Lost secrets of Tam McGraw's crime empire

THE amazing secrets of notorious mobster Tam 'The Licensee' McGraw can today be revealed for the first time.

The feared Glasgow gangster died last year from a heart attack, aged 55.

But shattered widow Margaret has now started to piece together astonishing secret episodes from his past by studying a stash of his hidden possessions.

Poring over McGraw's hoarded documents and letters has led Margaret and other close sources to discover how:

A BUSINESSMAN handling a building project fronted by McGraw on Tenerife suddenly vanished with £5million in cash

A PLOT to shoot a top cop was abandoned after the hitman couldn't pull the gun from his tight trousers, and

McGRAW dreamed of buying a specially adapted super-yacht to allow cannabis to be smuggled into Scotland from Morocco.

Last night a source close to Margaret said: "All these things remained secret while her husband was alive."

After his sudden demise last July, speculation was rife about what had happened to The Licensee's fortune.

But today we can reveal how, in the weeks leading up to his death, McGraw was on the receiving end of a sting which saw £5million disappear down the plughole.

The huge cash sum was invested in a property scheme masterminded by McGraw. The swag was being handled by a Tenerife-based Spanish businessman who has also since disappeared.

Luxury

The plan was to buy a run-down, low-cost apartment block in the Los Cristianos area of the Canaries hotspot and convert it into luxury penthouses. Wealthy Russians were also in on the scheme.

A former associate of McGraw said: "Tam knew lots of Scots with links to the island.

"One of them, who had been approached by the Spaniard, sounded him out about the property scheme.

"There was a growing demand for top-of-the-range accommodation and anybody backing the development would get a very high return on their investment.

"The developer had an option on the block but needed £5million cash quickly.

"Tam did not discuss it with Margaret because she would have warned him the venture was risky and advised him not to join in.

"But he sounded out associates in Glasgow and Merseyside. We know of one Englishman who put in £70,000, others £60,000 and £18,000. Alarm bells sounded when, a few months after his sudden death, one of the investors needed cash and inquired about getting his money back.

"Tam had never been the sort to write things down, but eventually, by checking with a network of friends, things fell into place and inquiries were made in Santa Cruz - with very unhappy results.

"Clearly the man behind the development had done a runner with the proceeds."

The McGraws used to be regular visitors to Tenerife, below, and at one time owned an apartment near Playa de las Americas.

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During a 2005 visit to work on his life story Crimelord, McGraw revealed to a close source that he hoped to buy a block of flats.

He promised: "If it comes off I'll be happy for you to invest. Owning high-class property here is a licence to print money."

Another of The Licensee's closely-guarded secrets was a plan to shoot a Scots police officer - which was only foiled because the would-be assassin had a hole in his TROUSERS.

The target was a fearless senior cop, now retired, who was long regarded as a thorn in the side of the Glasgow underworld.

Crooks met at a city centre hotel in 1994 to discuss how to set up the then inspector so the gunman could get him in his sights.

Tam and Gordon Ross, murdered in Shettleston in 2002, were joined by three leading criminal figures and the hitman - a thief who would become one of The Licensee's most reliable friends.

One of those present at the high-level pow-wow said: "The assassin was asked to demonstrate how he would carry out the hit. He announced he'd simply hide the pistol in his trouser pocket and whip it out when the moment came to shoot.

"When he stood up to show how easy that would be and put his hand in his pocket, the gun wasn't there.

"The others were bent double with laughter.

"He had a hole in his pocket and the barrel of the gun was pointing out from under one of his turn-ups.

"It was even funnier when he tried getting the gun out. His trousers were too tight to pull it through and he had to drop them to free it. So the idea of a hit was abandoned."

During the 1990s, massive amounts of hash were smuggled into Scotland, mostly hidden beneath luxury coaches carrying youngsters on free holidays to France and Spain.

McGraw was accused of masterminding the racket, thought to have netted up to £50million. At the High Court in Glasgow in 1998, he was cleared of smuggling by a not proven verdict.

Assets

But we can reveal that before a lengthy surveillance operation smashed the scam, he was already scheming how to EXPAND it.

McGraw told a close source: "I suggested buying a boat and offering free cruises. The kids were getting bored with Spain.

"Just over 700 kilos could be hidden under the seats of a coach, but with a ship you could stash away tons.

"Some of the team were up for it, but mostly they were scared off by the cost of a ship - even though I told them they'd recoup their money with just one cruise."

Another secret scheme involved wholesale supply...in the opposite direction.

One pal, inspired by Margaret's clearout, remembers how McGraw once planned to flood the Canary Islands with IRN-BRU.

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He discussed setting up a huge distribution network centred on Tenerife.

The pal said: "Tam knew thousands of Scots visited the Canaries each year and reckoned he could make a killing supplying them with their favourite soft drink."

But the pop plan flopped because he was unable to satisfy bankers about his assets.

Technically The Licensee was unemployed with no income - even though he was believed to have pocketed millions through crime.

The pal added: "He spoke to a financial expert, but was put off by all the documentation involved. Tam wasn't one for signing forms."

One envelope found in a forgotten corner of Tam's sprawling mansion in Mount Vernon, Glasgow, holds amusing memories from 2006.

McGraw's pal Jim McMinimee, 50, now engaged to Margaret, 56, above, explained: "Tam and Margaret were on a bus heading into Glasgow when they saw a woman having difficulty lifting her trolley on board. A young male passenger asked what she was carrying and she said, 'A new computer'.

"As soon as he was off the bus he did a runner with the trolley.

"Tam ran after him but the guy was younger and had too much of a start. When he got back to the bus the woman was in tears.

"She said, 'It wasn't a computer in the bag. I've been looking after my best friend's dog but he died. I was taking him to the vet to be cremated and the only thing I could think of to carry him in was my shopping trolley'.

"For once Tam was lost for words. A couple of weeks later he got a note in the post from her friend thanking him for trying to intervene."

Mags added: "I don't know who got the bigger shock, Tam or the robber."

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