South London thug Gary Taylor jailed for blackmail

Gary Taylor, 58, of Manor Road in Norwood, was dressed all in black when he turned up at the front door of a house in Peterborough with two other men. 

He rang the bell but when he got no response he posted a letter before punching the video doorbell and leaving. 

The letter, which was addressed to the previous resident of the home, said: “Your partner stole £434,000 from someone affiliated with us to complete the house in **** for you. 

“This was a very big mistake and we will stop at absolutely nothing until this is paid back in full. 

“We have now decided to authorise a contract which will be placed on the dark web with your present full address above.” 

The letter also threatened extreme violence and was signed off “Taylor Made Logistics” with an account number and sort code for the money to be sent to. 

Police were called and they identified Taylor as the account holder. 

He was arrested at his home three days after the threat had been made. 

When he was questioned he told detectives how he had delivered what he thought was an apology letter that someone had handed him and knew nothing about it being a threat. 

Taylor explained that he punched the camera as he was annoyed at having travelled from London just for that reason. 

Taylor was found guilty of blackmail and criminal damage after a five day trial at Peterborough Crown Court. 

A second man, 60-year-old Francis Alexander, who was arrested at Stansted Airport, was cleared of blackmail. 

In December Alexander was sentenced to three years and four months in prison. 

Detective Constable Lauren Clark, who investigated, said: “Taylor is a malicious man who has now not only been convicted of blackmail, but is also serving time in prison for high-value fraud offences in different parts of the country. 

“It is clear he will go to extreme lengths for his own financial gain, however, thankfully in this case he was stopped before anyone was hurt or money exchanged hands.”