The city of Liverpool is not alone in having a problem with crime families, drugs and violence - but its most powerful gangsters have long been a subject of fascination for observers in both fiction and real life.
asserted
gangsters → have → fiction
And behind many of the men who have brought misery to the city, there are women attracted to the power of its most notorious criminals.
asserted
who → bring → criminals
From Curtis Warren in the 1990s to the Huyton Firm of more recent years, Liverpool is sometimes called the 'Naples of the North' due to its links, real and imagined, to organised crime.
asserted
Liverpool → call → crime
On Sunday, the gritty Liverpool-based BBC drama This City is Ours returned for a second season, with the cast defending the series against claims it glamourises a life of crime.
uncertain
it → base → crime
Season two picks up from where things were left, with Michael Kavanagh (James Nelson-Joyce) and his wife Diana Williams (Hannah Onslow) starting their new life together in their Spanish 'happy town'.
However, they are almost immediately dragged back into the criminal underworld to face questions over the death of a Colombian cocaine supplier and a coup within the Phelan family firm.
asserted
they → pick → firm
Elsewhere, Julie Graham plays Elaine Phelan, the matriarch and widow of murdered gang leader Ronnie Phelan, Saoirse-Monica Jackson stars as Cheryl Crawford, the grieving and bold wife of gangster Davy Crawford, and Laura Aikman plays Rachel Duffy, the wife of senior gang member Bobby Duffy who takes care of the cocaine mob's finances.
asserted
who → play → finances
This City is Ours shines a light on what supposedly goes on within these criminal families - and how the women in their lives are often caught up in 'the firm'.
asserted
women → shin → firm
Hannah Onslow as Diane Williams and James Nelson-Joyce as Michael Kavanagh in This City is Ours season two
Julie Graham, who plays grieving widow and matriarch Elaine Phelan after the death of crime boss Ronnie Phelan (Sean Bean)
Saoirse-Monica Jackson (left) stars as Cheryl Crawford, the grieving and bold wife of gangster Davy Crawford.
asserted
Jackson → play → Crawford
Laura Aikman (right) plays Rachel Duffy, the wife of senior gang member Bobby Duffy who takes care of the cocaine mob's finances
As killers and criminals are brought to justice, courts often hear how behind the gun-toting crime boss is a devoted and loyal wife or girlfriend.
asserted
wife → play → boss
While the so-called 'molls' are often attracted to their partner's financial success, other more complex factors are also at work.
asserted
factors → call → work
They have grown up in homes where criminality is respected, while ordinary nine-to-five workers are seen as 'victims'.
asserted
workers → grow → victims
Prison sentences, threat-to-life notices and negative media coverage just 'go with the territory' of being with a Liverpool gangster.
asserted
sentences → go → gangster
But the allure of this lifestyle is often danger and power, the partner of a reformed gangster previously told the Mail.
asserted
partner → reform → Mail
She said: 'Someone who takes the lead and takes charge is attractive and sometimes that bad-boy image makes you feel safe and makes you feel more feminine.'
Many young women risk it all for the respect they receive when they walk into a high-end restaurant such as the San Carlo for a night with their dangerous boyfriend.
These are the women linked to some of the city's most notable criminals.
asserted
These → say → criminals
Kayleeanne Sweeney, 34, leaves court after Thomas Cashman was found guilty of the murder of Olivia Pratt-Korbel, nine, in 2023
Olivia Pratt-Korbel, nine, was murdered in her home after Thomas Cashman's failed attempt to kill a convicted burglar
Thomas Cashman was jailed for life.
asserted
murdered → leave → life
His partner Sweeney was condemned by many for her tragic attempts at style while attending the murder trial at Manchester Crown Court
Thomas Cashman's partner was condemned by many for her flashy outfits while attending her husband's trial for the murder of Olivia Pratt-Korbel at Manchester Crown Court.
