[9] He was kicked out of Sandhurst following his theft of a brigadier's car; rather than being court-martialled, he was put through the criminal justice system and given three months of the newly introduced short, sharp shock, a replacement for Borstal.

[1][11] Protection rackets at the time usually involved a gang of heavies wrecking a venue, then reappearing and assuring the owner that his place would be safe, on payment of a fee.

[21] The police didn't want a repeat of a situation in which organised crime held sway over the British legal system due to a lack of intelligence on the side of the forces of law and order, so from that time on detectives were posted at all similar trials to gather information on the key faces present.

[23] He spoke to Billy Hill and Waggy Whitnall, who advised him on the best way forward, and he first set up a dice table at German Harry's in Balham, then expanded to The Crown in Croydon.

Soon he was "looking after" other dice clubs and more upmarket casinos, ensuring that no scams were being attempted, that chips weren't bought with fake money and that any cash that was owed was paid, otherwise he and his firm would move in and sort things out.

Pyle and Nash, and Nesline, for that matter, were unaware that Dino Cellini had asked Albert Dimes to sort out protection, and he'd approached the Krays.

[27] Known as a diplomat and a fixer among the criminal fraternity, Pyle straddled all sides of feuding gangland London, being associated with both the Kray and the Richardson families as well as the Nashes.

"[29] John Pearson, author of the first and most critically acclaimed book on the Krays, stated that "Joe Pyle had been the closest thing to the godfather of British crime for nearly three decades.

Despite the fact that every policeman in the country was looking for him, Pyle fixed Reynolds up at his brother's in Cobham, but the train robber was soon in touch again, complaining that "it's too fucking quiet.

When police raided the flat after an earlier visit on an unconnected matter, Reynolds had already fled, and would remain free for another year, but Pyle's albeit tangential involvement in the then biggest robbery of the century was noted by the authorities.

All the other prisoners were soon re-arrested during a massive police search operation, but McVicar, still at large, contacted Pyle in London, who drove down with Peter Tilley and met him in Portsmouth.

A wide-ranging search was mounted to find anyone who had assisted him in his escape, and Pyle was arrested, with a whole range of charges levelled against him – including stealing £1 million of travellers' cheques at Heathrow Airport and paying Osborne.

In his customary role of gangland diplomat, Pyle contacted McVitie (whom he knew as "Mac") half a dozen times to tell him to reel it in ("If you carry on like this, one day you're gonna get it").

The Richardson murder took place when police were called to a jewellery heist in Blackpool by a South London gang, and the Flying Squad raided Pyle's house, suspecting that he might be hiding Sewell.

[43] Some days later, with the fact that Pyle was being framed now widely known on the street, a Sunday People journalist came to his house after he'd been let out on bail, asking questions about corrupt police officers.

The journalist, Bill Thompson, told him about another case, in which Detective Chief Superintendent Kenneth Drury of the Flying Squad had framed a boy called Pat Murphy for a murder during a robbery at a post office in Luton.

Pyle flatly refused, telling Hannigan to his face at Tintagel House, the Metropolitan Police HQ, "I hate your fucking guts.

In his summing-up, the judge told the jury that if they found Pyle not guilty then they were saying that all the police officers that had given evidence were liars, perjurers and had gone completely mad.

[49] Meanwhile an attractive young woman called "Lucy" started work at Pyle's film production company in Pinewood Studios and planted a bug in his office, which recorded 160 45-minute tapes, precisely six minutes of which related to the supply of drugs.

The man, who possessed no discernible musical talent, also asked Pyle whether he could distribute a product called Omnipom, a substance in a glass vial used, apparently, by bodybuilders and athletes, and latterly by young people in a recreational capacity.

Not wanting to upset Reggie Kray by turning Gillette down, but unwilling – and unable – to do anything with him musically, Pyle thought that he could shift the supply of Omnipom through "Dave", whom he considered something of a mug.

He had been introduced to Black Sabbath's one-time manager Wilf Pine via their mutual friend Reggie Kray, as Pyle wanted to "go straight"[30] and move into the music business.

"[54]Preferring the climate of California, Pyle left for Palm Springs, where he met Bobby Milano of the Los Angeles crime family on Pagano's recommendation,[55] and later reputed Gambino soldier and music industry figure Joe Isgro, who, via payola, was alleged to control airplay on US radio and thereby the chances a record had of reaching the charts.

[57] 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.

He hired a field from a farmer in Essex, set up a ring, sold over a thousand tickets at £10 each, with the added attraction of alcohol on sale and pony trek races.

But when the police got wind of the match – to be fought with no referee, no rules and no time limit – as well as of the alternative venue that had quickly been arranged to foil them, Pyle had no choice but to call it off.

The popularity of this new branch of the sport that Pyle had invented quickly grew, as large numbers of people fancied their chances in the ring, from seasoned ex-pros to inexperienced hard nuts, neither of which groups were able to get a licence from the BBBofC.

[67] 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.

[69] Pyle appeared in a three-part Channel 4 reality TV show/crime hybrid called The Heist, broadcast in 2004 and featuring a group of "experts" from the criminal world, who each possessed specialist skills.

[70] Pyle was appointed overall leader of the group – comprising cat-burglar and jewellery thief Peter Scott, computer hacker Mathew Bevan, extortionist Arno Funke and Britain's former "most-wanted man", armed robber Terry Smith – which was tasked with staging various crimes: stealing a painting from the London Art Fair at the reputedly impregnable Business Design Centre in Islington, stealing a prototype TVR Sagaris sports car from the Earl's Court Motor Show, and extorting money from a Newmarket racehorse owner while holding his horse, Lucky Harry, hostage.