One-armed bandit murder
Encyclopedia
The one-armed bandit murder was a criminal case in the north east of England
. The case involved the murder of Angus Sibbet in 1967. The following trial resulted in life sentences for Dennis Stafford and Michael Luvaglio. Both men were released on licence 12 years later.
industry, involving the supply of fruit machines, also known colloquially as one armed bandits, to social clubs.
The case was one of the most notorious killings in the north east, and the first gang land killing sparking fears that organised crime was gaining a foothold in the north east. Luvaglio's Italian
surname sparked the headline "The Mafia
are coming." The trial was one of the biggest seen in the north east.
The case inspired the novel Jack's Return Home
by Ted Lewis
, which was adapted into the 1971 film Get Carter
, with a scene in the opening featuring a newspaper headline "gaming wars".
Both men have always insisted on their innocence, with Stafford alleging the murder was committed by a Scottish
gangster and Luvaglio alleging it was part of a failed attempt by the Krays to enter the Newcastle club scene.
The pair have claimed that the hype surrounding the case and the upsurge in gangland activity caused the police to suppress evidence in order to gain a conviction. Luvaglio says that he was charged as Stafford's companion because, in his initial questioning, he refused to say that Stafford had left him on the night of the murder. Had Luvaglio made this statement, it was likely only Stafford would have been charged and convicted.
see website www.villain-or-victim.com .
and the Richardson Gang
.
Sibbet was a money collector for a company run by Luvaglio's brother which supplied working men's clubs with fruit machines. The company supplied the entire north east representing a lucrative business for underworld gangs.
Sibbet, Luvaglio and Stafford were all friends and business associates. Luvaglio was a London
er with Italian
roots who had moved from London to Newcastle to work in his brother's business. Stafford, also from London, was a self-confessed "playboy" and career criminal, whereas Luvaglio was less involved in crime and was not inclined to violence. Luvaglio asserted that Sibbet was a very good friend of his, even his best friend or like a brother.
Sibbet's body was discovered the following morning at 5.15am by a miner in the back seat of his Jaguar, having been shot three times. The car was under Pesspool Bridge in South Hetton
, County Durham
.
As motive for his murder, the prosecution alleged Sibbet had been skimming the takings, estimated as £1,000 a week, supported by the fact he could afford to buy a Jaguar Mark 10
.
Stafford and Luvaglio were both found guilty, and were sentenced to life in prison.
s while in prison.
The main doubts about the original trial surround the asserted time of death, proving which was key as the pair had alibis for all but a 45-minute window on the night, and the time of death had to be estimated as the body was only discovered at 5 am; the time was at least five hours prior, according to police. Witnesses were reported to have seen Sibbet alive in the car after the time of death, or nobody in the car.
Doubts were also expressed over the lack of any forensic evidence linking the pair to the scene,
the actual presence of conflicting forensic evidence, and over the relevance of contradictory withheld evidence and witness statements and missing evidence.
In 2002, it was asserted by Stafford's legal team that a murder conviction on the evidence would not have been possible in modern times, and the case was taken to the Criminal Cases Review Commission which opened a review of the case in 2005. This later failed, as did an appeal in the House of Lords
.
Stafford was re-imprisoned for two years in 1989 after breaching his license by leaving the country, in the meantime setting up in business in South Africa
. He was arrested after re-entering the country and being caught in a security check at a hotel where Mikhail Gorbachev
was staying.
Both Stafford and Luvaglio had been fighting their cases on a separate basis, not speaking to each other since their original release. This was down to the separate backgrounds of the two men, and not due to any falling out. However, a reunion was held after 30 years in March 2008, when they embarked on a Judicial Review at the High Court. This failed, leaving the only recourse an appeal to Europe
.
Michael Howard
kept him jailed overruling a parole
board recommendation. This decision was later challenged in a landmark ruling at the European Court of Human Rights
and in May 2002 the Court ruled that home secretaries had no power to overrule the parole board's decision and awarded damages.
