R.I.P to east end gangland enforcer / fixer and One of Britains most notorious gangsters, Mad Frankie Fraser, has died in hospital at the age of 90. The ex-gangland enforcer died after slipping into a coma following an operation on a broken leg. A key figure in the 1960s turf war between his employers, the South London Richardson brothers, and the Kray twins, he spent 42 years of his life in prison and was called Britains most dangerous man by two home secretaries. Fraser was certified insane twice and survived an apparent murder attempt in 1991 when he was shot in the head outside the Turnmills nightclub in Londons Clerkenwell area. His family and friends were said to have been maintaining a bedside vigil at Kings College Hospital in South London until he passed away. South London gangland boss Eddie Richardson, who described Fraser as an old acquaintance, said: Hes had a long life and I dont think hes done too bad. He had Alzheimers for about three years, so I dont think he knew what day it was. Sky News crime correspondent Martin Brunt said Fraser had been ill for a long time. He was one of the last of a dwindling bunch of 1960s infamous criminals who became minor celebrities, Brunt said. He joined the cabaret circuit, he used to accompany people on tours of the East End around gangland haunts and was pretty spirited almost to the end because last year one of his sons revealed that he had been given an ASBO over a row with a fellow resident in the care home where he was living at the time in southeast London. One of the things he was most famous for was the number of years he had spent in prison and if you talked to any of his contemporaries they would tell you that whenever he did land in prison there was always mayhem that followed him around.
Posted on: Wed, 26 Nov 2014 21:53:51 +0000
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