Changes: Leslie Payne

Revision as of 22:00, 23 May 2018

Leslie James Payne (1924-1990) was a con-man who worked for the Krays during the 1960s. He acted at the twins business manager and encouraged them to broaden their empire into the club world, often persuading them to purchase casinos, clubs, and pubs, notably The Hideaway (later renamed El Morocco).

He considered himself a cultured man and he was sickened by the twins' violence and acted a key witness during the Kray trial in 1969 where he gave evidence against them after Ronnie Kray paid Jack McVitie to shoot him at his home in 1967.

History

Early Life

Payne was born in Conduit Mews, Paddington, London, on 7th January 1927. His mother was from a poor background and his father a rich one, who worked as a solicitor. Payne was an Infantry Sergeant during WWII and was present at the battle of Monte Cassino in 1944. After release from the army in 1947, he asserted himself as a suave and professional businessman.

The Krays

Payne first came into contact with the twins via his car dealership in Stratford. After a business deal went wrong in 1959, he met the brothers and demonstrated his skills of negotiation. He soon joined The Firm and was favoured more by Reggie than Ronnie. Reggie found him useful whereas Ron was sceptical of his presence in The Firm. He fell out with the twins in early 1966. Leslie Payne was a close associate of Ronald and Reginald Kray in the early 60s, the years of their real rise to power and wealth. In this rise, Payne played a vital part. The Krays were in truth little more than East End thugs with a certain native wit. Payne was an expert operator and fraudsman. He provided the brains and confidence necessary to conduct the activities - gambling and fraud - on which the 'firm' flourished; the twins provided the personnel, the gangland aparate. He eventually drifted away from the Krays, alarmed by their psychopathic violence. It was Payne who played a crucial role in the conviction of the Krays, after their attempt to have him murdered had driven him into the arms of the police

Payne1969 — Leslie Payne arriving at The Old Bailey in 1969 for the Kray trial.

Murder Attempt

After he drifted away from them in the years leading up to 1967, Ronnie Kray offered Jack McVitie £500 to kill Payne as he believed Payne was going to contact the police about their criminal activities. Billy Exley drove Jack McVitie to Payne’s house in Tulse Hill and McVitie was planning on shooting Payne when he answered the door. McVitie failed to do this, instead, spending the money on drink and pills and bragging about it instead which subsequently lead to his murder in October 1967. Payne gave evidence against the Krays during the trial due to the assassination attempt.

Later Life

Leslie payne — Payne at the time of the Kray's trial, dated July 1969.

Payne was known to have had two daughters and lived in a suburban house in Dulwich. In 1972 he was convicted to five years imprisonment for conspiracy to pervert the course of justice. At his trial, the manuscript of his book, The Brotherhood was produced in evidence and described by prosecuting counsel as a 'how to do it' book of crime.

Books

Lesliepaynelegend — David Thewlis portraying Payne in *Legend*, 2015.

The Brotherhood, Michael Joseph, Hardcover, 173 pages, 7th May 1973 (rare)

References

Bennett, John. Krayology (2015). Mango Books.

People associated with The Krays
Kray Family	Ronnie • Reggie • Charlie • Violet • Charles
Shea Family	Frances • Frank • Elsie • Frank Sr.
Lee Family	Cannonball Lee • Grandma Lee • Aunt Rose • Aunt May • Uncle John
The Firm	Albert Donoghue • Ian Barrie • Leslie Payne • Big Pat • Ronnie Bender • Ronnie Hart • Teddy Smith • Jack Dickson • The Bear • Chris Lambrianou • Tony Lambrianou • Connie Whitehead
The Richardsons	Charlie Richardson • Eddie Richardson • George Cornell • Mad Frankie Fraser • Roy Hall • Jimmy Moody • Barry Harris • Albert Longman • Tommy Clark
Gangsters & Criminals	Freddie Foreman • Jack Spot • Billy Hill • Bert Rossi • Albert Dimes • Eric Mason • Johnny Squibb • Ginger Marks • Leslie Holt
Civilians	The Barmaid • Blonde Carol • Maureen Flanagan • Nipper Read • Lord Boothby • John Pearson • David Bailey
Victims	George Cornell • Frank Mitchell • Jack the Hat

