CHARLIE SEIGA
Charlie Seiga’s reputation is awesome, both in Liverpool where he comes from and around London. He was once one of the most dangerous men in Britain. Many men were murdered on Charlie’s patch and many times the police marked him out as a killer. They even codenamed him Killer and, later, Charlie called his autobiography just that. The killings, I’d heard, were swift, brutal and brilliantly organised.
The victims had all been liberty-takers, vicious bullies, scumbags and no-marks. Charlie has been called a contract killer, a hit-man, a murderer. He’s also been accused of being the brains behind bank raids, armed robberies and wage snatches which netted hundreds of thousands of pounds.
He’s a straight-talking man with a code of conduct he lives his life by and, more importantly, he expects everyone else to live by it, too. He has no time for people who pick on the defenceless, the weak, the vulnerable, the elderly or women. In that, he’s a villain of the old school.
I arranged to meet Charlie on a Thursday afternoon at my publisher’s office in London. When I got there, Charlie was waiting for me, leaning back nonchalantly on a swivel chair. Being a gentleman he got up as soon as I walked in and greeted me by kissing my hand.
From that moment on, I didn’t say much. Charlie talked, I listened. I watched him in that swivel chair, swinging non-stop from side to side, as he chatted and chatted in his Scouse accent, in a dialect that’s completely alien to me.
When Charlie took a breath I tried to interrupt, but it was no use. Charlie was on a roll. He took a copy of my book Hard Bastards and started to give his opinion of the men in it. This one was a ‘juiced-up doorman’; another was a ‘waster’; that one was ‘a soft lad’.
‘They’d all be eaten alive in the ’Pool,’ he said.
I started to get aggravated and twiddled my pen. I interrupted again – but I chose my moment carefully. ‘Do you want to be in my book or not?’
He ummed and aahed. I could see him thinking, Shall I? Shan’t I? He wasn’t sure.
Five minutes, ten minutes. He chatted on. He told me about himself and there was no doubt that he was one hard bastard – he deserved to be in my book. But still he wasn’t sure. Finally, I said, ‘Well, are you going to be my Northern hard bastard or not?’
He smiled. Yes.
Later, I learned why he held back. Charlie doesn’t want to be portrayed as a hard man because he says he’s not a tough guy. I gave my word that I wouldn’t distort the way I saw him and I won’t … But …
He is a man who has done a lot of things in his life, always for a good reason – in his eyes. The way I see it, he’s no angel. Then again, he’s no devil either. We’ll leave it at that. One thing for sure is that he is a gentleman. Recently, I had to go to Liverpool and Charlie and his friends met me. There was a limo waiting at the station and I have to say that I was treated like a princess.
Maybe it’s called Liverpool hospitality. I’m not sure … Devil? Killer? But a gentleman, definitely.
BACKGROUND
I was born in Huyton, Liverpool, and I wasn’t born into a life of crime – far from it. Both my parents were as straight as they come. They were both honest, hard- working people. My mother ran a fish and chip shop.
We were a big family, I had six brothers and one sister, but my mother made sure we were always well dressed, unlike a lot of the other poor kids. Growing up as a child in Huyton in the Forties and early Fifties was great for me and my brothers. We were all comfortable and happy at home and we young ones wanted for nothing.
I became a villain from the age of 12. I think from an early age I wanted the good things in life, like fine clothes, cars and holidays. I had no intention whatsoever of earning my living honestly. I left school with no qualifications but I was offered the opportunity of learning a trade such as plumbing, bricklaying or joinery. But that wasn’t the life for me.
LIFE OF CRIME
If I were to list everything I have ever done or been involved in or charged with, believe me, the list would be endless. I am no angel and I was obviously involved in a wide range of criminal activities for a long time. I have been charged with using and being in possession of firearms and other weapons such as hatchets, machetes and knives. I’ve been charged for GBH several times, as well as threats to kill, attempted murder and murder. I’ve been questioned many, many times. But the only convictions I have are three GBHs, the last of them being in 1966 – that’s more than 35 years ago.
