Coincidence? Alarms at Hatton Garden Safe Deposit Ltd went off, but the police ignored them. The burglars were caught on CCTV taking jewellery worth up to $200 million. They had used specialist equipment, taking days to tunnel through the walls of the vault. Within a month nine suspects had been arrested and valuables seized from their homes. They were aged between forty-three and seventy-six, including a father and son. The question was, were they the same gang that had made a similar daring raid in Hatton Garden safe netting £1.5 million over the Christmas holiday in 2004. The culprits then were never caught. In 1986, a similar heist had taken place in Los Angeles where a gang drilled a 100- foot tunnel from a storm drain into the vaults of the First Interstate Bank in West Hollywood. It inspired the novel The Black Echo. Author Michael Connelly believes his book might have inspired the Hatton Garden heists, and has a grudging respect for the criminals. "There is no violence and they sweated for the money. And there is a certain class envy," he said. "We don’t feel too sorry for people who keep fortunes hidden away in safety deposit boxes. Part of us hopes the gang members are now lying on a beach somewhere." However, what the Hatton Garden heist so victimless? There have been suggestions that the safety deposit raid was linked to the murder of John 'Goldfinger' Palmer – a suspect in the 1983 Brink's-Mat bullion robbery who was gunned down in Essex in July. The question remains: was Palmer killed for tipping off police about possible suspects?




Kenny Noye


Book Description

Kenneth Noye is a criminal mastermind and millionaire. The man at the top of organized crime in Britain fled the country after the murder of young motorist Stephen Cameron on the M25. His extradition from Spain caused banner headlines across the country. Bestselling investigative journalist Wensley Clarkson has penetrated the inner sanctum of Noye's closest family and criminal associates to paint a chilling portrait of a brilliant master criminal. Fully updated for the paperback, Clarkson details exactly how Noye continues to control his extensive criminal empire from behind bars.




Secret Narco


Book Description

This is the extraordinary story of how Charlie Wilson – renowned as one of the leaders of the Great Train Robbery gang – turned his back on so-called traditional crime to become the underworld’s original narco by helping to mastermind a multi-billion dollar drugs network in partnership with the original cocaine cowboy, Pablo Escobar. Wilson secretly helped turn cocaine into the Western world’s number one recreational drug of choice. Secret Narco unravels the bullet riddled, never-before-told history of South Londoner Wilson’s cocaine empire and his forays into the deadliest killing fields of all: South America. Bestselling author Wensley Clarkson’s meticulously researched story features interviews with many of Wilson’s friends, family members and enemies on both sides of the law enforcement divide, as well as associates of Pablo Escobar. .br> Secret Narco also reveals the final, tragic circumstances behind Wilson and Escobar’s bloody deaths, and how their twisted ‘partnership’ proved that gangsters never rest in peace.




The Bible on Leadership


Book Description

Millions have been inspired by the Bible’s spiritual lessons. Now, Lorin Woolfe provides a unique way to view the Bible . . . for leadership lessons that can be applied to our modern business world. Consider David’s courage and innovation in slaying Goliath with just a stone and a sling; Moses’ outstanding ""succession planning"" in picking Joshua; Joseph and the political skills that brought him to the seat of power; and of course, Jesus’ compassion, communication skills, and vision that launched Christianity (a long-term success by any measure). These are leaders among leaders. Their achievements -- and their inspired methods of achievement -- offer a wholly different perspective on business leadership. For the dozens of Biblical stories presented, the book provides: * A concise retelling of each story * One (or more) leadership lessons suggested by each story * Examples of contemporary business leaders who exhibit some of the inspired traits of these ancient leaders, including: Fred Smith of FedEx, Howard Shultz of Starbucks, Tom Chappell of Tom’s of Maine (a “toothpaste with a mission”), Roy Vagelos of Merck, and many more. The chapters cover these universal topics: Courage * Purpose * Communication * Honesty and Integrity * Power and Influence * Performance Management * Team Building * Humility * Compassion * Justice * Encouragement and Consequences * Wisdom * Creating the Future Each topic concludes with a list of key points to keep in mind as readers continue on their own leadership journeys.