Paul John Ferris
Encyclopedia
For other persons named Paul Ferris, see Paul Ferris (disambiguation)
.
Paul John Feris (born 10 November 1963 in Blackhill, Glasgow
) is a Scottish
businessman, author and former gangster
. His books The Ferris Conspiracy, Deadly Divisions, Vendetta and Villains led to controversy over the possibility of criminals profiting from their crimes.
Blackhill
district of Glasgow to a Protestant father and a Catholic mother, and was raised as a Catholic and a Celtic
fan who hated Rangers
. Ferris was the youngest of four children, with one older brother Billy and two sisters Carol and Cath. Billy was convicted of murder in 1977 following the death of a man stabbed during a fight in a pub; he was jailed again in 2004 for stabbing a 15-year-old boy to death. As a child, Ferris was bullied for several years by members of a local criminal family, the Welshes, which is thought to have resulted in him developing the skin disorder psoriasis
.
Ferris began his life of crime as a teenager with a series of revenge knife attacks on the Welsh brothers, and was arrested aged 17 for assault and robbery and sent to Longriggend Remand Centre. He was bailed after several weeks, and while awaiting trial fled from the police after a car chase, as the car he was travelling in contained a shotgun and knives. After several weeks on the run, Ferris was captured by the police and returned to Longriggend to await trial. At his trial for the assault and robbery charges he was sentenced to three months in Glenochil Detention Centre. After his release from Glenochil he returned to court to face charges relating to the car chase, and was sentenced to a year in Glenochil Young Offenders Institution. Several weeks after the end of his sentence he was arrested while attempting to rob a jeweller's shop and returned to Longriggend. Upon his release he continued to take his revenge on the Welsh brothers, which brought him to the attention of Glasgow underworld figure Arthur Thompson, known as "The Godfather".
verdict.
Now aged 21, Ferris immediately returned to his work as an enforcer for Thompson, and was soon arrested again and charged with possession of offensive weapons after a pickaxe handle and knives were found in his car. While awaiting trial he was involved in a stabbing, and fled to Thompson's holiday home in Rothesay
on the Isle of Bute
. Within a day of arriving there, he was arrested by armed police and charged with various offences including attempted murder and possession of heroin with intent to supply, and was remanded to HM Prison Barlinnie. The attempted murder charge was dropped a week later and Ferris was found not guilty of the drugs charge, but he received an 18-month sentence for possession of offensive weapons. After being released from prison Ferris stopped working for Thompson and started a company named Cottage Conservatories specialising in double glazing and conservatories, but still remained active in the criminal underworld.
On 18 August 1991 Thompson's son, Arthur Jr (nicknamed "Fat Boy") died after being shot outside his home. Ferris was arrested following the killing, and was charged with murder and remanded to HM Prison Barlinnie. On the day of Thompson Jr's funeral the cortege passed a car containing the bodies of two friends of Ferris, Robert Glover and Joe "Bananas" Hanlon", who were also suspected of involvement in his death, and had been killed by gunshots to the head. At his trial in 1992 Ferris was defended by Donald Findlay
, one-time vice-chairman of Rangers Football Club
, on the following charges:
Over 300 witnesses were called to give evidence at a trial which lasted fifty four days and cost £4 million, at the time the longest and most expensive trial in Scottish legal history, and ended in Ferris being acquitted of all charges. After the trial Ferris returned to Glasgow and set up a car dealership named Jagger Autos, and also became a consultant for security firm Premier Security, which had a reported annual turnover of £6.2 million. He also maintained contacts in the underworld, including Paul Massey and Rab Carruthers in the north of England. In 1993 his brother Billy escaped from a prison escort after being allowed temporary release to visit his sick father, and was one of the six most wanted men in Britain until being captured in Blackpool
. Later that year, Ferris accused the police of having a vendetta against his family after Billy was refused permission to attend the funeral of their father. In August 1994 Ferris received a £250 fine from a court in Manchester after being charged with possession of crack cocaine
. He told the court "I'm no gangster", and claimed he used the drug to alleviate his psoriasis. In 1995 Ferris appeared in a television interview with John McVicar
in which he remarked "If anyone was born into crime, it was me. Crime is in my blood", and also claimed he had "always used a weapon of sorts".
