The son of Elizabeth and John Comerford, he was born in Liverpool on 19 October 1932 and grew up un the city's Vauxhall district during the post-war era.

[2] Comerford worked as a truck driver on the Liverpool docks and was also a petty criminal and thief before becoming involved in armed robbery.

[5] The "Liverpool Mafia" gained strength by brokering a strategic alliance with young black gangs following the 1981 Toxteth riots, and became the richest crime group in the United Kingdom.

Described as "a larger-than-life Scotland Road character", he lived an extravagant lifestyle, wearing expensive suits and watches, and regularly attending boxing dinners and the Grand National.

[7] Despite his wealth, Comerford was granted a council flat on Lee Vale Road and regular benefit payments from the Department of Health and Social Security (DHSS).

He was arrested in November 1995 during a sting operation at the Hyatt Regency Birmingham in connection with a ten-kilogram cocaine shipment from Ecuador, valued at £1 million, which was seized at Felixstowe.

[3] Comerford was charged with possession with intent to supply in March 2003 after police stopped and searched a car he was travelling in with a group of friends, finding a stash of heroin valued at approximately £10,000.

[8][10] Comerford is considered one of Liverpool's first crime bosses and the predecessor to later drug kingpins of the city such as John Haase and Curtis Warren.