Sweeney, who supported Cashman despite hearing of his infidelity, often sported expensive pink jackets and shades.
asserted
who → condemn → jackets
She lived with Cashman in the West Derby area of the city, boosted by his £250,000 per year earnings.
asserted
She → live → earnings
However, 'Cash', as he was known in Liverpool, was far from 'legit'.
asserted
he → know → legit
He earned his money growing and selling cannabis in the Dovecot area, where he also acted as an enforcer for the godfathers who ran the Huyton Firm.
asserted
who → earn → Firm
Meanwhile Kayleeanne cruised to the beauty salon she ran in a £33,000 Land Rover Discovery Sport and enjoyed regular overseas holidays with her gangster partner.
asserted
she → cruise → partner
Cashman's drugs business enabled the couple to afford to live in their £450,000 detached house on an upmarket development where residents drive Bentleys and Teslas.
asserted
residents → enable → Bentleys
The couple, who have a son and a daughter, are understood to have paid £2,000 a month for the four-bed rented property from the end of 2021.
asserted
who → have → 2021
In addition, they were renting a luxury two-bed apartment in a block overlooking the River Mersey.
asserted
they → rent → Mersey
For Kayleeanne the murder trial marked the moment to 'stand by your man' despite the fact Cashman was accused of shooting dead a child in her own home.
asserted
Cashman → mark → home
Asked in court whether Ms Sweeney knew the source of his wealth – more than seven times the average salary for the area – Cashman said: 'She never asked me, I never told her.'
asserted
I → ask → her
But he admitted she would have had 'suspicions' that he dealt drugs.
asserted
he → admit → drugs
Murdered - then covered in snow
Terri Murray became famous when she claimed that UFC star Conor McGregor was the father of her daughter Clodagh.
asserted
McGregor → murder → daughter
The Liverpool mum said she slept with McGregor after meeting the famous fighter in a Liverpool nightclub.
asserted
she → say → nightclub
The Dublin-born UFC star was in the city for the 2017 Grand National weekend, and was photographed with a huge entourage.
However, subsequent DNA tests proved that McGregor was not the father.
asserted
McGregor → bear → entourage
The Irishman always claimed a friend slept with Ms Murray, not him.
asserted
friend → claim → Murray
Terri Murray became famous when she claimed that UFC star Conor McGregor was the father of her daughter Clodagh
The Liverpool mother claimed she slept with McGregor after meeting the famous fighter in a Liverpool nightclub
Bradley, the brother of notorious gangster Kirk, was shot dead during a 'targeted attack' in March 2013.
His body was partially covered by snow when police eventually arrived at the scene.
asserted
police → become → scene
At the time senior officers admitted the victim was 'known to police' but did not elaborate.
asserted
victim → admit → police
Bradley, whose father Trevor is a convicted drug dealer, appears to have enjoyed an affluent lifestyle and often jetted around the world with his lover.
asserted
father → convict → lover
The source of his income was not clear, although local sources have said he was well known in Liverpool's criminal fraternity.
asserted
he → say → fraternity
Police later confirmed that Cashman was questioned over Bradley's death, although he was not charged with the murder.
asserted
he → confirm → murder
Local sources suggest Kirk, currently serving a 22-year prison sentence, has vowed revenge.
asserted
Kirk → suggest → revenge
Rachel and Maria Clarke
Stephen Clarke and his accomplices have a fierce reputation and once ruled Liverpool's clubland with an iron fist.
asserted
Clarke → have → fist
A muscle-bound kickboxer, Clarke and his younger brother Peter lived like kings in the suburbs of Southport while controlling a labyrinth of criminal enterprises.
asserted
Clarke → bind → enterprises
The bulk of their cash came from a drug export business to Ireland.
asserted
bulk → come → Ireland
Stephen concentrated on a network of cannabis growers dotted around Southport, while Peter shipped cocaine across the Irish Sea.
asserted
Peter → concentrate → Sea
…and 44 more, not listed.
The Aporia