Ferris was arrested in London in 1997 following a two year surveillance operation by MI5
and Special Branch
. At his trial at the Old Bailey
in July 1998 he was sentenced to ten years imprisonment after being convicted of conspiracy to sell or transfer prohibited weapons, conspiracy to deal in firearms and possessing explosives, although the sentence was reduced to seven years at the Court of Appeal
in London in May 1999. While in prison Ferris co-authored his biography The Ferris Conspiracy with Reg McKay, which sold 20,000 copies while he was imprisoned. Ferris was released from Frankland Prison
, County Durham
in January 2002 pledging to give up his life of crime, and released a second book with McKay, a novel titled Deadly Divisions, in April 2002. In May of the same year he was sent back to prison for breaching the conditions of his parole after being involved in a knife fight with Tam McGraw, and an alleged connection with a £900,000 shipment of cannabis. Ferris was released again in June 2002, and returned to Scotland.
, and court bosses said they would not use the firm again.
Ferris caused more controversy when it emerged he was being filmed for a fly-on-the-wall television show to be aired on Five. TV bosses were accused of glamourising his life of crime, with a Glasgow detective stating "Now we have Ferris the TV star - it makes you sick. He can try to become a Z-list celebrity all he wants, but he is a career criminal and no matter how many times he tries to reinvent himself, we will always know the truth". In April 2005 police in Edinburgh
began investigating Ferris over concerns he was attempting to invest in the taxi trade in the city, and a month later details of a planned film about Ferris' life emerged, starring Scottish actor Robert Carlyle
and Oasis
singer Liam Gallagher
. Ferris released his third book Vendetta in October 2005, and followed that with an appearance at the Festival of Scottish Writing in Edinburgh in May 2006. This was followed by the release of his fourth book Villains in October 2006. In January 2007 Scottish Minister for Justice Cathy Jamieson
announced a planned initiative to prevent convicted criminals from profiting from the publication of their memoirs, although Reg McKay has previously stated Ferris did not profit from the sale of the first book and that his motivation is not financial.
Paul Ferris (disambiguation)
Paul Ferris may refer to:* Paul Ferris , English film composer*Paul Ferris , Scottish author of true crime books* Paul Ferris , British biographer and novelist...
.
Paul John Feris (born 10 November 1963 in Blackhill, Glasgow
Blackhill, Glasgow
thumb|left|Blackhill Locks on the [[Monkland Canal]]thumb|left|Blackhill Locks lower basinBlackhill is an area of north east Glasgow, Scotland. It was developed as a council housing estate in the 1930s...
) is a Scottish
Scottish people
The Scottish people , or Scots, are a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland. Historically they emerged from an amalgamation of the Picts and Gaels, incorporating neighbouring Britons to the south as well as invading Germanic peoples such as the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse.In modern use,...
businessman, author and former gangster
Gangster
A gangster is a criminal who is a member of a gang. Some gangs are considered to be part of organized crime. Gangsters are also called mobsters, a term derived from mob and the suffix -ster....
. His books The Ferris Conspiracy, Deadly Divisions, Vendetta and Villains led to controversy over the possibility of criminals profiting from their crimes.
Early life
Ferris was born in 1963 in the working classWorking class
Working class is a term used in the social sciences and in ordinary conversation to describe those employed in lower tier jobs , often extending to those in unemployment or otherwise possessing below-average incomes...
Blackhill
Blackhill, Glasgow
thumb|left|Blackhill Locks on the [[Monkland Canal]]thumb|left|Blackhill Locks lower basinBlackhill is an area of north east Glasgow, Scotland. It was developed as a council housing estate in the 1930s...
district of Glasgow to a Protestant father and a Catholic mother, and was raised as a Catholic and a Celtic
Celtic F.C.
Celtic Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, which currently plays in the Scottish Premier League. The club was established in 1887, and played its first game in 1888. Celtic have won the Scottish League Championship on 42 occasions, most recently in the...
fan who hated Rangers
Rangers F.C.
Rangers Football Club are an association football club based in Glasgow, Scotland, who play in the Scottish Premier League. The club are nicknamed the Gers, Teddy Bears and the Light Blues, and the fans are known to each other as bluenoses...
