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Gang Who Targeted celebrities’ Homes Are Jailed For A Total of Over 25 Years

Published

6 months ago

November 24, 2021

Three men, who completed a spree of burglaries in West London, are reported to have stolen over 26 million pounds worth of goods.

Alessandro Maltese, Jugoslav Jovanovic and Alessandro Donati were sentenced at Islington Crown Court earlier this month in what is believed to be Britain’s biggest ever burglary.

The Italian nationals, who stole cash, jewellery and gems were sentenced by Judge Martin Edmunds QC, for conspiracy to burgle between the 29th of November and 18th of December 2019.

Jovanovic (24) who also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to money launder and one count of attempting to convert criminal property, was jailed for 11 years, Maltese and Donati were handed jail time of 8 years and 9 months each.

A fourth man, Ljubomir Romanov, is believed to be the fourth member of the gang, however is currently beyond police jurisdiction as he is thought to be in Belgrave, Serbia where authorities refuse to extradite him.

Frank Lampard (42), Christine Lampard (43), Leicester City FC owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha and daughter of former F1 boss Tamara Ecclestone (37), were among those targeted.

The gang were said to have chosen the homes they targeted because of their celebrity occupants, with the judge adding, ‘the distress caused by the burglary of a home to householders who may be well-known or wealthy is not less than that caused to those in different circumstances.’

The gang targeted celebrities including former Chelsea FC midfielder and manager Frank Lampard, 43, and his 42-year-old television presenter wife Christine, the late Leicester City FC owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, and socialite Tamara Ecclestone, (37.)

Judge Edmunds QC said the gang had chosen their targets because of the “celebrity of their occupants”, adding: ‘The distress caused by the burglary of a home to householders who may be well-known or wealthy is not less than that caused to those in different circumstances.’

Over 50,000 was stolen from the Lampards’ home, with almost 1million pounds worth of valuables being taken from Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha’s property, which was turned into a shrine when he died in 2018.

Daughter of former Formula 1 chief executive Bernie Ecclestone, Tamara Ecclestone had around £25m worth of money and jewellery stolen from her mansion in Kensington, the west area of central London.

In a victim statement reflecting on the events Ms Ecclestone said, ‘It’s been really awful. I’m so scared, I will not leave my daughter alone in the house at night, because I just feel like the people I am meant to trust, I don’t, I’m not sure that I can trust anyone. I have just been so scared.’

Ms Ecclestone was emotional after some gifts from her mother, Croatian model Slavica Ecclestone were taken,’a lot of it was really personal, I wanted to give some of the items to my daughter one day.’ She added, ‘It hasn’t been easy but I guess now it just makes me think, what if, if something worse… It has got me thinking all different kinds of things, and I’m now obsessing over security, the gates and barbed wires, spikes and stuff and it’s not really how I want to live my life.’

Mr Lampard said the crime had had a ‘major impact’ on his general feeling of security especially as he often works away from the family home, ‘The fact that my job means I travel frequently again raises my concerns.Neither Christine nor I are sleeping too well as a consequence of this incident.’ he said.

Christine, former Dancing on Ice Presenter and Loose Women anchor added, ‘Since this break-in at my house, I am much more fearful of being alone in my own home, I am less trusting of visitors to the house and feel unsafe in my home.’

Mr Srivaddhanaprabha’s family reported feeling like their special connection had been damaged since the burglary, ‘Our late father’s residence was a place for reflection and to pray. We felt it was the strongest connection to him as he spent his last night there before his death. Since the burglary, our sacred and special connection has been damaged and violated beyond repair.’

Related Topics:arrest Celebrities jail uk uknews

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Deborah James Awarded Damehood After Raising Over £3,000,000 for Charity

Published

1 week ago

May 13, 2022

rebeccarosecook

Deborah James has said she is ‘blown away’ after being made a Dame for her tireless campaigning for cancer charities.

The inspirational broadcaster and author announced earlier this week that she is receiving hospice care at home after stopping her cancer treatment, and has said she ‘could have weeks to live at most’.

In recent days, the You, Me & The Big C host has raised over £3million for charities that have helped her over the past five years, through her Bowelbabe Fund.

After calls for her to receive the Royal honour, it has been revealed that Deborah is now officially Dame Deborah James.

‘I don’t know what to say. I’m blown away and feel incredibly honoured,’ she said reacting to the news.

She added ‘I don’t feel like I deserve this. I can’t tell you what this means to my family, it’s so much to take in.’

Her husband Sebastien Bowen, said the public support of the fundraiser has ‘brought a piercing ray of light and hope into this, the darkest of times’, adding that the Damehood is ‘so truly deserved’.

Downing Street said the Queen was ‘pleased to approve the honour of damehood’ be bestowed upon Deborah James.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson hailed Dame Deborah as an figure of inspiration to the country.

‘If ever an honour was richly deserved, this is it,’ the leader said.

‘Deborah has been an inspiration and her honesty, warmth and courage has been a source of strength to so many people.’

Thank you for all your incredible work.

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EuroMillions: UK ticket holder claims £184m jackpot

Published

2 weeks ago

May 11, 2022

rebeccarosecook

One lucky ticket-holder’s life has changed forever after winning the £184million EuroMillions jackpot. It means they have become the biggest ever National Lottery winner, operator Camelot has said.

Whoever they are, they have knocked the anonymous winner of £170million in October 2019 off the top spot. They have also become the National Lottery’s 14th winner of more than £100million.

The winner, who is yet to be named, is also the second person in the UK to win the EuroMillions jackpot this year, after someone bagged £109million in February.

The winning numbers were 3, 25, 27, 28 and 29 – plus the Lucky Star numbers 4 and 9. One ticket matched all seven numbers to win £184,262,899.10.

Senior winners’ adviser for the National Lottery, Andy Carter said: “What an amazing night for one UK ticket-holder who has scooped the incredible £184million EuroMillions jackpot – they have become the UK’s biggest ever National Lottery winner.”

The claim will now go through a validation process to ensure terms and conditions are met and once the ticket has been validated the winner can choose whether or not to remain anonymous.

What would you do with all that money?

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Baby P’s Killer Mum Tracey Connelly Set for Prison Release after Judge Gives Green Light

Published

3 weeks ago

May 5, 2022

rebeccarosecook

Tracey Connelly, the mother of Baby P, who died after months of abuse, will be released from prison after the Parole Board rejected a Government challenge against its ruling.

The decision comes after Justice Secretary Dominic Raab appealed against the recommendation to free Tracey Connelly from prison.

Connelly was jailed at the Old Bailey in 2009 for causing or allowing the death of her 17-month-old son Peter at their home in Tottenham, north London, on August 3 2007.

Dominic Raab said the decision demonstrated why the system “needs a fundamental overhaul – including a ministerial check for the most serious offenders”.

Now 40, this was Connelly’s fourth parole review after she was released on licence in 2013 but recalled to prison in 2015 for breaching her parole conditions by “developing intimate personal relationships” online and inciting another resident at her accommodation to engage in “inappropriate sexualised behaviour”.

In a statement, the Parole Board said: “In summary, the judge has concluded that the panel did take into consideration all evidence mentioned by the application and made rational conclusions.

“The reconsideration decision clarifies that the weight given to the evidence given by the Secretary of States witnesses, who supported release, and the proposed external controls, was proportionate and the reasons were clearly outlined in the decision letter.

“The final ground on the rationality of the outcome was also rejected on the grounds of not reaching the threshold, as defined by law, for becoming unreasonable.”

The Parole Board, which is independent of government, received a formal request to review the decision to free Connelly last week.