Frank McPhee (21 October 1948 – 10 May 2000) was a long-time

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

gangland boss. McPhee was reported to have built his "underworld empire" on drugs and robbery. He was jailed in 1978 for five years for robbery and served another five in 1986 for an armed raid. In 1990, he was cleared of involvement in a £42,000 armed raid but was sentenced to eight years for his involvement in a £200,000 drug deal in 1992. In 1997, McPhee was prosecuted for the killing of William "Worm" Toye, who was found stabbed to death in

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

Prison, where McPhee was serving time. A jury found the case

not proven Not proven (, ) is a verdict available to a Courts of Scotland, court of law in Scotland. Under Scots law, a Criminal procedure, criminal trial may end in one of three verdicts, one of conviction ("guilty") and two of acquittal ("not proven" and ...

. In 1998, three months after his release from prison, McPhee was accused of the murder by strangulation of Chris McGrory, but the case was again found not proven. It was reported that a £5,000 'contract' had been put out on his life. Police were said to be investigating one theory that McPhee had tried to muscle in on the drug trade controlled by former

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

terrorists Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...

. He had been responsible for negotiating between dealers in the

North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...

and the rest of England. Police also probed his links with a "plot to make Scotland the

dogfighting A dogfight, or dog fight, is an aerial battle between fighter aircraft conducted at close range. Dogfighting first occurred in Mexico in 1913, shortly after the invention of the airplane. Until at least 1992, it was a component in every majo ...

capital of Europe"; and probed claims that he had been killed by one of two Glasgow gangster families. In May 2000, he was killed by a single shot to the head from a .22

rifle A rifle is a long-barreled firearm designed for accurate shooting, with a barrel that has a helical pattern of grooves ( rifling) cut into the bore wall. In keeping with their focus on accuracy, rifles are typically designed to be held with ...

with telescopic sight outside his home in Guthrie Street,

Maryhill Maryhill ( gd, Cnoc Màiri) is an area of the City of Glasgow in Scotland. Maryhill is a former burgh. Maryhill stretches over along Maryhill Road. The far north west of the area is served by Maryhill railway station. History Hew Hill, t ...

, Glasgow, 500 yards from Maryhill Police Station, while his son watched. It was variously reported that a

sniper A sniper is a military/paramilitary marksman who engages targets from positions of concealment or at distances exceeding the target's detection capabilities. Snipers generally have specialized training and are equipped with high-precision r ...

had waited for him after he had been chased through Glasgow by another gunman and that only one gunman was involved.

References

2000 deaths People from Maryhill 20th-century Scottish criminals Scottish gangsters Deaths by firearm in Scotland People murdered by British organized crime 1948 births Criminals from Glasgow 2000 murders in the United Kingdom {{Scotland-bio-stub