Legacy: Gangsters, Corruption and the London Olympics

(Paperback)

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'Reveals criminal corruption on a scale that the Kray twins would never have dreamt of' John Pearson, Profession of Violence, The Rise and Fall of the Kray Twins 'Gillard's detailed investigation makes for a stunning and shocking read' Barry Keeffe, The Long Good Friday 'Legacy illustrates the sordid links between business, politics and organised crime' Ioan Grillo, El Narco and Gangster Warlords When billions poured into the neglected east London borough hosting the 2012 Olympics, a turf war broke out between crime families for control of a now valuable strip of land. Using violence, guile and corruption, one gangster, the Long Fella, emerged as a true untouchable. A team of local detectives made it their business to take him on until Scotland Yard threw them under the bus and the business of putting on 'the greatest show on earth' won the day. Protecting the Olympic legacy by covering up a scandal of suspicious deaths and corruption seemed more important than protecting Londoners from the predatory Long Fella and his friends in suits. For others at Scotland Yard, the crime lord was simply too big and too dangerous to take on. Award-winning journalist Michael Gillard took up where they left off to expose the tangled web of chief executives, big banks, politicians and dirty money where innocent lives are destroyed and the guilty flourish. Gillards efforts culminated in a landmark court case, which finally put a spotlight on the Long Fella and his friends and exposed Londons real Olympic legacy.

Reviews

After reading this extraordinary book, I realised how much has changed in the criminal underworld of Londons East End since I wrote my own book on the Kray twins nearly fifty years ago. Where there are criminals, there is always corruption, but Michael Gillard reveals criminal corruption on a scale that the Kray twins would never have dreamt of when I knew them. Recreational drugs had barely started, the Krays were simple East End gangsters and the police were relatively easy to cope with then. In contrast, the world that Gillard uncovers is a nightmare of corruption, with vast amounts of crooked money and constant threats against him. To write a book like Legacy requires courage as well as literary skill. Michael Gillard has both -- John Pearson * The Profession of Violence, The Rise and Fall of the Kray Twins *
A story of violence and corruption in gangland London that reads like The Sopranos.says a lot about Gillards immense strength of character and his fearless commitment to evidence-based journalism it was Gillards robust journalism that managed to prove what the police failed to do in 30 years. -- Jonathan Calvert * The Sunday Times *
Digging deep into the underbelly of London, Legacy illustrates the sordid links between business, politics and organised crime. It's not only Latin America that suffers from gangster capitalism and corruption in the twenty-first century; to understand modern Britain you also have to understand how modern organized crime works -- Ioan Grillo * author of El Narco and Gangster Warlords *
Gillard's detailed investigation makes for a stunning and shocking read and adds credence to the old adage that truth can be stranger than fiction -- Barrie Keeffe * The Long Good Friday *
a superbly well-researched book... Legacy could never be called a sports book in the accepted sense (it reads more like an outstanding crime thriller). -- Peter Sharkey * Bristol Post *
this is a book thats both eye-opening and hair-raising. -- James Walton * The Daily Telegraph *
Gillards forensically meticulous book is a labyrinthine account of East End villains and the councillors, bankers, CEOs and police who became ensnared in their web of corruption... * The Herald *
Gillard is unflinching as he sorts through the serious organised criminals and police tasked to take them down... You will emerge reeling. -- Kirsty Brimelow * The Times *
Gillard is not one to shy away from a challenge, however risky, and his latest book, Legacy: Gangsters, Corruption and the London Olympics, finds him in fearless mode. -- Chris Moss * Big Issue in the North *

Author Bio

Michael Gillard is an award-winning journalist formerly of The Sunday Times and the Guardian. He now writes across international publications and turns crime into scripts. A two-times winner of Investigation of The Year in the British Journalism awards, in 2013 Gillard was voted Journalist of the Year for his investigation of organised crime and the London 2012 Olympics.