FRANKIE DONUTS SLASHED IN STREET
Assault on gangster pal ‘targeted’ He is facing jail sentence
MILLIONAIRE tycoon Frankie “Donuts” Donaldson has been viciously and repeatedly slashed in a “targeted” street attack.
A gang of men confronted the 58-year-old as he got out of his car on Wednesday night and left him sprawled on the ground with serious injuries.
The gang made off in a car and Donaldson was rushed to hospital. He was said to be “stable” yesterday.
But he will not be fit to appear today at Glasgow Sheriff Court, where he was due to be sentenced for a horror campaign of violent domestic abuse.
A source said: “He was cut up bad. He is in a bad way.”
Another source said: “He was repeatedly hacked at. He’s suffered major head injuries and internal injuries.”
Donaldson was a close associate of gangster George “Goofy” Docherty, who was murdered in 2006.
He is also a former associate of Robert “Piggy” Pickett, who survived a gun attempt on his life in 2006.
The attack on Donaldson happened in the Torbrex Road area of Cumbernauld at about 8.30pm on Wednesday.
Detective Sergeant Iain Sneddon, of Coatbridge CID, said: “The man was getting out of his car in the car park on Torbrex Road, Cumbernauld, when he was attacked and seriously assaulted by a number of people.
“We believe he was targeted. However, it was carried out in a residential area with no regard for anyone who lives there or who was about.
“At the moment, we do not have a description of the attackers or indeed how many of them there were.
“We understand a saloontype car may have been used. This would have been driven off at speed following the incident.
“As the roads are tight, I have no doubt someone will have noticed it making off.”
Sneddon added that they were
checking CCTV and speaking to locals. And he appealed for any potential witnesses to come forward.
Donaldson’s guilty plea to a nine-year campaign of terror and assaults against his partner of 22 years Jane Clarke and her sister Elizabeth Harrison came last month, after a series of delays to the case.
Donaldson and Jane separated following an incident in which he was arrested in Palma on July 27, 2013.
Police were called to a disturbance at an apartment at around 3.30am. But Donaldson was allowed to leave the Balearic island despite the allegations against him. The incident left Jane needing hospital treatment for a serious head injury. On one occasion, Donaldson throttled Jane with a wet towel. He also threw a dumbbell at her, but it hit a wall. During another attack, a child in the house hit Donaldson with a lamp to stop his onslaught. The thug also punched Elizabeth and threw her out of his house and on another occasion, threatened to throw her out of a first-floor window. Donaldson pled guilty to a total of nine assaults on Jane, with whom he has a child, and Elizabeth. Last year, Donaldson sued Jane for £1million over her chain of nurseries. He claimed he helped fund the business Hyde ’n’ Seek in 2001 and was owed money. But the case was resolved out of court. In court, Donaldson’s address was given as care of a property in Possilpark, north Glasgow.
The area has been riven with gang warfare between the rival Lyons and Daniel crime clans.
In November, dad-of-two Euan Johnston, 26, from north Glasgow, was shot several times in the head at traffic lights on the south side.
Detectives say they are “disappointed” with appeals to the public for information on the murder of Johnston, who acted as a “peacemaker” figure in the feud.
A source said of the Donaldson hit: “It was an awful attack.
“But this should not be confused with what’s going on up north in Glasgow.
“This has nothing to do with the Lyons and Daniels thing.
“Donuts was looking at being jailed. So if there is such a thing as an opportune time to be attacked by a gang and put in hospital, then this was it.”
Donaldson, who is being treated for his stab wounds in Monklands Hospital, Airdrie, is not expected to be released for some time.
At his last court appearance, he was bailed while pre-sentencing reports were prepared.
Another source said: “Donaldson hates the thought of being jailed.
“Despite managing to avoid getting involved in any of the difficulties his associates have had, some people in prison have problems with him.
“There’s a real chance that he’ll get a custodial sentence and that’s something he’s dreading.”
It was an awful attack. But nothing to do with the Lyons and Daniels feud SOURCE