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| Gangster 'Mad' Frankie Fraser dies at 90 | Gangster 'Mad' Frankie Fraser dies at 90 |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| The criminal and former associate of the Kray twins, "Mad" Frankie Fraser, has died aged 90 in a London hospital. | The criminal and former associate of the Kray twins, "Mad" Frankie Fraser, has died aged 90 in a London hospital. |
| He was known as an "enforcer", meting out violence on behalf of the Krays and the Richardson gang in the 1960s. | He was known as an "enforcer", meting out violence on behalf of the Krays and the Richardson gang in the 1960s. |
| His death was confirmed by Eddie Richardson who, with brother Charlie, formed the infamous London crime gang. | His death was confirmed by Eddie Richardson who, with brother Charlie, formed the infamous London crime gang. |
| By the time he left prison for the final time in 1989, Fraser had served a total of 42 years for a range of offences. | By the time he left prison for the final time in 1989, Fraser had served a total of 42 years for a range of offences. |
| More recently he established himself as a TV personality and published an autobiography. | More recently he established himself as a TV personality and published an autobiography. |
| He became critically ill on Saturday after undergoing surgery on his left leg at King's College Hospital in south London. | |
| Fraser was born in the Elephant and Castle area of south London in 1923. He was first sent to a borstal - a type of secure institution for young offenders - at the age of 13. | |
| He was birched at 17 for attacking a prison officer - the first of many experiences of corporal punishment, usually for attacking jail staff. | |
| His various prison sentences included three spells in Broadmoor after being classified insane. | |
| He was closely associated with the Richardson gang which carried out racketeering and fraud across south London in the 1960s. | |
| 'The dentist' | |
| Fraser's methods of torturing the gang's victims earned him the nicknames "Mad Frankie" and "The Dentist" - he was reputed to pull out people's teeth with pliers. | |
| At the Richardson gang "torture" trial at the Old Bailey in 1967 he was jailed for 10 years. Two years later a further five years was added for leading a riot at Parkhust Prison. | |
| In 1975 he assaulted three prison officers, one of whom he attempted to hang. | |
| After completing another sentence in 1989, Fraser tried to build a career as a celebrity, appearing on television chat shows, acting as a consultant on crime and taking a stage show to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. | |
| In 1997, he was called as a character witness at the trial of Charlie Kray on drugs charges. | |
| Last year he was reported to have received an Asbo following an argument over a chair in the care home where he lived. | Last year he was reported to have received an Asbo following an argument over a chair in the care home where he lived. |