didn’t. They said they knew I was mistaken because they had been watching me talking to a man in a black Porsche a few nights earlier. I wasn’t being very helpful, so they said I could go and they would be back in touch.
I immediately contacted Tucker. When I told him the police had been asking questions about Tate and Rolfe, he was very keen to hear what they had to say. He asked me to meet him as soon as possible. Less than an hour later, Tucker was telling me what had been going on over the weekend. He denied the problem with Nipper had arisen over comments made to Garwood and insisted it was because Nipper had grassed them up over the 7-Eleven incident. Tucker said on Sunday Tate had been at home getting ready for the birthday party. He was in the bathroom when somebody threw a brick through the window. Tate peered outside and Nipper opened fire from close range with a revolver. Tate put his right arm up to shield his face and the round hit him in the wrist, travelled up his arm and smashed the bones in his elbow. The gunman fled and Tate was taken to hospital. ‘When Tate gets out, Nipper’s going to die,’ Tucker said.
Nipper was finally arrested for the shooting, but the case against him wasn’t pursued because the judge ruled that the gun he had on him at the time of his arrest was not the one that was used to shoot Tate. Nipper received relentless death threats from the firm and was told there was a £10,000 contract on his head. His father, stepbrother and two sisters were also threatened. They were warned that Nipper’s sister, who was only 15 at the time, would be abducted and raped and her fingers hacked off one by one until Nipper was man enough to face them. Nobody believed the rape allegation: however evil they may have been, Tucker and Tate would not have done that. The jury’s out on whether or not someone on the payroll would have harmed Nipper’s family. A hit man did go to Nipper’s father’s home after he had been released. His father looked out through an upstairs window and saw a large man in dark clothing standing at the front door. He opened the window and asked the man what he wanted.
‘Is Steve Ellis in?’ the man asked.
‘No, he doesn’t live here any more. Can I help you?’
‘No, it’s OK. I need to see Steve, I’ve got something for him.’
Mr Ellis says he clearly saw a gun protruding from the man’s jacket pocket as he walked away.
Nipper eventually fled to Dorset where he remained until the trio were executed. He has since returned to Essex and lives a quiet life. When Nipper learned Tucker, Tate and Rolfe had been murdered, he told a reporter that he had danced with joy and he wished he could shake their killer’s hand. It was a sentiment many people in Essex shared.
Chapter 6
The weekend Tate was shot was, by anybody’s standards, an eventful one. Dramatic as they undoubtedly were, the assaults on Nipper and the shooting of Pat Tate paled into insignificance when compared to another incident that occurred that weekend involving members of the firm and a man from Basildon.
In early 1994, Kevin Whitaker thought he had turned a corner in his life. He had managed to kick his cocaine habit, secure employment and give up dealing in drugs. His long-term girlfriend, Alison, was also expecting their first child. The future, Kevin thought, looked bright. It was certainly very different to what many would have predicted for the former tearaway, who first came to the attention of the police aged 18. Kevin and two friends had drunk a large quantity of cheap lager and Pernod before breaking into Kingswood Junior school in Basildon and starting to fool around with matches. Soon, the half-dozen small fires they had lit had turned the school into an inferno. By the time the flames were brought under control, two classrooms were completely gutted. Kevin was seen fleeing from the scene by a witness and was arrested a few days later. He was acquitted but was sentenced to nine
I immediately contacted Tucker. When I told him the police had been asking questions about Tate and Rolfe, he was very keen to hear what they had to say. He asked me to meet him as soon as possible. Less than an hour later, Tucker was telling me what had been going on over the weekend. He denied the problem with Nipper had arisen over comments made to Garwood and insisted it was because Nipper had grassed them up over the 7-Eleven incident. Tucker said on Sunday Tate had been at home getting ready for the birthday party. He was in the bathroom when somebody threw a brick through the window. Tate peered outside and Nipper opened fire from close range with a revolver. Tate put his right arm up to shield his face and the round hit him in the wrist, travelled up his arm and smashed the bones in his elbow. The gunman fled and Tate was taken to hospital. ‘When Tate gets out, Nipper’s going to die,’ Tucker said.
Nipper was finally arrested for the shooting, but the case against him wasn’t pursued because the judge ruled that the gun he had on him at the time of his arrest was not the one that was used to shoot Tate. Nipper received relentless death threats from the firm and was told there was a £10,000 contract on his head. His father, stepbrother and two sisters were also threatened. They were warned that Nipper’s sister, who was only 15 at the time, would be abducted and raped and her fingers hacked off one by one until Nipper was man enough to face them. Nobody believed the rape allegation: however evil they may have been, Tucker and Tate would not have done that. The jury’s out on whether or not someone on the payroll would have harmed Nipper’s family. A hit man did go to Nipper’s father’s home after he had been released. His father looked out through an upstairs window and saw a large man in dark clothing standing at the front door. He opened the window and asked the man what he wanted.
‘Is Steve Ellis in?’ the man asked.
‘No, he doesn’t live here any more. Can I help you?’
‘No, it’s OK. I need to see Steve, I’ve got something for him.’
Mr Ellis says he clearly saw a gun protruding from the man’s jacket pocket as he walked away.
Nipper eventually fled to Dorset where he remained until the trio were executed. He has since returned to Essex and lives a quiet life. When Nipper learned Tucker, Tate and Rolfe had been murdered, he told a reporter that he had danced with joy and he wished he could shake their killer’s hand. It was a sentiment many people in Essex shared.
Chapter 6
The weekend Tate was shot was, by anybody’s standards, an eventful one. Dramatic as they undoubtedly were, the assaults on Nipper and the shooting of Pat Tate paled into insignificance when compared to another incident that occurred that weekend involving members of the firm and a man from Basildon.
In early 1994, Kevin Whitaker thought he had turned a corner in his life. He had managed to kick his cocaine habit, secure employment and give up dealing in drugs. His long-term girlfriend, Alison, was also expecting their first child. The future, Kevin thought, looked bright. It was certainly very different to what many would have predicted for the former tearaway, who first came to the attention of the police aged 18. Kevin and two friends had drunk a large quantity of cheap lager and Pernod before breaking into Kingswood Junior school in Basildon and starting to fool around with matches. Soon, the half-dozen small fires they had lit had turned the school into an inferno. By the time the flames were brought under control, two classrooms were completely gutted. Kevin was seen fleeing from the scene by a witness and was arrested a few days later. He was acquitted but was sentenced to nine
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