Free Bringing Down the Krays by Bobby Teale Page A

to be back up the West End. There was a face called Hew McCowan who had a big flat at Marble Arch full of fruit machines. That was his business. There were non-stop parties, all-nighters, to which David and Alfie were always invited. He was already in the Krays’ sights because David had introduced him to Charlie the year before, and as a result he had been tapped by Leslie Payne for that Nigerian scheme. McCowan had a club called the Bon Soir in Gerrard Street, which he was doing up and was planning to reopen at Christmas. He was going to rename it the Hideaway.
    The Krays decided they would like twenty per cent of the profits. They summoned McCowan to the Grave Maurice pub in the Whitechapel Road to do a deal. McCowan refused. That was unwise. Now they demanded fifty per cent. The twins booked a table for ten people on the opening night of the Hideaway and of course their party failed to appear. But Mad Teddy Smith did show, two nights later, and smashed up some lamps, saying: ‘You know who my friends are.’ Well, everybody knew who his friends were. That was meant to assure cooperation.
    But instead, as David heard it, McCowan had gone round to West End Central Police Station and accused the twins of demanding money with menaces. Next thing we knew, Charlie Kray was telling David the twins had been nicked and he had to go and visit Ronnie in Brixton Prison. David didn’t want togo or to get involved at all. But he had no chance of staying out of it. He’d have been done himself if he had said no.
    It turned out that a new copper was on their case. Ronnie, Reggie and Teddy Smith had all been nicked at the Glenrae Hotel by a detective superintendent from the Yard called Leonard ‘Nipper’ Read. We’d never heard of him. They didn’t get bail and they were all on remand.
    So David, on Charlie’s instructions, went to see Ronnie in Brixton. The Colonel said to him: ‘Listen boy, I want you to do me a favour. Go round and see that cunt McCowan and tell him if he don’t drop the charges, him and his whole family will be done.’
    David was shocked. It was one thing running little errands for the Krays but to actually threaten someone himself? He said, ‘Ron, I can’t. Please don’t make me do this.’ But Ron just answered: ‘Go round and tell him!’
    So that night David went to McCowan’s. He told him the twins had given him a message for him to drop the charges or he’d be in a lot of trouble. McCowan said: ‘I’ve got the police on to it now.’ He didn’t seem to get it. Anyway he was brave – but very foolish. There was no way the police were going to win this one. No one dared back up McCowan’s accusations.
    Nipper Read went round all the other Soho club owners but they all said the same thing. There was never any trouble from the Krays. There had never been any threats – McCowan was drunk, jealous, making it all up. The twins used the Boothby money to pay fancy lawyers and employ a private investigator to dig dirt on McCowan – of which there was plenty.
    The jury was got at, too – not once but three times. All the witnesses who had initially been brave enough to speak up quickly changed their minds. Charlie was going round to Boothby’s gaff all the time to keep him onside. Boothby even asked a question in the House of Lords on the Krays’ behalf. On 6 April 1965, the jury gave their verdict, after ten minutes’ deliberation. Not guilty.
    That afternoon they all came back from the Old Bailey in triumph to Vallance Road to celebrate. There were photographers, reporters, loads of people – it was like a big street party. Everyone was congratulating them.
    Like always, the twins got what they wanted, and soon they had a tight hold of the Hideaway. They renamed it ‘El Morocco’. David thinks that was Ronnie’s idea. He’d become a big fan of Tangiers and his flat at Cedra Court was done up like some Middle Eastern oasis. Charlie Kray took the club over through a holding company. There