. Ferris was the youngest of four children, with one older brother Billy and two sisters Carol and Cath. Billy was convicted of murder in 1977 following the death of a man stabbed during a fight in a pub; he was jailed again in 2004 for stabbing a 15-year-old boy to death. As a child, Ferris was bullied for several years by members of a local criminal family, the Welshes, which is thought to have resulted in him developing the skin disorder psoriasis
Psoriasis
Psoriasis is an autoimmune disease that appears on the skin. It occurs when the immune system mistakes the skin cells as a pathogen, and sends out faulty signals that speed up the growth cycle of skin cells. Psoriasis is not contagious. However, psoriasis has been linked to an increased risk of...
.
Ferris began his life of crime as a teenager with a series of revenge knife attacks on the Welsh brothers, and was arrested aged 17 for assault and robbery and sent to Longriggend Remand Centre. He was bailed after several weeks, and while awaiting trial fled from the police after a car chase, as the car he was travelling in contained a shotgun and knives. After several weeks on the run, Ferris was captured by the police and returned to Longriggend to await trial. At his trial for the assault and robbery charges he was sentenced to three months in Glenochil Detention Centre. After his release from Glenochil he returned to court to face charges relating to the car chase, and was sentenced to a year in Glenochil Young Offenders Institution. Several weeks after the end of his sentence he was arrested while attempting to rob a jeweller's shop and returned to Longriggend. Upon his release he continued to take his revenge on the Welsh brothers, which brought him to the attention of Glasgow underworld figure Arthur Thompson, known as "The Godfather".
Criminal career
Ferris became involved with Thompson's crime empire aged 19, when he became an enforcer collecting debts on behalf of Thompson, and was linked to stabbings, slashings, blindings and knee-cappings. A year later Ferris was arrested following an incident where shots were fired at Devlin and three of his relatives while they travelling home from a night at a pub, with Devlin's father-in-law sustaining a bullet wound to his thigh. The three relatives failed to identify Ferris at an identity parade, but Devlin picked him out as the man who fired the shots. Ferris was charged with four counts of attempted murder, and was remanded to Longriggend. At his trial several months later he was acquitted on all four counts with a not provenNot proven
Not proven is a verdict available to a court in Scotland.Under Scots law, a criminal trial may end in one of three verdicts: one of conviction and two of acquittal ....
verdict.
Now aged 21, Ferris immediately returned to his work as an enforcer for Thompson, and was soon arrested again and charged with possession of offensive weapons after a pickaxe handle and knives were found in his car. While awaiting trial he was involved in a stabbing, and fled to Thompson's holiday home in Rothesay
Rothesay, Argyll and Bute
The town of Rothesay is the principal town on the Isle of Bute, in the council area of Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It can be reached by ferry from Wemyss Bay which offers an onward rail link to Glasgow. At the centre of the town is Rothesay Castle, a ruined castle which dates back to the 13th...
on the Isle of Bute
Isle of Bute
Bute is an island in the Firth of Clyde in Scotland. Formerly part of the county of Buteshire, it now constitutes part of the council area of Argyll and Bute. Its resident population was 7,228 in April 2001.-Geography:...
. Within a day of arriving there, he was arrested by armed police and charged with various offences including attempted murder and possession of heroin with intent to supply, and was remanded to HM Prison Barlinnie. The attempted murder charge was dropped a week later and Ferris was found not guilty of the drugs charge, but he received an 18-month sentence for possession of offensive weapons. After being released from prison Ferris stopped working for Thompson and started a company named Cottage Conservatories specialising in double glazing and conservatories, but still remained active in the criminal underworld.
On 18 August 1991 Thompson's son, Arthur Jr (nicknamed "Fat Boy") died after being shot outside his home. Ferris was arrested following the killing, and was charged with murder and remanded to HM Prison Barlinnie. On the day of Thompson Jr's funeral the cortege passed a car containing the bodies of two friends of Ferris, Robert Glover and Joe "Bananas" Hanlon", who were also suspected of involvement in his death, and had been killed by gunshots to the head. At his trial in 1992 Ferris was defended by Donald Findlay
Donald Findlay
Donald Findlay QC, is a well-known senior advocate and Queen's Counsel in Scotland. He has also held positions as a vice chairman of Rangers Football Club and twice Rector of the University of St Andrews...
