George Albert "Italian Al" Arthur Dimeo (1914 – November 1972) was a Scottish-Italian criminal and enforcer, who operated in

Little Italy, London Little Italy, London (sometimes referred to as the Italian quarter) is an Italian ethnic enclave in London. Little Italy’s core historical borders are usually placed at Clerkenwell Road, Farringdon Road and Rosebery Avenue - the Saffron Hill ...

Early life

Born in Hamilton, South Lanarkshire to an Italian father and Scottish mother, he moved to London with his family and grew up in

. He went on to run Soho's nightclubs and bars with Antonio (Babe) Mancini and Pas Papa (Bert Marsh) also being involved in bookmaking and loansharking during the 1940s and 1950s.

Criminal career

In July 1941 Dimes was convicted with Joseph Collette of attacking Edward Fletcher at a Soho Club in

Wardour Street Wardour Street () is a street in Soho, City of Westminster, London. It is a one-way street that runs north from Leicester Square, through Chinatown, London, Chinatown, across Shaftesbury Avenue to Oxford Street. Throughout the 20th century the ...

. The

Recorder Recorder or The Recorder may refer to: Newspapers * ''Indianapolis Recorder'', a weekly newspaper * ''The Recorder'' (Massachusetts newspaper), a daily newspaper published in Greenfield, Massachusetts, US * ''The Recorder'' (Port Pirie), a news ...

noted that the incident took place "under the shadow of a graver offence. One man had lost his life and another man was under sentence of death." He dismissed any prejudice against second generation Italians. Harry Capocci was acquitted and Dimes was

bound over In the law of England and Wales and some other common law jurisdictions, binding over is an exercise of certain powers by the criminal courts used to deal with low-level public order issues. Both magistrates' courts and the Crown Court may issue b ...

for three years.

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

, ''Fight In Soho Club'', 22 July 1941 In the same incident, Harry "Little Hubby" Distleman was stabbed to death by Antonio Mancini. In August 1955, Dimes was arrested with rival gangster

Jack Spot Jack "Spot" Comer (12 April 1912 – 12 March 1996) was an English gangster. Early life Born Jacob Colmore in Mile End, London, the youngest of four children, Comer's father was a Jewish tailor's machinist who, to escape anti-Semitic pogroms, ...

during a knife fight in

Soho Soho is an area of the City of Westminster, part of the West End of London. Originally a fashionable district for the aristocracy, it has been one of the main entertainment districts in the capital since the 19th century. The area was develop ...

. Neither man was charged. As a result of his arrest, Spot's power in the city's underworld declined. The battle almost spread to politics when Dimes tried to use National Labour Party members against rivals Bud Flanagan and Spot,

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

gangsters involved in funding the

43 Group The 43 Group was an English anti-fascist group set up by Jewish ex-servicemen after the Second World War. They did this when, upon returning to London, they encountered British fascist organisations such as Jeffrey Hamm's British League of Ex- ...

. Although this is disputed by Bert Rossi a close friend and opposition gang member of

. In 1966, Dimes helped to arrange a conference between New York mafiosi and the Corsican Francisci brothers, apparently regarding investing in London casinos. An associate of

Charlie Richardson The Richardson Gang was an English crime gang based in South London, England in the 1960s. Also known as the "Torture Gang", they had a reputation as some of London's most sadistic gangsters. Their alleged specialities included pulling teeth o ...

, his presence in Soho delayed the

Kray twins Ronald Kray (24 October 193317 March 1995) and Reginald Kray (24 October 19331 October 2000) were identical twin brothers, gangsters and convicted criminals. They were the foremost perpetrators of organised crime in the East End of London, Engl ...

from moving into the area for several years.

Personal life and death

Dimes died in November 1972 at his home on Oakwood Avenue,

Beckenham Beckenham () is a town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley, in Greater London. Until 1965 it was part of the historic county of Kent. It is located south-east of Charing Cross, situated north of Elmers End and E ...

, South London from cancer. His funeral was held on 20 November 1972 in Beckenham. The Kray Twins sent a wreath that read "To a fine gentleman – From Reg & Ron Kray". The wreath was reportedly destroyed by friends of the family who believed the association brought shame.

Popular culture

The character Johnny Bannion, played by

Stanley Baker Sir William Stanley Baker (28 February 192828 June 1976) was a Welsh actor and film producer. Known for his rugged appearance and intense, grounded screen persona, he was one of the top British male film stars of the late 1950s, and later a pro ...

in the 1960 film ''

The Criminal A criminal is a person who commits a crime. Criminal or The Criminal may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Criminal'' (1916 film), an American film of 1916 * ''The Criminal'' (1926 film), a French silent film * ''The Criminal'' (196 ...

'', was reportedly claimed by director

Joseph Losey Joseph Walton Losey III (; January 14, 1909 – June 22, 1984) was an American theatre and film director, producer, and screenwriter. Born in Wisconsin, he studied in Germany with Bertolt Brecht and then returned to the United States. Blackliste ...

to be partly based on Dimes.

References

Bibliography

*Devito, Carlo. ''Encyclopedia of International Organized Crime''. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2005.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dimes, Albert Scottish gangsters Criminals from London 1914 births 1972 deaths Scottish people of Italian descent People from Hamilton, South Lanarkshire American Mafia