After being released, I married my loyal girlfriend Marlene in 1999. And now, I’m back behind bars, doing an eight-stretch. How did it all happen? Where did it all go wrong? A rather bizarre set of circumstances sees me writing this from behind the bars of HMP Castle Huntly near Dundee. I must be the first man to be charged with attempting to smuggle drugs out of Scotland, or even the whole of Britain.
In 2000, while waiting on the west coast of Scotland to board a ship bound for Iceland, I was arrested by HM Customs. They found me wearing a corset of cannabis wrapped around my body, I must rather embarrassingly say. Not my preferred modus operandi and not my forte as far as crime goes, but it happened.
After starting my sentence, I was moved on through the Scottish prison system. After a failed appeal bid, I managed to pull myself back from the brink of depression and started writing again.
Although I remained in constant communication with Stephen Richards, the man behind the first publishing company I approached, I just couldn’t get back into the stride of things. But thanks to his prompting me on, I found a renewed vigour in the writing stakes. I’ve ditched my crime-ridden days and now look forward to a career in writing. And my heartfelt thanks are due to my wife Marlene, for her loyalty and support during this last stint behind bars. Iceland can wait.
About the Author
JAMES CROSBIE was born in Glasgow in 1937, the middle child of three boys. As a young man, he worked in the shipyards and spent time in the RAF, but the straight life was not for him and he soon embarked on a life of crime. At one of his trials, he was dubbed ‘The most dangerous man in Scotland.’
STEPHEN RICHARDS is an investigative journalist, having had many of his books serialised in the national press and well-known magazines. Sought by many of the top production and film companies in the UK for his expertise, he has been able to help, advise and appear on many popular investigative TV shows. Credits include, Panorama, Trevor McDonald’s Tonight programme, Real Lives and various BBC shows. The Golden Pen, the man who writes without fear or favour.
Copyright
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First published in paperback in 2007
ISBN: 978 1 84454 389 2
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Armed and Dangerous--This is the True Story of How I Carried Out Scotland's Biggest Bank Robbery Page 31