North East England
North East England is one of the nine official regions of England. It covers Northumberland, County Durham, Tyne and Wear, and Teesside . The only cities in the region are Durham, Newcastle upon Tyne and Sunderland...
. The case involved the murder of Angus Sibbet in 1967. The following trial resulted in life sentences for Dennis Stafford and Michael Luvaglio. Both men were released on licence 12 years later.
Notoriety
The case gained the nickname in the press as the 'One-armed bandit murder' through the connection to the gamingGambling
Gambling is the wagering of money or something of material value on an event with an uncertain outcome with the primary intent of winning additional money and/or material goods...
industry, involving the supply of fruit machines, also known colloquially as one armed bandits, to social clubs.
The case was one of the most notorious killings in the north east, and the first gang land killing sparking fears that organised crime was gaining a foothold in the north east. Luvaglio's Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
surname sparked the headline "The Mafia
Mafia
The Mafia is a criminal syndicate that emerged in the mid-nineteenth century in Sicily, Italy. It is a loose association of criminal groups that share a common organizational structure and code of conduct, and whose common enterprise is protection racketeering...
are coming." The trial was one of the biggest seen in the north east.
The case inspired the novel Jack's Return Home
Jack's Return Home
Jack's Return Home is a 1970 novel by British writer Ted Lewis. An uncompromising novel of a brutal half-world of pool halls, massage parlours and teenage pornography, it was memorably brought to life in the cult film Get Carter, starring Michael Caine as Jack Carter...
by Ted Lewis
Ted Lewis (writer)
Ted Lewis was a British writer.He was born in Manchester, an only child. After World War II the family moved to Barton-on-Humber...
, which was adapted into the 1971 film Get Carter
Get Carter
Get Carter is a 1971 British crime film directed by Mike Hodges and starring Michael Caine as Jack Carter, a gangster who sets out to avenge the death of his brother in a series of unrelenting and brutal killings played out against the grim background of derelict urban housing in the city of...
, with a scene in the opening featuring a newspaper headline "gaming wars".
Both men have always insisted on their innocence, with Stafford alleging the murder was committed by 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,...
gangster and Luvaglio alleging it was part of a failed attempt by the Krays to enter the Newcastle club scene.
The pair have claimed that the hype surrounding the case and the upsurge in gangland activity caused the police to suppress evidence in order to gain a conviction. Luvaglio says that he was charged as Stafford's companion because, in his initial questioning, he refused to say that Stafford had left him on the night of the murder. Had Luvaglio made this statement, it was likely only Stafford would have been charged and convicted.
see website www.villain-or-victim.com .
Background
Organised crime was on the rise in Britain during the 1960s, with the most notable events being the gangland wars between the KraysKray twins
Reginald "Reggie" Kray and his twin brother Ronald "Ronnie" Kray were the foremost perpetrators of organised crime in London's East End during the 1950s and 1960s...
and the Richardson Gang
The Richardson Gang
The Richardson Gang was a 1960s group of criminals in South London, England. Less well remembered than their rivals the Krays, they nevertheless had a reputation at their peak as being some of London's most infamous and sadistic gangsters...
.
Sibbet was a money collector for a company run by Luvaglio's brother which supplied working men's clubs with fruit machines. The company supplied the entire north east representing a lucrative business for underworld gangs.
Sibbet, Luvaglio and Stafford were all friends and business associates. Luvaglio was a London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
er with Italian
Italian people
The Italian people are an ethnic group that share a common Italian culture, ancestry and speak the Italian language as a mother tongue. Within Italy, Italians are defined by citizenship, regardless of ancestry or country of residence , and are distinguished from people...
roots who had moved from London to Newcastle to work in his brother's business. Stafford, also from London, was a self-confessed "playboy" and career criminal, whereas Luvaglio was less involved in crime and was not inclined to violence. Luvaglio asserted that Sibbet was a very good friend of his, even his best friend or like a brother.