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 {{Gangsters
 |title1=Leslie Payne
-|image1=File:Lesliepayne.jpg
+|image1=[[File:Payneles.png|thumb]]
+|also_known_as=Payne the Brain
-|born=?
+|born=7 January 1924<br>Paddington, London
-|died= ?
+|died=c. 1990 (aged 66)
 |occupation=Businessman, conman
-|allegiance=The Firm
+|allegiance=[[The Firm]] (1960-1966)
-|origin=?
+|origin=Tulse Hill, Lambeth
 |status=Deceased
+}}'''Leslie James Payne''' (1924-1990) was a con-man who worked for the Krays during the 1960s. He acted at the twins business manager and encouraged them to broaden their empire into the club world, often persuading them to purchase casinos, clubs, and pubs, notably [[The Hideaway]] (later renamed El Morocco).
-}}
-'''Leslie James Payne''' was a con-man who worked for the Krays. He acted at the twins business manager and Payne, during the 1960s, encouraging them to broaden their empire into the club world and persuading them to buy casinos, clubs, and pubs.
+He considered himself a cultured man and he was sickened by the twins' violence and acted a key witness during the Kray trial in 1969 where he gave evidence against them after [[Ronnie Kray]] paid [[Jack McVitie]] to shoot him at his home in 1967.
 ==History==
 ===Early Life===
+Payne was born in Conduit Mews, Paddington, London, on 7th January 1927. His mother was from a poor background and his father a rich one, who worked as a solicitor. Payne was an Infantry Sergeant during WWII and was present at the battle of Monte Cassino in 1944. After release from the army in 1947, he asserted himself as a suave and professional businessman.
-Born in Paddington, London, in 1927, Payne came from a diverse background: his mother was from an impoverished family, his father from a well-to-do one, and the latter had originally trained as a solicitor before deafness curtailed his legal career and he was forced into more menial work by his disability. Payne had served as an Infantry Sergeant during the war and had seen incredible hardship and violence at the battle of Monte Cassino in 1944, and thus he would never be too intimidated by the more aggressive elements within the underworld. During his army days, he became adept at making money through illicit means, and, after being demobbed in 1947, he took this skill into the outside world. With his broad-shouldered good looks and his confident and well-spoken manner, he had the deportment of an Old Etonian and was able to speak in a language that professional people understood. He was essentially a businessman, and often a good one at that; but he had chosen to exercise his talents in the criminal subculture, abetted by his partner, a cunning accountant named Frederick Gore, whom Payne described as “a comedian, an innocent.”
+[[File:Payne.png|thumb|Payne relaxing at [[178 Vallance Road]], Bethnal Green.|left]]
 ===The Krays===
+Payne first came into contact with the twins via his car dealership in Stratford. After a business deal went wrong in 1959, he met the brothers and demonstrated his skills of negotiation. He soon joined [[The Firm]] and was favoured more by Reggie than Ronnie. Reggie found him useful whereas Ron was sceptical of his presence in [[The Firm]]. He fell out with the twins in early 1966. Leslie Payne was a close associate of Ronald and Reginald Kray in the early 60s, the years of their real rise to power and wealth. In this rise, Payne played a vital part. The Krays were in truth little more than East End thugs with a certain native wit. Payne was an expert operator and fraudsman. He provided the brains and confidence necessary to conduct the activities - gambling and fraud - on which the 'firm' flourished; the twins provided the personnel, the gangland aparate. He eventually drifted away from the Krays, alarmed by their psychopathic violence. It was Payne who played a crucial role in the conviction of the Krays, after their attempt to have him murdered had driven him into the arms of the police[[File:Payne1969.jpg|thumb|249x249px|Leslie Payne arriving at The Old Bailey in 1969 for the Kray trial.]]
-[[File:Davidthrewis.jpg|thumb|David Thewlis portraying Payne in Legend.]]
+=== Murder Attempt ===
-Payne first met the Krays indirectly through his car-dealership business in Stratford: on one particular occasion in 1959, a business arrangement with another dealership had gone wrong, with the owners claiming that Payne owed them money. When Payne refused to pay them, they mentioned that they had ‘influential friends’ by way of a veiled threat, which initially cut no ice with Payne. Those ‘influential friends’ turned out to be the twins. When Payne faced the music and met them, he was able to bend them to his way of thinking and they even took his side against the other dealership, who they felt had been using their reputation in vain. Perhaps because of his keen intelligence and appearance of breeding, the Krays took a liking to Payne and would visit him often, probably aware that he could be a useful ally. They were also very willing to defend him: one day, he had a minor altercation with Bobby Ramsey, the old Kray associate who worked for him part-time at the dealership. The relationship between the Krays and Ramsey had soured since the 1956 Terry Martin assault case, and, having heard through the grapevine about the small spat, the twins came over with members of the Firm to sort things out. When Ramsey challenged either of them to a ‘straightener’ (a straightforward, stand-up fight that would be forgotten about once honour had been satisfied), Ronnie replied, “Straight up fight? We haven’t come here for that. We’ve come here to hurt you.” They then beat Ramsey up.
+After he drifted away from them in the years leading up to 1967, [[Ronnie Kray]] offered [[Jack McVitie]] £500 to kill Payne as he believed Payne was going to contact the police about their criminal activities. [[Billy Exley]] drove [[Jack McVitie]] to Payne’s house in Tulse Hill and McVitie was planning on shooting Payne when he answered the door. McVitie failed to do this, instead, spending the money on drink and pills and bragging about it instead which subsequently lead to his murder in October 1967. Payne gave evidence against the Krays during the trial due to the assassination attempt.
+===Later Life===
+[[File:Leslie_payne.png|thumb|left|220px|Payne at the time of the Kray's trial, dated July 1969.]]
+Payne was known to have had two daughters and lived in a suburban house in Dulwich. In 1972 he was convicted to five years imprisonment for conspiracy to pervert the course of justice. At his trial, the manuscript of his book, ''The Brotherhood ''was produced in evidence and described by prosecuting counsel as a 'how to do it' book of crime.
+==Books==
+[[File:Lesliepaynelegend.png|thumb|David Thewlis portraying Payne in ''Legend'', 2015.|144x144px]]
+*''The Brotherhood,'' Michael Joseph, Hardcover, 173 pages, 7th May 1973 (rare)
+==References==
+*Bennett, John. ''Krayology'' (2015). Mango Books.
+{{People}}
-Reggie found him useful whereas Ron was skeptical of his presence in the firm. The Krays paid [[Jack McVitie]] to kill him when it was suspected that he was going to inform the police of their criminal activities. McVitie failed to do this, instead, spending the money on drink and pills and bragging about it. This led then lead to his murder.[[File:Payne.png|thumb]][[File:Lesliepaynelegend.png|thumb]]
 [[Category:The Firm]]
+[[Category:Authors]]