The Krays Make Connections and Hit the Big Time

Rachman's approach to the real estate business generally followed the same format in relation to the investment he made. He would buy up cheap slum housing in areas of the city raise the rates until the immigrant families in that area could no longer afford to pay the rents and were forced to move out. As they moved out Rachman had the drug houses, prostitutes, and other crime related businesses move in. He provided the buildings and protection for these new investors and in return he received a large percentage of the profits. He also employed some strong-arm personnel, just in case the need arose to bring about some higher level of negotiations. Ronnie wanted his cut of the action as Rachman began to move into what he considered his area of influence. Without much thought in the matter, Ronnie began to accept check payments from Rachman in return for protection. His interest rose to a new level when he realized that all of the checks bounced. Ronnie and some of his men began a search for Rachman.

To get himself off the hook, Rachman knew he needed something really big to get Ronnie off his back. He turned to some of his friends and let word go out to Ronnie that through Rachman's organization a connection could be made with interested people who wanted to expand their interests in the area of gambling. Ronnie realized that the really big money was to found in the gambling industry. Rachman had gotten from underneath his problems with Ronnie and passed future problems on to his friends. Illegal gambling was the fuel of organized crime in London. Their was some talk that to break the power of organized crime the British Government would legalize gambling hoping this would separate crime lords from a major source of money. This talk of legalized gambling suggested to many crime families a painted picture of London serving as "Las Vegas of Europe." Interests in getting in on the ground floor of any such possibility caused many families from around the world to send some of their marketing people to check things and determine the right people to see when the time arrived. The brothers, by this time Reggie was out of jail gained control of a new gaming establishment and expand their social world. Esmeralda's Barn was a gold mine for the twins. One of the first gaming clubs to open after the new Gaming Act came into force; it had the best croupiers and workers in town. It had a bar and a good restaurant and the staff was well trained to care for the needs of their customers. And these new customers came from the higher levels of the government and London society. The twins were doing well and their power was once again expanding. There were however new problems on the rise, for while Ronnie expressed hatred for females except his mother and aunt, Reggie was falling in love with a young local girl, who Ronnie was beginning to see as a threat to the close relationship with his brother.

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