I was hired to write Kray Twins rival Eddie Richardson’s biography – dark secrets he shared before he targeted my family

SO, EDDIE Richardson – last of the 1960s gangsters who ruled London through torture and intimidation – is dead. He’d fallen out with most of his friends and enemies including his own crimelord brother, the much more charming and charismatic Charlie who was head of their Richardsons’ clan. Wensley Clarkson was hired as Eddie Richardson’s (picture above) ghostwriter in the early 2000s Credit: Ray Collins – The Sun Having spent 30 years of his life in prison, Eddie (pictured in his younger days) decided to make money telling his life story Credit: Ray Collins – The Sun I had the misfortune to be hired to ghost write Eddie’s autobiography by one of London’s biggest publishers back in the early 2000s. Eddie had just got out of prison after serving a stretch for his role in trying to bring millions of pounds worth of cocaine into the UK. Sign up for The Sun newsletter Thank you! He was broke and needed to come up with something legit that would earn him a few bob. So, he turned to the only person he knew in ‘the media’ and through her managed to get an introduction to a publisher, which is where I came in. Trouble was that despite being in prison for at least 30 years of his life, dear old Eddie had never read a book. He preferred knocking out childlike paintings on canvas that he believed would be worth a lot more than the ones his old nemesis Ronnie Kray had rustled up while serving his life sentence for the murder of a rival gangster. Eddie was a rival of notorious brothers Reggie (left) and Ronnie (right) Kray Credit: Alamy Eddie’s hatred of his father led to him not trusting men Credit: Ray Collins – The Sun But when Eddie realised he couldn’t live off his own art, he decided the easiest way to earn a crust and keep his parole officer happy was to tell his life story – well his version of his life story. And that’s where this gets complicated because Eddie decided he could cop a £50,000 advance without breathing a word about the childhood abuse he suffered and the inside details of all the headline hitting crimes he’d committed alongside brother Charlie. This happened to include torturing underworld enemies, which had led to the Richardsons being labelled the ‘most evil brothers in the underworld’ by the popular press at the time. Having agreed to be his ghost, I sat down with Eddie, tape recorder in hand to start to interviewing him in chronological order. Eddie had a problem with the word ‘chronological’ because it sounded suspicious to him and he accused me of ‘taking the piss’ out of him by using it. Most read in The Sun A LIFE OF CRIME - EDDIE RICHARDSON DIES AT 90 The London mobland boss, who led the fearsome Richardson gang with late brother Charlie, is understood to have passed away peacefully surrounded by family. Eddie, an enforcer in the 1950s and 1960s, developed a career as an after-dinner speaker and artist in later life. Born in Camberwell, South London, in 1936, Eddie started off working in the scrap metal industry. He and older brother Charlie went on to build an empire of clubs and businesses across South London. They expanded into Soho and made a fortune through blue movie cinemas and providing fruit machines and bouncers for other venues. The Richardson crew, also including “Mad” Frankie Fraser, were dubbed the Torture Gang with a reputation for sadistic punishments. They fought a deadly turf war with late East London villains Ronnie and Reggie Kray in the 1960s. The Krays got life for murder and Eddie and Charlie, who died aged 78 in 2012, also served long jail terms. He also worked with charities and boxing clubs. Eddie dismissed the Krays in an interview with The Sun last year, saying: “They were f***ing mugs. Very thick.” An underworld source said: “When people think of old-school gangsters, they think of the Krays. “But the Richardson gang were arguably more heavy-duty. “With Eddie passing, it’s the end of an era.” When I explained that all it meant was that I was going to interview him about his childhood first, his face dropped and he gave me a death stare that must have no doubt scared the shit out of many of his victims. “Why the f*** d’you want to know about my childhood?” he said, slowly to stop himself yelling at me. “Well, Eddie. You’ve signed up to tell your life story, so that includes your early years.” “F*** off,” he said. “I ain’t goin’ into that stuff. Let’s start with my first spell in borstal.” I didn’t argue but I knew I’d have to make him go back to his childhood at some stage, otherwise I wouldn’t get my fee for being his ghost writer. But unfortunately it all went downhill from then on. Eddie didn’t really want to discuss anything in detail and if I dared to ask him for a specific date re an event, his eyes would narrow and he’d shake his head and say, ‘I don’t f***in’ keep a diary. What does it matter when it was?” Eddie’s did eventually briefly talk about how much he hated his father who used to beat him and his brother and that he didn’t trust men because of that. This didn’t bode well for our working relationship and by asking him questions all the time I was also reminding him of the interrogations he’d experienced at the hands of Scotland Yard’s finest. It was quickly becoming clear that we were never going to achieve what the publisher required, so I explained all this to the editor, including how Eddie clearly didn’t get on well with men and suggested she replace me with a female writer, who might stand more chance of squeezing some actual facts out of him. Wensley says you cross characters like Eddie (seen in his younger years) “at your peril” Credit: Ray Collins – The Sun Wensley (above) recommended to editors that Eddie needed a female ghostwriter Credit: Mark Wood This recommendation to change his ghost writer went ahead much to my relief. And in my last ever call to Eddie on a Saturday morning I promised I would return the photos he’d lent me that were intended to be used in a photo section in the centre of his autobiography. He suddenly sounded very bothered by what I was saying. He seemed to have forgotten I had the photos and it really irritated him. I thought nothing more about it, except to promise myself I would ensure they were delivered back to him on the following Monday morning. The next morning – a Sunday – I left my home in West London to play football south of the city when my wife rang me on my mobile. She said a strange, aggressive old man had turned up at the doorstep to my house, put his foot in the doorway so she couldn’t shut it and demanded the immediate return of those photos. She worked out who he was and then very coolly invited him into the house where she insisted on making him a coffee and introduced him to my extremely senile mother-in-law who knew about as much about the Richardson’s as she did England’s one and only world cup victory in 1966. My wife whispered into the phone that Eddie was completely thrown by her charming demeanor, but it was clear that unless I got back to the house rather soon then he might start ripping the place apart. Needless to say, I returned double quick but as I drove back to the house, a chilling thought crossed my mind. Eddie must have been sitting in his car watching my house until I left earlier. And now he was alone in my house with my wife and mother-in-law. I’d been intimidated by him and he’d rightly presumed that I’d come back the moment I heard he was there. I shot back, found the photos and gently escorted Eddie out of the front door before waiting and watching until he got in his car and drove away. Six months later I was with another infamous old school criminal who was helping me with a book when I walked into a notorious villain’s pub in south London and there was Eddie at the bar. My face dropped as I told the other villain about our ‘previous’. His on the spot advice was that I should go up to Eddie, say hello, shake his hand very quickly and then walk away without uttering another word. It worked brilliantly. Before Eddie had a chance to get angry I’d gone but at least he knew I wasn’t scared of him. That was the crucial ingredient. You see, old school villains like Eddie Richardson may have prided themselves on helping little old ladies across the street but you cross these type of characters at your peril. So farewell Eddie. No doubt the old criminals already down there in the other underworld (including your own brother) may well be out for revenge when you turn up. Just watch yer back old son, as they say. WENSLEY CLARKSON is one of Britain’s best selling true crime authors. Comment now