From a young age, the Kray twins were in constant run-ins with police. Ronald and Reginald ran protection rackets in the rough East End of London until 1960 when they branched out and opened a gambling club in Knightsbridge. They developed a reputation for extraordinary violence. Both brothers -- Ronnie, a homosexual and known psychopath, and Reggie -- were feared.
The Krays were finally arrested by the same Scotland Yard officials who had been trailing their exploits for years. Along with other members of their gang, including their older brother Charlie, they were found guilty of two murders in their trial. It was the longest murder hearing in British criminal history. Police with walkie-talkie radios patrolled the Old Bailey and guarded entrances to Court No 1 as the defendants came, one by one, into the dock to hear the verdicts.
Ronnie died of a heart attack in prison in 1995. Reggie was released on compassionate grounds a month before his death from cancer in October 2000.
