Ronnie Knight (born 20 January 1934) is an English former nightclub owner and convicted criminal.
On 4 January 1995, 16 days prior to his 61st birthday, Knight was
sentenced to seven years
imprisonment for handling £314,813 in stolen money from the 1983 £6m armed robbery at a Security Express depot in
Shoreditch,
East London.
Early life
Ronald Knight was born on 20 January 1934 in
Hoxton
Hoxton is an area in the London Borough of Hackney, England. As a part of Shoreditch, it is often considered to be part of the East End – the historic core of wider East London. It was historically in the county of Middlesex until 1889. It li ...
,
London Borough of Hackney, the son of James and Nellie.
Knight was responsible for minor infractions of the law when he was young, whereas his brothers John and James were involved in more significant crimes.
Along with John, Knight was friendly with the
Kray brothers
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, Eng ...
, but, he says, was not connected with their illegal activities. Knight also had another brother, David and a sister, Patsy.
Clubs
The two clubs Knight ran, the Artistes and Repertoire Club (known as the A&R) on
Charing Cross Road and its neighbour
Tin Pan Alley
Tin Pan Alley was a collection of music publishers and songwriters in New York City that dominated the popular music of the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It originally referred to a specific place: West 28th Street ...
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 develo ...
,
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
, were drinking establishments favoured by the
criminal underworld
Organized crime (or organised crime) is a category of transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for profit. While organized crime is generally th ...
.
Knight’s clubs were profitable, and he had a sideline in pool tables. He also made a small fortune from his share in peep-show clubs.
Criminal history
Zomparelli killing
In 1970, Knight’s brother, David, was stabbed to death in a pub in
Islington by Alfredo "Italian Tony" Zomparelli, who himself was murdered in September 1974 after being released following a prison sentence for
manslaughter. (Zomparelli had pleaded
self-defence
Self-defense (self-defence primarily in Commonwealth English) is a countermeasure that involves defending the health and well-being of oneself from harm. The use of the right of self-defense as a legal justification for the use of force in ...
)
After
hitman
Contract killing is a form of murder or assassination in which one party hires another party to kill a targeted person or persons. It involves an illegal agreement which includes some form of payment, monetary or otherwise. Either party may ...
George Bradshaw confessed to his involvement, and alleged Knight had paid him £1,000 for the task, Knight was arrested for the murder of Zomparelli and tried at the
Old Bailey in 1980; Knight was
acquit
In common law jurisdictions, an acquittal certifies that the accused is free from the charge of an offense, as far as criminal law is concerned. The finality of an acquittal is dependent on the jurisdiction. In some countries, such as the ...
ted.
In his 1998 book, ''Memoirs and Confessions'', Knight said he had hired a hitman, Nicky Gerard, to carry out the killing. (Gerard, who himself was later murdered, was acquitted at the same trial as Knight) in payback for the murder of his brother. Under the
double jeopardy
In jurisprudence, double jeopardy is a procedural defence (primarily in common law jurisdictions) that prevents an accused person from being tried again on the same (or similar) charges following an acquittal or conviction and in rare case ...
rules in force at the time, it meant he could not be tried a second time.
In 2002, Knight again denied responsibility.
Connection to 1983 Security Express robbery
Knight spent a decade on the run living in southern Spain's
Costa del Sol,
after fleeing on the night his brother was arrested in 1984 for a robbery at a Security Express depot the previous year. John Knight was later imprisoned for 22 years in June 1985 for co-arranging the robbery. Their other surviving brother James was among the other gang members along with
Freddie Foreman
Freddie Foreman (born 5 March 1932), better known as Brown Bread Fred, is an English publican, gangster, former associate of the Kray twins and convicted criminal.
Foreman was a prominent figure in London gangland from the 1950s through to the ...
and Cliford Saxe and received eight years for handling stolen money.
While evading
extradition
Extradition is an action wherein one jurisdiction delivers a person accused or convicted of committing a crime in another jurisdiction, over to the other's law enforcement. It is a cooperative law enforcement procedure between the two jurisdi ...
in
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
, Knight ran an
Indian restaurant
Indian cuisine consists of a variety of regional and traditional cuisines native to India. Given the diversity in soil, climate, culture, ethnic groups, and occupations, these cuisines vary substantially and use locally available spices, her ...
named Mumtaz and an eponymous nightclub, RKnights, the scene of violent crimes including a physical attack upon Knight, but by the mid-1990s, he was in financial difficulties.
After returning to
Britain
Britain most often refers to:
* The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands
* Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...
in May 1994, Knight, aged 60, was jailed for seven years in January 1995 for handling £314,813 in stolen money from the £6m armed robbery at a Security Express depot in
Shoreditch,
East London in 1983. Knight said he was not involved in the robbery, and the
prosecution
A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the common law adversarial system or the Civil law (legal system), civil law inquisitorial system. The prosecution is the legal party responsible for presenting the ...
counsel Michael Worsley QC agreed the charge should remain on file, but Knight did plead guilty to handling the stolen bank notes. Judge Gerald Gordon said when sentencing Knight: "Clearly, I do not know what precise role you played. But professional robbers such as those involved are not going to hand over the sort of sums you got unless the person to whom they give it is very deeply involved himself".
In November 1998, Knight was released on parole after serving three years.
Other crimes
In 1961, Knight was
sentenced to 15 months in prison for
dealing in stolen goods.
Television
In 2017, Knight was portrayed by
Luke Allen-Gale in the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
.
Knight has been married three times and has two children.
# Elizabeth White (married in 1954, divorced before 1964)
Knight has two children from his marriage to White, a daughter Lorraine (1956) and a son Garry (1959)
Knight has always denied he was a '
', preferring instead the term 'loveable rascal'.
In 1995, it was reported Knight was in a relationship with Diane Lumley, they spilt around 2002.
As of 2017, Knight resides in
.
Knight has authored 6 books.
# ''Black Knight: The Ronnie Knight Story'' (1990)
# ''Signed Confessions'' (1996)
# ''Rod of Justice'' (1997)
# ''Memoirs and Confessions'' (1997)
# ''Gotcha!: The Untold Story of Britain’s Biggest Cash Robbery'' (2002)
# ''Blood and Revenge'' (2004)