, one-time vice-chairman of Rangers Football Club
Rangers F.C.
Rangers Football Club are an association football club based in Glasgow, Scotland, who play in the Scottish Premier League. The club are nicknamed the Gers, Teddy Bears and the Light Blues, and the fans are known to each other as bluenoses...
, on the following charges:
- the murder of Arthur Thompson Jr, with help from Glover and Hanlon;
- the attempted murder of Arthur Thompson Snr by repeatedly driving a car at him in May 1990;
- threatening to murder William Gillen, and shooting him in the legs;
- conspiracy to assault John "Jonah" McKenzie on 26 May 1991;
- illegal possession of a firearm;
- supplying heroin, cocaineCocaineCocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system, an appetite suppressant, and a topical anesthetic...
and ecstasyMethylenedioxymethamphetamineMDMA is an entactogenic drug of the phenethylamine and amphetamine class of drugs. In popular culture, MDMA has become widely known as "ecstasy" , usually referring to its street pill form, although this term may also include the presence of possible adulterants...
; - breach of the Bail Act.
Over 300 witnesses were called to give evidence at a trial which lasted fifty four days and cost £4 million, at the time the longest and most expensive trial in Scottish legal history, and ended in Ferris being acquitted of all charges. After the trial Ferris returned to Glasgow and set up a car dealership named Jagger Autos, and also became a consultant for security firm Premier Security, which had a reported annual turnover of £6.2 million. He also maintained contacts in the underworld, including Paul Massey and Rab Carruthers in the north of England. In 1993 his brother Billy escaped from a prison escort after being allowed temporary release to visit his sick father, and was one of the six most wanted men in Britain until being captured in Blackpool
Blackpool
Blackpool is a borough, seaside town, and unitary authority area of Lancashire, in North West England. It is situated along England's west coast by the Irish Sea, between the Ribble and Wyre estuaries, northwest of Preston, north of Liverpool, and northwest of Manchester...
. Later that year, Ferris accused the police of having a vendetta against his family after Billy was refused permission to attend the funeral of their father. In August 1994 Ferris received a £250 fine from a court in Manchester after being charged with possession of crack cocaine
Crack cocaine
Crack cocaine is the freebase form of cocaine that can be smoked. It may also be termed rock, hard, iron, cavvy, base, or just crack; it is the most addictive form of cocaine. Crack rocks offer a short but intense high to smokers...
. He told the court "I'm no gangster", and claimed he used the drug to alleviate his psoriasis. In 1995 Ferris appeared in a television interview with John McVicar
John McVicar
John McVicar is a British journalist and one-time convicted armed robber.-Career:In the 1960s, he was an armed robber who was tagged "Public Enemy No. 1" by Scotland Yard. He was apprehended and given a 23-year jail sentence. He escaped from prison on several occasions and after his final...
in which he remarked "If anyone was born into crime, it was me. Crime is in my blood", and also claimed he had "always used a weapon of sorts".
Ferris was arrested in London in 1997 following a two year surveillance operation by MI5
MI5
The Security Service, commonly known as MI5 , is the United Kingdom's internal counter-intelligence and security agency and is part of its core intelligence machinery alongside the Secret Intelligence Service focused on foreign threats, Government Communications Headquarters and the Defence...
and Special Branch
Special Branch
Special Branch is a label customarily used to identify units responsible for matters of national security in British and Commonwealth police forces, as well as in the Royal Thai Police...
. At his trial at the Old Bailey
Old Bailey
The Central Criminal Court in England and Wales, commonly known as the Old Bailey from the street in which it stands, is a court building in central London, one of a number of buildings housing the Crown Court...
in July 1998 he was sentenced to ten years imprisonment after being convicted of conspiracy to sell or transfer prohibited weapons, conspiracy to deal in firearms and possessing explosives, although the sentence was reduced to seven years at the Court of Appeal
Court of Appeal of England and Wales
The Court of Appeal of England and Wales is the second most senior court in the English legal system, with only the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom above it...
in London in May 1999. While in prison Ferris co-authored his biography The Ferris Conspiracy with Reg McKay, which sold 20,000 copies while he was imprisoned. Ferris was released from Frankland Prison
Frankland (HM Prison)
HM Prison Frankland is a Category A men's prison located in the village of Brasside in County Durham, England. Frankland is operated by Her Majesty's Prison Service.-History:...
