Michael Michael (born 12 November 1957) is the ex-boss of a criminal empire called the Organisation which was involved in drug smuggling, prostitution and money laundering. Following his arrest, Michael turned

supergrass Supergrass are an English rock band formed in 1993. For the majority of the band's tenure, the line-up consisted of brothers Gaz (lead vocals, guitar) and Rob Coombes (keyboards), Mick Quinn (bass, backing vocals) and Danny Goffey (drums, ...

/police informer, with his evidence leading to 34 people being jailed for a combined 170 years, and the dismantling of 26 different drug syndicates. Among people he informed on were his wife Lynn, given a 24-month prison sentence suspended for two years for her role as a cash

courier A courier is a person or organization that delivers a message, package or letter from one place or person to another place or person. Typically, a courier provides their courier service on a commercial contract basis; however, some couriers are ...

; and Janice Marlborough, his business lieutenant who ran his string of

brothel A brothel, strumpet house, bordello, bawdy house, ranch, house of ill repute, house of ill fame, or whorehouse is a place where people engage in Human sexual activity, sexual activity with prostitutes. For legal or cultural reasons, establis ...

s. Michael's evidence led to drugs worth £49m being recovered from a distribution network that is thought to have smuggled more than 110 kg (250lb) of

cocaine Cocaine is a tropane alkaloid and central nervous system stimulant, derived primarily from the leaves of two South American coca plants, ''Erythroxylum coca'' and ''Erythroxylum novogranatense, E. novogranatense'', which are cultivated a ...

and 19 tonnes of

cannabis ''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae that is widely accepted as being indigenous to and originating from the continent of Asia. However, the number of species is disputed, with as many as three species be ...

into Britain. Information about Michael's work as an informer remained secret until December 2001, when a judge at Woolwich Crown Court sentenced him to six years in jail. Reporting restrictions that had been in place for three years were lifted. Michael had admitted one count of

conspiracy A conspiracy, also known as a plot, ploy, or scheme, is a secret plan or agreement between people (called conspirers or conspirators) for an unlawful or harmful purpose, such as murder, treason, or corruption, especially with a political motivat ...

to import cocaine, a similar charge involving cannabis, and three conspiracies to launder the proceeds. He has also pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm. Michael, who lived in Radlett, Hertfordshire, is thought to have been given a new identity under the terms of the witness protection programme. Born into a Greek-Cypriot family in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

in the English Midlands, Michael's birth name was Constantine Michael Michael, but he decided to drop the use of the forename Constantine in adulthood.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Michael, Michael 1957 births Living people English gangsters English criminals English people of Greek Cypriot descent Crime in London Criminals from the West Midlands (county) People from Radlett