DO YOU THINK PRISON IS A DETERRENT?
It is and it isn’t – it all depends on you. It’s a matter of opinion that. Personally, I don’t think so – you learn more about crime inside than out.
DO YOU BELIEVE IN CAPITAL PUNISHMENT?
Yes, I do for child molesting – not even killing a child, just touching a child – I’d kill them myself. Anybody who hurts children, in my eyes, just wants putting down. In fact, if I were in control of this country I might not even kill them – I’d just use them like animals are used for medical experiments. Instead of using the poor little animals, use these perverts, the real thing.
WHAT WOULD HAVE DETERRED YOU FROM A LIFE OF CRIME?
Perhaps if I’d been born rich, things might have been different … I don’t know. Things have changed so much. There’s no respect left. There’s no law and order. If you get into a row with someone over a little scratch on a car bumper, you’re in real trouble.
But a woman gets raped around the corner or an old man gets mugged and the guilty get nothing, no punishment. Morals have gone. When I was a young man and I was a robber, I chose that path. My parents were good, clean-living, honest people but I didn’t want to be clocking on at the factory and paying the mortgage for the rest of me life. I wanted more than that. There’s no excuse for that.
In my day, you could walk in and out of a job. There was plenty of work for everyone. I chose my life, nobody corrupted me – it was all down to me.
HAVE YOU EVER BEEN STABBED/SHOT?
Yes, I’ve been stabbed, shot, mutilated, tortured, my lips torn off.
SCARIEST MOMENT?
Recently, I was tricked into going into this house in Liverpool. I got through the door of this house and I was attacked by a gang of drug-crazed scum, all off their heads on smack, crack and whatever else.
That was one of the scariest moments of my life because, let’s face it, we’re all scared of dying at times. We’ve all got to die sometime; it’s just a question of when and where.
So I was ambushed by these guttersnipes – they’re not interested in what or who you are – they’re guttersnipes. They’ll come out and pick on anyone – women, children, they don’t care. I was sitting in the chair having been wrapped up and scalded and the skin was dropping off me. I was there for hours.
The next day, they realised who I was and this big black fella comes over and says, ‘Listen, we respect you, Charlie man. But you’re going to come back with us and we’re goin’ to whack you, we’re going to do you.’
He pulled out a gun. And I’m tied up in this chair, ribs broken, stabbed, I’m done in, everything. I said, ‘Listen …’ I was still trying to be a man, but I was shitting myself … I was scared … and I said, ‘Don’t do this. I’ve got a little daughter, she’s got a right to a father … don’t do this … don’t do me in the face … she’ll have to identify the body … shoot me in the heart.’
Then, just as he was about to pull the trigger, the little scum who tricked me in the first place jumped up and said, ‘Don’t kill him here, for fuck’s sake, don’t kill him here. His daughter has seen him getting in the car outside the house.’
So I had a stay of execution. I was scared but then they were full of apologies, like they are when they’ve got off the drugs.
I’ll never forget that.
SADDEST MOMENT?
That was when my sister died. At the time, I was charged with attempted murder and I was on the run. All the police in the north-west were looking for me, even the ports were blocked off down South. It was serious.
I’d stopped this man, he was an animal, a woman-beater. I was going to give myself up and I knew I was going to prison but my sister was dying of cancer. She was an angel, she was, never did anyone any harm in her life.
So I went to see her in hospital where she was dying of cancer and I knew I was giving myself up in an hour’s time. And she’s sitting up in the ward and all her friends were saying, ‘Where’s Charlie?’
Then I walked in with the flowers and she said, ‘Oh God, Charlie.’
And I looked at her and I knew I wasn’t going to see her again. When I turned away to leave she said, ‘Charlie!’ but I didn’t turn around because the tears were welling up and I didn’t want her to see me. I didn’t want her to see me crying. I was trying to be a man.
WHAT RATTLES YOUR CAGE?
