Stephen Breen - Fat Freddie: A gangster’s life – the bloody career of Freddie Thompson

The award-winning journalist Stephen Breen most recently NewsBrands Irelands Crime Journalist of the Year 2018 is crime editor of the Irish Sun and has been writing about the Irish criminal world for nearly two decades. He is the co-author of the number-one-bestseller The Cartel, the definitive account of the rise of the Kinahan gang.

The Cartel
(with Owen Conlon)

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1. Freddie Thompson and his partner, Vicky Dempsey, celebrate the birth of their son in 2000. This is when his gang and Brian Rattigans went to war in the CrumlinDrimnagh feud.2. Thompsons family enjoying a trip to Spain in 2007 as he cements his position in the Kinahan cartel.3. Freddie and Vicky dressed up for one of their many nights out in the midst of the CrumlinDrimnagh feud.4. Thompsons arch-enemy, Brian Rattigan, after he appeared in court in 2010 charged with five counts of possessing heroin.5. A senior Kinahan cartel associate, and Thompsons first cousin, Liam Roe.6. The INLA terror chief, Declan Whacker Duffy, who was also involved in a feud with Thompson.7. The Birmingham-based drug dealer and Thompson associate James Mulvey.8. The hitman Paddy Doyle and Thompson enjoying a night out on the Costa del Sol in 2004.9. Thompson and his first cousin David Byrne, stripped for the camera on a night out in 2002. Byrne was shot dead at the Regency Hotel in 2016.10. Nathan Foley, who acted as a spotter on the day Daithi (David) Douglas was murdered in 2016.11. A senior Kinahan cartel associate, Sean McGovern. He is now based in Dubai.12. A Kinahan cartel member, Liam Byrne, on a rare visit to Dublin in 2017.13. A studio photograph of the brothers Christopher (left) and Daniel Kinahan in Dubai.14. Happier times: the veteran criminal Gerry The Monk Hutch (second from left) enjoying a night out with James Jaws Byrne (left) and Sadie Byrne, parents of David and Liam Byrne.15. Taking aim. Thompson having fun during his time in Amsterdam in 2010.16. Thompson and Vicky Dempsey enjoying the sun in southern Spain in 2008.17. Thompson chilling out on a trip to Spain, also in 2008.18. August 2002: Thompson accompanied to court by garda after being charged with assault.19. Garda escort Thompson to a plane ahead of his extradition to Spain under Operation Shovel.20. A CCTV image of Thompson in Morrisseys pub on Cork Street moments before he attacked an innocent man.21. Thompson is brought back from Amsterdam to stand trial for violent disorder in May 2014 by Detective Garda Seamus ODonovan and then Sergeant Paul Murphy. Both officers would later play a role in the Daithi (David) Douglas investigation.22. A slimmed-down Thompson with family members after his release from prison in 2015 for the attack in Morrisseys pub. They are (left to right) his brother Richie and sister Lisa Jane.23. Now wearing designer threads to go with his sleeker figure, Thompson in Dublin in April 2016.24. The fake driving licence Thompson was using during the Kinahan and Hutch feud in 2016.25. The bogus passport Thompson was using when he was caught by police in Holland in 2014.26. A CCTV image of a gunman at the Regency Hotel seconds after the murder of David Byrne. Byrnes body is obscured by the counter but his feet can be seen protruding.