Thomas "Tam" McGraw (19 February 1952 – 30 July 2007), also known as "The Licensee" or "Wan-Baw McGraw", was a gangster involved in

organised crime Organized crime is a category of transnational, national, or local group of centralized enterprises run to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for profit. While organized crime is generally thought of as a form of illegal business, some ...

including

extortion Extortion is the practice of obtaining benefit (e.g., money or goods) through coercion. In most jurisdictions it is likely to constitute a criminal offence. Robbery is the simplest and most common form of extortion, although making unfounded ...

and

drug trafficking A drug is any chemical substance other than a nutrient or an essential dietary ingredient, which, when administered to a living organism, produces a biological effect. Consumption of drugs can be via inhalation, injection, smoking, ingestion, ...

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. Once one of the wealthiest businessmen in Glasgow, he owned numerous businesses including security companies and taxi firms as well as properties throughout Scotland and

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

with an estimated worth of £10 million. His drug trafficking activities were worth an estimated £14 million.

Early life

Thomas McGraw was born in

Lennoxtown Lennoxtown (, ) is a town in the East Dunbartonshire council area and the historic county of Stirlingshire, Scotland. The Campsie Fells are located to Lennoxtown's north. The town had a population of 4,094 at the 2011 UK census. History The ...

Stirlingshire Stirlingshire or the County of Stirling ( ) is a Shires of Scotland, historic county and registration county of Scotland. Its county town is Stirling.Registers of Scotland. Publications, leaflets, Land Register Counties. It borders Perthshir ...

, to the north of Glasgow. In his early life, he would spell his name "Thomas McGrow". At an early age he became involved in

criminal activity In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in Cane ...

, including

shoplifting Shoplifting (also known as shop theft, shop fraud, retail theft, or retail fraud) is the theft of goods from a retail establishment during business hours. The terms ''shoplifting'' and ''shoplifter'' are not usually defined in law, and genera ...

and

burglary Burglary, also called breaking and entering (B&E) or housebreaking, is a property crime involving the illegal entry into a building or other area without permission, typically with the intention of committing a further criminal offence. Usually ...

during the early 1960s. Although in and out of

approved school An approved school was a type of residential institution in the United Kingdom to which young people could be sent by a court, usually for committing offences but sometimes because they were deemed to be beyond parental control. They were model ...

s and

Borstal A borstal is a type of youth detention centre. Such a detention centre is more commonly known as a borstal school in India, where they remain in use today. Until the late 20th century, borstals were present in the United Kingdom, several mem ...

s during his teenage years, he was involved in setting up the small Bar-L team, based around the

Barlanark Barlanark ( ) is a district in Glasgow. It is situated east of Budhill, Shettleston and Springboig, north west of Baillieston, west of Springhill, Glasgow, Springhill and Swinton, Glasgow, Swinton and south of Easthall, Easterhouse and Wellhou ...

area of Glasgow and specialising in armed

robbery Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take anything of value by force, threat of force, or use of fear. According to common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the person o ...

. He participated in the gang's post office raids throughout Scotland, eventually becoming one of the most wanted criminals in the country. He and the others managed to evade police for some time before eventual arrest in a failed robbery of a

social club A social club or social organization may be a group of people or the place where they meet, generally formed around a common interest, occupation or activity with in an organizational association known as a Club (organization), club. Exampl ...

outside Glasgow, as he loaded several crates of alcohol into his van. McGraw had evaded police during a brief high speed chase before his vehicle overturned, but was arrested while trying to flee on foot. However, given the circumstance of his arrest, there was speculation that McGraw may have been a police informantBBC News: Gangland 'Licensee' McGraw dies
bbc.co.uk. Accessed 13 October 2022. for the Serious Crime Squad, supplying information on associates in exchange for police protection from his own illegal activities. Indeed, the charges were dropped and he was released the morning after his arrest. Similarly, he was tried and acquitted for the attempted murder of a police officer in 1978.

Entry into organised crime

During the early 1980s, he began expanding his criminal operations becoming involved in

narcotic The term narcotic (, from ancient Greek ναρκῶ ''narkō'', "I make numb") originally referred medically to any psychoactive compound with numbing or paralyzing properties. In the United States, it has since become associated with opiates ...

s such as

heroin Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a morphinan opioid substance synthesized from the Opium, dried latex of the Papaver somniferum, opium poppy; it is mainly used as a recreational drug for its eupho ...

as he began purchasing nightclubs and pubs.

Paul Ferris Paul Ferris may refer to: * Paul Ferris (composer) (1941–1995), English film composer * Paul Ferris (footballer) (born 1965), Northern Irish former footballer and now physiotherapist * Paul Ferris (Scottish writer) (born 1963), Scottish writer an ...

, another rival Glasgow organised crime figure, claimed in his autobiography ''The Ferris Conspiracy'' that McGraw became involved in dealing heroin due to his connections to corrupt police officers, receiving confiscated drugs which he sold on the streets. Also identified as a figure involved in the

Glasgow Ice Cream Wars The ice cream wars were Gang#Gang violence, turf wars in the East End, Glasgow, East End of Glasgow, Scotland, in the 1980s between rival criminal organisations selling Illicit drug trade, drugs and sale of illegal goods, stolen goods from ice c ...

in 1984, McGraw was attempting to expand his own ice-cream van business and had been known to use violence and intimidation to secure the most lucrative rounds for himself.

Later life

In 1998, he was arrested for drug smuggling. While several of his associates were convicted, McGraw was once again acquitted. In 2002, he was attacked by unidentified assailants less than a mile from his East End home and stabbed several times, suffering wounds to his arms, wrists and buttocks. Protected by a bulletproof vest, he received only minor injuries.BBC News: Police play down gang war fears
/ref> During this time, with imported bodyguards from Ireland as well as surveillance by the Serious Crime Squad, McGraw was one of the most heavily protected criminals in the city. He later reportedly brokered a deal with Ferris, with whom he had been feuding for some time over allegations in the latter's first book. It was also reported that McGraw paid Ferris £1.5 to £2 million to keep the peace and make sure Paul Ferris didn't take revenge on him. In the last few years after Ferris was freed from prison, McGraw was said to be spending more time in his villa abroad, with a few of his henchmen.

Death

Tam McGraw died of a suspected heart attack at his home in

Mount Vernon, Glasgow Mount Vernon is a residential area in the east end of the city of Glasgow, Scotland. It directly borders Sandyhills and Foxley to the west, while Barlanark is the closest neighbourhood to the north, Barrachnie and Baillieston to the east and Car ...

at the age of 55. Paramedics and doctors arrived at his home at about 1500 BST on Monday 30 July 2007 but were unable to resuscitate him. He was declared dead on arrival at

Glasgow Royal Infirmary The Glasgow Royal Infirmary (GRI) is a large teaching hospital. With a capacity of around 1,000 beds, the hospital campus covers an area of around , and straddles the Townhead and Dennistoun districts on the north-eastern fringe of the city cen ...

In popular culture

Tam McGraw is portrayed by John Hannah in the 2013 film '' The Wee Man''.

Early life

Entry into organised crime

Later life

Death

In popular culture

References

Further reading