Murder
On the night of 4 January 1967, Luvaglio and Stafford were to meet Sibbet at the Birdcage club in Newcastle at 12.30am, 16 miles away from the eventual scene of discovery of Sibbet's body.Sibbet's body was discovered the following morning at 5.15am by a miner in the back seat of his Jaguar, having been shot three times. The car was under Pesspool Bridge in South Hetton
South Hetton
South Hetton is a former mining village in County Durham, in England. It is situated about six miles to the east of Durham and nine miles to the south of Sunderland.-South Hetton Colliery:...
, 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...
.
Trial
The trial took place at Newcastle Crown Court two months later.As motive for his murder, the prosecution alleged Sibbet had been skimming the takings, estimated as £1,000 a week, supported by the fact he could afford to buy a Jaguar Mark 10
Jaguar Mark X
The Jaguar Mark X was the top-of-the-range saloon car built by the British manufacturer Jaguar, originally aimed at the United States market. The Mark X succeeded the Mark IX as the company's large saloon model.-Body:...
.
Stafford and Luvaglio were both found guilty, and were sentenced to life in prison.
Release and appeals
The pair were released from prison in 1979, freed on license after serving 12 years, after two failed appealAppeal
An appeal is a petition for review of a case that has been decided by a court of law. The petition is made to a higher court for the purpose of overturning the lower court's decision....
s while in prison.
The main doubts about the original trial surround the asserted time of death, proving which was key as the pair had alibis for all but a 45-minute window on the night, and the time of death had to be estimated as the body was only discovered at 5 am; the time was at least five hours prior, according to police. Witnesses were reported to have seen Sibbet alive in the car after the time of death, or nobody in the car.
Doubts were also expressed over the lack of any forensic evidence linking the pair to the scene,
the actual presence of conflicting forensic evidence, and over the relevance of contradictory withheld evidence and witness statements and missing evidence.
In 2002, it was asserted by Stafford's legal team that a murder conviction on the evidence would not have been possible in modern times, and the case was taken to the Criminal Cases Review Commission which opened a review of the case in 2005. This later failed, as did an appeal in the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
.
Stafford was re-imprisoned for two years in 1989 after breaching his license by leaving the country, in the meantime setting up in business in South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
. He was arrested after re-entering the country and being caught in a security check at a hotel where Mikhail Gorbachev
Mikhail Gorbachev
Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev is a former Soviet statesman, having served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1985 until 1991, and as the last head of state of the USSR, having served from 1988 until its dissolution in 1991...
was staying.
Both Stafford and Luvaglio had been fighting their cases on a separate basis, not speaking to each other since their original release. This was down to the separate backgrounds of the two men, and not due to any falling out. However, a reunion was held after 30 years in March 2008, when they embarked on a Judicial Review at the High Court. This failed, leaving the only recourse an appeal to Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
.
Stafford parole judgement
Stafford was later imprisoned for forging traveller's cheques in 1994. Then Home SecretaryHome Secretary
The Secretary of State for the Home Department, commonly known as the Home Secretary, is the minister in charge of the Home Office of the United Kingdom, and one of the country's four Great Offices of State...
Michael Howard
Michael Howard
Michael Howard, Baron Howard of Lympne, CH, QC, PC is a British politician, who served as the Leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of the Opposition from November 2003 to December 2005...
kept him jailed overruling a parole
Parole
Parole may have different meanings depending on the field and judiciary system. All of the meanings originated from the French parole . Following its use in late-resurrected Anglo-French chivalric practice, the term became associated with the release of prisoners based on prisoners giving their...
board recommendation. This decision was later challenged in a landmark ruling at the European Court of Human Rights
European Court of Human Rights
The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg is a supra-national court established by the European Convention on Human Rights and hears complaints that a contracting state has violated the human rights enshrined in the Convention and its protocols. Complaints can be brought by individuals or...
and in May 2002 the Court ruled that home secretaries had no power to overrule the parole board's decision and awarded damages.