THE Clerkenwell crime syndicate is one of the most powerful crime organisations in the UK, formed by Terry Adams in the 1980s.
This is all about the leader of the crime organisation also known as the Adams Family or the A-Team.
Central NewsTerry Adams now lives with his wife in a housing association flat[/caption]
Who is Terry Adams?
Terry Adams was born on October 18, 1954, in London.
He created the Clerkenwell crime syndicate with his brother Thomas “Tommy” Sean and Patrick “Patsy” Daniel John.
They were all born to Irish parents and together with eight other children they lived in their family home in Barnsbury, Islington.
It was thought that he retired from being a frontline in crime in 1990, as a secret squad set up by the police and the MI5 was listening to recordings of his calls.
The criminal gang was expanded to include other family members and close childhood friends.
On March 9, 2007, during a hearing at the Old Bailey, Andrew Mitchell QC said: “It is suggested that Terry Adams was one of the country’s most feared and most revered organised criminals.
“He comes with a pedigree, as one of a family whose name had a currency all of its own in the underworld.
“A hallmark of his career was the ability to keep his evidential distance from any of the violence and other crime from which he undoubtedly profited.”
What crimes has Terry Adams committed?
Terry Adams committed a series of crimes through his organisation such as drug trafficking, extortion, hijacking gold bullion shipments and security fraud.
The organisation was also linked to 25 gangland murders of either rival criminals or informants.
They were linked to the shooting of the “Mad” Frankie Fraser who was an enforcer for The Richardson Gang in July 1991, however, this was not confirmed.
Adams was good at hiding his links to crimes from police until he was arrested in April 2003 after detectives found art and antiques in his house which were valued at £500,000.
They also found £59,000 in cash and jewellery worth more than £40,000.
He also admitted a single specimen money-laundering offence on February 7, 2007, and received a jail sentence of seven years.
Later that year in May, he was ordered to file reports of his income for the next 10 years.
However, he was called to appear before the City of London Magistrates court in August 2011 as eight breaches of his Financial Reporting Order were found.
Where is Terry Adams now?
On May 18, 2007, Adams was ordered to pay £4.8million in legal fees to three law firms who previously represented him through the UK’s free legal aid scheme.
When he appeared before a High Court in London on July 2014, he was ordered to pay another £650,000 under the Proceeds of Crime Act.
The debt kept tolling up for Adams, who claimed to be penniless as he was ordered to pay another £700,000.
In November 2017, a district judge sitting in Weston-Super-Mare ordered Adams to either pay the amount in 30 days or face prison for two and a half years.
In February 2019, Adams managed to pay back £50,000 to the Westminster Magistrates Court even though he claimed poverty.
That month, it was also reported that Adams was living with his wife in a housing association flat.