Roberto Alberto Rossi (1 November 1922 – 2 July 2017) was a British-Italian gangster and former associate of 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 ...

known as the "General of Clerkenwell". He stood trial for murder in 1975 but was acquitted. A journalist linked him to 11 murders, a figure which he did not dispute.

Early life

Roberto Alberto Rossi or Bert Rossi was born in 1922 to immigrant Italian parents 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 ar ...

. As a young boy he got the nickname "Battles" because with his mums Italian accent "Berto" would sound like "Battles", he also had this name because he was known to be violent and at one point he seriously injured another child because he mocked his mother's accent. At the time the area was a slum and home to various Italian gangs such as the Sabinis. As a young teen he dropped out of school and after passing through some legitimate employment he started working as a driver for HarryBoy Sabini.

Gang years

After his time with the Sabinis he worked with another British-Italian gangster from

Little Italy Little Italy is a general name for an ethnic enclave populated primarily by Italians or people of Italian ancestry, usually in an urban neighborhood. The concept of "Little Italy" holds many different aspects of the Italian culture. There are s ...

by the name of

Albert Dimes George Albert "Italian Al" Arthur Dimeo (1914 – November 1972) was a Scottish-Italian criminal and enforcer, who operated in Little Italy, London. Early life Born in Hamilton, South Lanarkshire to an Italian father and Scottish mother, he mov ...

. During this time he ran nightclubs 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 ...

where he would deal

Cocaine Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechuan languages, Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly recreational drug use, used recreationally for its euphoria, euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from t ...

but not

Heroin Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a potent opioid mainly used as a recreational drug for its euphoric effects. Medical grade diamorphine is used as a pure hydrochloride salt. Various white and brow ...

. Later in 1956 he was jailed along with "mad" Frankie Fraser for attacking the British-Jewish gangster Jack "the spot" Comer. While he was in prison he met

Ronnie Kray 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 ...

who he thought was "mad as a hatter" but chose to mentor anyway. After that in the 1960s he would become an associate of the

Italian-American Mafia The American Mafia, commonly referred to in North America as the Italian American Mafia, the Mafia, or the Mob, is a highly organized Italian American criminal society and organized crime group. The organization is often referred to by its mem ...

and helped them infiltrate London's west end. He would act as an enforcer for them both in the U.K and the

U.S The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

but his favourite job was when he would be the protection for American boxers when they came to the U.K such as

Rocky Marciano Rocco Francis Marchegiano (September 1, 1923 – August 31, 1969; ), better known as Rocky Marciano (, ), was an American professional boxer who competed from 1947 to 1955, and held the world heavyweight title from 1952 to 1956. He is the only ...

Willie Pep Willy or Willie is a masculine, male given name, often a diminutive form of William or Wilhelm, and occasionally a nickname. It may refer to: People Given name or nickname * Willie Aames (born 1960), American actor, television director, and scree ...

Joe Louis Joseph Louis Barrow (May 13, 1914 – April 12, 1981) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1934 to 1951. Nicknamed the Brown Bomber, Louis is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential boxers of all time. He rei ...

and

Sonny Liston Charles L. "Sonny" Liston ( 1930 – December 30, 1970) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1953 to 1970. A dominant contender of his era, he became the world heavyweight champion in 1962 after knocking out Floyd Patterson i ...

. He would retire in 1975 after being acquitted of the murder of Beatrice “Biddy” Gold although he would continue to do occasional consultancy work.

After retirement

He would go on to live next door to

Boris Johnson Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (; born 19 June 1964) is a British politician, writer and journalist who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He previously served as F ...

. In his later years Bert, had a relationship with another Englishwoman, Mary and would spend his time around the rapidly

gentrifying Gentrification is the process of changing the character of a neighborhood through the influx of more affluent residents and businesses. It is a common and controversial topic in urban politics and planning. Gentrification often increases the ec ...

where he would focus on his family and lose much of his money to gambling. He died on 2 July 2017 at the age of 94 only a short amount of time after releasing his autobiography. His service was held at St Peters Italian Church in

where the theme music from

The Godfather ''The Godfather'' is a 1972 American crime film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, who co-wrote the screenplay with Mario Puzo, based on Puzo's best-selling 1969 novel of the same title. The film stars Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, ...

and

Once upon a time in America ''Once Upon a Time in America'' ( it, C'era una volta in America) is a 1984 epic crime film co-written and directed by Italian filmmaker Sergio Leone and starring Robert De Niro and James Woods. The film is an Italian–American venture produce ...

were played. His death was reported as the end of the era when

Clerkenwell Clerkenwell () is an area of central London, England. Clerkenwell was an ancient parish from the mediaeval period onwards, and now forms the south-western part of the London Borough of Islington. The well after which it was named was redisco ...

was controlled by mobsters.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rossi, Bert 1922 births 2017 deaths People from Clerkenwell English people of Italian descent English criminals Criminals from London American Mafia

Early life

Gang years

After retirement

References

Further reading

External links