Lots of things. Liars. I hate liars. And what rattles my cage more than anything is lack of manners. We’ve all been brought up by good, decent people and we are decent people in our own way. OK, so I might have been a villain, a gangster whatever you like to call it – I’m not now – but people seem to take that as leave to be rude.
I hate people who underestimate your manners, your cleanness, all those things.
HAVE YOU EVER REALLY LOVED ANYONE?
Yes. On many occasions. I love women. My first great love was when I was 17. I met this smashing girl in the heart of Liverpool. But I was wanted by the police so we had to get out. We decided to go on holiday – but who goes on holiday in the winter? We didn’t know where to go.
I was going around with £1,000 in my pocket and it’s 1958. A lot of money. So we went over to the Isle of Man.
We loved one another, we’d plan the future and things like that. I’d known girls before but this was the real thing, it was magic. She died tragically soon afterwards and I was shattered.
WHAT FRIGHTENS YOU?
I wouldn’t like to end up like John Gotti in a cage. I wouldn’t want to go back to prison. I wouldn’t want to go back for one day, one hour. That’s my biggest fear. But I know that if I lost it, I could kill somebody – and I would if somebody touched my daughters or my family or my close friends. I’d go out and kill them and I’d think, Fuck the law, fuck the consequences. That’s what I’m scared of.
DESCRIBE A HARD BASTARD
A hard bastard can be 5ft 3in, he doesn’t have to be 6ft 6in. I know a man in Liverpool now who’s 5ft 4in and he’s got the strength of ten men. He’s a lovely, lovely man, lovely manners, but he’s striped people, stabbed people and to me he is the hardest bastard I’ve ever met. People always underestimate him; he’s a businessman. I wouldn’t call myself a hard bastard. I’m not such a hard-case.
NAME A HARD BASTARD
There’s so many, it’s impossible to name just one. These are men who don’t go around looking to make a reputation, they don’t boast, they don’t have to.
WHERE DO YOU SEE YOURSELF IN FIVE YEARS?
On a yacht in the Med – surrounded by beautiful women!
ANY REGRETS?
No, it’s my life, I wouldn’t swap it for the world. I’ve sampled everything, I’ve been to the best countries, had the best jewellery, best cars. I’ve got three lovely daughters – one’s a lawyer, one’s a jeweller and one’s in the medical profession. No regrets – I’ve had a fantastic time.
I’ve written my own epilogue and this is it:
‘Throughout my criminal career, I was very loyal to my own kind or, should I say, anyone who was involved with me in any criminal activity. I always made sure when planning and executing any sort of robbery, or any other crime, my friends and family who were involved with me could rest assured that their liberty would never be jeopardised. If the work we were carrying out did not look right, even if a blade of grass was out of place, I would insist we pull out. After all, my top priority was to stay free and thieve another day.
‘I am fully aware that certain people have branded me a “killer”. I would like to state I am not a psychopath. I would not get a thrill out of killing someone just for the sake of it. I am not a callous or cold-blooded person. I love my family and true friends to whom I would give my undying loyalty. I believe nearly every one of us, especially men, have the killer instinct in us. How many people can honestly say they have never thought about having, or would like to have, somebody killed? To kill someone is easy. The hardest part is the planning and organisation and getting away with it.
‘My only regret is there are four or five people who are scum-dog enemies of mine and still living who shouldn’t be, in my eyes. I would have no compassion or hesitation to have them killed but, like I say, it’s the getting away with it afterwards.
‘Revenge is sweet. As long as I get revenge, no matter how long it takes, to me it is the most satisfying sensation there is. Certain people have given me secondary information, of course, that I am going to be shot or killed. All I can say to that, to whoever they are, is – make sure you plan it properly and make sure you’ve got the bottle to put one in my head instead of half-heartedly in my leg. If you are going to do the job, do it properly. After all, we have all got to die sometime. It’s just a matter of when and where. Maybe one day my luck will run out. Well, if that is the case, so be it.’