Peter Scott (thief)
Peter Scott (born Peter Craig Gulston) (18 February 1931 – 17 March 2013) was a Northern Irish burglar and thief who was variously described as the "King of the Cat Burglars", "Burglar to the Stars" and the "Human Fly".[1] Scott described himself as a "master idiot".[2]
Life
Scott was born Peter Craig Gulston in Belfast, Northern Ireland, into a middle-class military family.[1] Following his father's death, his mother emigrated to the United States. He had spent his father's inheritance by the time that he left the Belfast Royal Academy.[1]
The 1965 film
In his last years, Scott worked as a
At the end of his life, Scott drove an old Mercedes-Benz, given to him as a present by the son of Billy Hill, the London gangster.[2] Scott was declared bankrupt at the end of his life, owing more than £400,000 to creditors.[1] He was living on state benefits of £60 per week in an Islington council flat at the time of his death.[1] Scott was married four times, and survived by one son.[1]
Burglary
Scott began his life of crime in his teens, targeting wealthy homes around Belfast's
Adopting the surname Scott, he then moved to London. While working as a pub bouncer in the West End of London, he burgled houses in the evenings.[1]
In prison in 1957, Scott met George "Taters" Chatham, then renowned as the most celebrated "cat burglar" in London.[1] Working together, Scott and Chatham formed a criminal partnership that would net them many millions of pounds' worth of art and jewellery, following their successful targeting of furriers and jewellery boutiques on Bond Street, and art collectors in Mayfair. From his initial term in the late 1950s, Scott spent increasing periods of time in prison, having been jailed for three years in 1961, five in 1964, and a further four years in 1985.[1]
According to Scott, notable victims of his burglaries included famous performers such as
Scott described himself as having been "sent by God to take back some of the wealth that the outrageously rich had taken from the rest of us".
Scott purchased a new suit before each job, so his presence would not be betrayed by his appearance.[1] Disturbed during one burglary by a titled lady who appeared at the top of the stairs, Scott shouted to her "'Everything's all right, madam,'... and she went off to bed thinking I was the butler." If Scott was disturbed on other occasions he would reassuringly shout "It's only me!".[1]
In 1960 Scott stole a £200,000 necklace from the Italian actress Sophia Loren, who was in the United Kingdom filming The Millionairess.[1] The theft from Loren was described as Britain's biggest jewellery theft, but Scott netted just £30,000 from a "fence" for the necklace. Loren later pointed at him on television saying that she came "from a long line of gipsies. You will have no luck". Scott subsequently lost every penny gambling in Cannes.[1]
In the 1950s and 1960s Scott would identify victims by reading the society columns in the Daily Mail and Daily Express.[1]
Although he claimed to have retired from his life of crime in the mid-1990s, Scott was jailed for three and a half years for
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x "Obituary: Peter Scott". The Daily Telegraph. London. 22 March 2013. Archived from the original on 26 December 2021. Retrieved 2 May 2013.
- ^ a b c d e f Campbell, Duncan (20 March 2013). "Obituary: Peter Scott". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 2 May 2013.
External links
- Hamilton, Duncan (26 April 2013). "Criminal funerals big and small: from the Krays to Peter Scott". The Guardian (account of Scott's funeral). London..