Only after Achilleas Kallakis and Alex Williams were convicted last week of the biggest ever mortgage fraud was it revealed that the pair had been involved in an equally audacious forgery scam 18 years previously. So how common is it for pairs of criminals to work together in such an enduring way?
Two of Britain's most successful cat burglars, the late George "Taters" Chatham and Peter "Gentleman Thief" Scott, worked together for many years, plundering the homes and galleries of the rich and famous. Taters was the senior partner, teaching Scott the tricks of the trade, and between them they made off with around £30m worth of jewellery and artworks. Scott, who is still with us, said they aimed "at the real meaty jugular vein of society" – the very wealthy. Their victims included Zsa Zsa Gabor and Sophia Loren. Their secret was that each knew they would never inform on the other, no matter what inducements were offered. Both abided by the 11th commandment of the criminal world: thou shalt not grass.
Perhaps the best-known smash-and-grab thieves in the last century were also a long-lasting pair: Ruby Sparks (no connection to the recent film of that name) and Lilian Goldstein, a nice middle-class girl. They operated in the 20s and 30s, with Sparks carrying out the robberies while Goldstein patched up his wounds and drove them away from the scene of the crime: the UK's answer to Bonnie and Clyde.
Britain's best-known postwar villains, of course, were also a pair who would never rat on each other: Ron and Reg Kray. But like Kallakis and Williams, the Krays found that the law eventually catches up with even the most loyal partners in crime.