, County Durham
County Durham
County Durham is a ceremonial county and unitary district in north east England. The county town is Durham. The largest settlement in the ceremonial county is the town of Darlington...
in January 2002 pledging to give up his life of crime, and released a second book with McKay, a novel titled Deadly Divisions, in April 2002. In May of the same year he was sent back to prison for breaching the conditions of his parole after being involved in a knife fight with Tam McGraw, and an alleged connection with a £900,000 shipment of cannabis. Ferris was released again in June 2002, and returned to Scotland.
Freedom
Ferris started a new security company named Frontline Security after being released from prison. In December 2003 his brother Billy was convicted of murder for a second time. He had been released in 1999 after serving 22 years of a life sentence, but was convicted of the February 2003 murder of a 15-year old boy, after mistaking him for the boy's older brother who had assaulted his wife. In January 2004 Frontline Security were criticised when it was revealed the company were guarding the Rosepark nursing home, where 14 pensioners had died in a fire. Relatives of the victims demanded to know why a company linked to Ferris had been hired. Three months later it emerged that Frontline Security had won a contract to protect speed cameras on the M8 motorway, with a police source stating "The fact this firm have been handed this speed camera contract is just plain ridiculous". Later the same year it emerged that the company had been paid taxpayers' money to protect Dumbarton Sheriff CourtSheriff Court
Sheriff courts provide the local court service in Scotland, with each court serving a sheriff court district within a sheriffdom.Sheriff courts deal with a myriad of legal procedures which include:*Solemn and Summary Criminal cases...
, and court bosses said they would not use the firm again.
Ferris caused more controversy when it emerged he was being filmed for a fly-on-the-wall television show to be aired on Five. TV bosses were accused of glamourising his life of crime, with a Glasgow detective stating "Now we have Ferris the TV star - it makes you sick. He can try to become a Z-list celebrity all he wants, but he is a career criminal and no matter how many times he tries to reinvent himself, we will always know the truth". In April 2005 police in Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
began investigating Ferris over concerns he was attempting to invest in the taxi trade in the city, and a month later details of a planned film about Ferris' life emerged, starring Scottish actor Robert Carlyle
Robert Carlyle
Robert Carlyle, OBE is a Scottish film and television actor. He is known for a variety of roles including those in Trainspotting, Hamish Macbeth, The Full Monty, The World Is Not Enough, Angela's Ashes, The 51st State, and 28 Weeks Later...
and Oasis
Oasis (band)
Oasis were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1991. Originally known as The Rain, the group was formed by Liam Gallagher , Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs , Paul "Guigsy" McGuigan and Tony McCarroll , who were soon joined by Liam's older brother Noel Gallagher...
singer Liam Gallagher
Liam Gallagher
William John Paul "Liam" Gallagher is an English musician and singer-songwriter, the former frontman of the English rock band Oasis and currently of the band Beady Eye. Gallagher's erratic behaviour, distinctive singing style, and abrasive attitude have been the subject of commentary in the press...
. Ferris released his third book Vendetta in October 2005, and followed that with an appearance at the Festival of Scottish Writing in Edinburgh in May 2006. This was followed by the release of his fourth book Villains in October 2006. In January 2007 Scottish Minister for Justice Cathy Jamieson
Cathy Jamieson
Catherine Mary "Cathy" Jamieson is a UK Labour party politician and the Member of Parliament for Kilmarnock & Loudoun. She has previously been Deputy Leader and Acting Leader of the Scottish Labour Party, former Minister for Justice in the Scottish Executive, and Labour Co-operative Member of the...
announced a planned initiative to prevent convicted criminals from profiting from the publication of their memoirs, although Reg McKay has previously stated Ferris did not profit from the sale of the first book and that his motivation is not financial.